A Week in Park City

My mom had this time share thing in Park City this year and we went down there for a week. Everyone else in my family showed up Saturday and we didn't get there until Monday, thus the 3 bedrooms were taken and we got to sleep in the loft on a hide-a-bed. Not the most comfortable of things to sleep on. Luckily, that was pretty much the worst part of the whole thing. We got to go mountain biking, hiking, swimming, firework watching, parade watching (which, by the way, was like an Aberdeen parade only with exponentially more people to deal with and longer to sit through), golfing (for Jason...twice), Alpine sliding, Olympic Park visiting & shopping. All in all it was a pretty successful trip. There were a few bumpy moments (as there always are at prolonged family gatherings), but they thankfully worked themselves out and we all left actually still being friends. :)

Now, let me expound on some of the activities. Jase & I went mountain biking with Brit and Dan. We were able to leave the kids back at the condo with my mom and Heather given that the younger ones were down for naps. We took the gondola up the mountain with the bikes, so thankfully we didn't have to ride all the way up the mountain. We did, however, have a bit of a climb up to the gondola and that was tiring enough. On the mountain, the trail was beautiful. But it was pretty challenging...mostly level with relatively small ups and downs except for some nasty switch backs. It was really nice to get out and do an activity with adults and no kids. I, of course, forgot to bring the camera, so I didn't get a picture of this really pretty waterfall that went under a bridge on the trail...that's where we decided to turn around and head back. The water was super cold. I'd sit next to it and could just feel the cool air wafting toward me, which was very nice given I was really hot. We were all really sweaty and dirty when we got back, but this small trek has reawakened the desire in me to do that more. I realized just how much I miss that long trek I took with Joe before I was married to White rim for 4 days and 100 miles. I love the feel of being out on a bike...which is a bit faster than hiking and it doesn't kill your knees to go down hill. Jason & I would like to invest in some nicer, lighter, bikes in the future when we are able to go more often. Too bad there aren't any mountains really close here to ride on. But, I suppose, Island Park isn't too far away.

On the 3rd, the condos we were in did their own firework show and concert. Tons of people were flocking in and luckily for us, we could just stay put. We were getting back from the hike with the kids as things were filling up and took the people mover down. Our condo was too far back down the mountain to actually hear the concert, but I was able to watch the fireworks from the big hot tub. That was pretty sweet. Plus, I didn't have to fight the crowds afterwards, I just took the elevator to our room, showered and climbed into bed. The vacation was really fun, but, I must admit, I was certainly glad to come home and sleep in my own bed.

Andrew holding the Olympic Torch

Kate on the gondola

Andrew playing dress-up with the girls
(Jason's going to just love that I posted this one!)