1st Snowstorm Packs a Punch

Winter arrived yesterday in full force!  We had a trace of snow on Wednesday, but the big show arrived while I was in the gym doing my last shoot-around before the Alumni game.  I parked at 5:30a on slightly damp roads, but walked out 90 minutes later into a blizzard.  Terry had sent a text to be very careful, but I just assumed the damp roads were icy.  I had several inches on the car (and no scraper) and it was dumping.  Terry was worried about our trip to Montana and had reminded me to make an appointment for the snow tires and luckily they fit me in this week.  My car and tires are amazing in the snow and ice, so I wasn't too worried about the commute until I saw the other drivers.  The damp roads were now solid ice with 4 inches of fresh powder.  Not everyone had their snow tires on and most weren't in winter driving mode.  I saw at least 5 slide-offs, including one behind me at a stop sign that came too close for comfort.  Before I even made it out of Park City, I was considering going home to wait it out.  I got to I-80 and conditions were better and the lack of stop lights and everyone moving at a steady pace was comforting.  It took some time to get down Parley's but there were no major accidents.  It continued to snow all day and we came home last night to 8" on the deck. The first storm of the season is always adventurous!

1st Storm = 8" = Time to pull in the patio furniture

This is fantastic news for the upcoming ski season but not so much for the landscape project.  We started out so strong, but the last week has been frustrating.  The contractor had to pull the crew off late last week for a task with a large client. We understood the reasoning since it happens to us in our jobs and projects.  They were supposed to be back this past weekend but unfortunately one of the guys had a minor injury.  We did meet on Monday about a possible design change, but other than that we haven't had any progress.  The contractor has promised me he'll get it done in the next few weeks, but I'm not holding my breath.  The good news is that the rock walls and boulders also look great with snow on them.

Landscape Project Day 18 - Winter Arrives

I thought last Saturday was our last mountain bike in warm weather, but we got out again on Sunday.  Even with the danger of ptarmigans/grouse, we went back up Jenni's trail since it was so much fun the day before.  As the storm approached, we felt some rain but nothing serious. We then headed over to CMG via Mid Mountain, which was a perfect loop to end the season - at least for rides on the ski resort trails.

Jenni's & Mid Mountain - Storm Approaching

Park City Overlook

CMG - Still great Fall colors!

We also had several wildlife visitors this past weekend.  The 3 bucks love the backyard and have been checking out the landscaping.  The one with the deformed rack (only grew in on the right side) particularly likes licking the bird feeder and then knocking it down.

The mama moose and her 2 young ones continue to call our street home.  I imagine next summer they will be on their own but will hopefully return like their mama always does.  She was a little skittish this weekend, maybe she sensed the bull that has also been hanging around.

There was plenty of activity around the neighborhood as we all prepared for this week's weather.  Official "winterizing" includes moving in patio furniture, making room in the garage for all the cars and toys, prepping the snow blower, putting on the window well covers, and in our house -  setting up the bike trainers.  

In other awesome neighborhood news, Christian completed his final round of chemo on Wednesday! He and Corrie have been so strong throughout this process - I really have no words.  He now gets to start the recovery process and will likely be kicking all of our butts on skis and bikes very soon.