Late Fall Adventures, Aspen Colorado
The reason why I call this LATE FALL, is that Winter's true appearance had not come yet the first week in December, yet the skiers and snowboarders were out en masse, doing their thing on the snow. From the images, however, it looked like plenty enough for most people, but for the Aspen/Snowmass crowd, it was not enough. " We hope every day that more will come!" said one skier to me, as he geared up to spend the day on Aspen mountain. This gentleman had gray hair, and a profoundly wizened face, as if he had spent all of his life outdoors. " Last year was great, but this year? Look!" He pointed up to the dazzling white mountain." Hardly anything! But there's enough for me, even though it is December 2ond."
This is the third time I have been to Aspen, and I am still trying to figure out the exceptional nature of this town, deeply embedded in the Rocky mountains, 5 hours by car or bus from Denver on a good day, and on the plane, about an hour, often bumpy. This time, on the plane from Denver to Aspen, were some rowdy Russian men, who I THINK, even at 10:15AM, had started carousing early -- well before the plane took off. None spoke English except a few basic words, but the one phrase one of them could say, and DID, after each deep prop plane bump, was " It's A BEAUTIFUL DAY!" I began thinking this is probably the feeling that most people have when they come to this place in the mountains.
During my stay, I saw much newness in the old Snowmass and Aspen -- new plans for wholly owned residences, many of which had already been sold, as well as new fractional residences in downtown Aspen. Both places, one close to the other, have such exceptional access to the slopes, that even with the small amount of snow, every day must be enticingly beautiful -- especially one to those who have sojourned from other non-snowy climes, to find solace or company on the snow, no matter how thin it is.
On the day I left, a heavy storm blew in. Flights were cancelled, and I had the disquieting experience of taking a bus, during a severe snowstorm, from Aspen to Denver. The heavy blowing snow did not deter the inveterate driver at all, and we came through it quite well. Before I flew back to Tucson last night, I received a Twitter from The Town Of Aspen: " Our Prayers Were Answered,. If We Could Just have a Few More Days Like This!"
I could hear those boisterous Russians laughing in the background.
28 January 2008
Cancelled trips, Winter robins
Such things, I am told, happen to travel writers once in awhile, but this had never happened to me: bad weather, exceptionally bad weather and a canceled trip as a consequence.
I was looking forward to going to Palm Springs, to a fascinating Moroccan style boutique resort called Korakia. I was looking forward to milder weather, seeing flowers in bloom, smelling the sweet, dry desert air. BUT NOOO! All weekend we had been watching a violent winter storm scrape and douse its way across California. Whenever I looked on www.weather.com, the same flashing red SEVERE SNOW WARNING sign came on the screen. Last night a wind warning was added also. I looked at the weather for Palm Springs, and surprisingly, there was a FLASH FLOOD warning for the Coachella Valley. With such a triple whammy -- snow, wind, flood, I decided, sorrowfully, to reschedule the trip. This was last night. I walked out in the 25 degree, clear black night last night, and saw the star spangled scarf of the Milky Way above me. Clear as a bell. How could all this WEATHER be coming our way?
I went in, went to bed and awoke at about 5:00AM with hail, snow, and moaning wind beating at my bedroom window. I went to the window, opened the blinds and could see only white -- a classic white-out. Oh, to be among the Hibiscus and Jasmine at Korakia!! Not much later, I saw on the news that the Salt Lake City Airport was closed,as were many of the mountain passes and roads leading into and out of Salt Lake. What a MESS!
I grouchily went out to the kitchen, when I looked outside at our snow covered decorative Crab Apple trees. The fruits were small, well-frozen, but still held their bright red color. On the branches were six winter Robins. One was looking right at me -- a fat bird with a bright orange-yellow breast, contrasted on the branch with the bright red berries. My camera was close by, so I took some pictures of the single bird, then others.
Had I gone to Palm Springs, I would have missed this -- I like to think, when I am disappointed, that the small things in life -- like the Robins on the branch -- come into such great clarity. i walk out in the foot-plus deep snow -- and am glad, in an odd kind of way, that I stayed, again knowing the bright peace and solace a fresh Winter snow can provide.
Labels: blizzard, disappointment, Palm Springs, peace, winter
06 January 2008
Comings and Goings: Life in Winter
For the first and maybe last time, I am living in a place where there is a lot of SNOW. For the past 21 years, I have lived in Tucson, Arizona, where snow falls about once in twenty years. Here in Utah, snow falls almost every other day. Differences in attitudes, due probably to the fact there ARE seasons, come into greater focus daily. A neighbor said, " Well, now we asked for the snow, we have it and now we are forced to enjoy it!" Being forced to enjoy something is a novel concept!! All the Christmas and New Year's festivities have come and gone: and nowhere does the temporal reveal itself more than in a cold clime. Right across the street were our neighbors, people we barely knew -- but they had a grand light show each night -- I was never able to quite appreciate or accept all the brightly colored lights on the trees, the huge Christmas Star on the lawn, kleig-light strength, blinking on and off all night, with the words Merry Christmas also in bright red and green, also blinking on and off. It was a spectacular display of electric religion! As we are renters on a block full of homeowners, ours was the only home that did not have bright lights. My witty husband suggested we put a mirror on our front door.
But then, on December 26th, we noticed the across the street bright light neighbors packing away their lights, and putting everything in a U-Haul. When I asked them if they were moving, they said yes, one had gotten a job in Greeley, Colorado. the house would be put in the market, and by the day's end, the house was dark, no lights anywhere, and off they went, the U-Haul disappearing in the softly falling snow.
On the bright side, i learned to toboggan. I have not broken anything yet, but then again, it is only January.