Snowbird Sunshine

June 25, 2011: Day 54

There was still plenty of snow up on Hidden Peak, so we had a great day riding in the mashed potato and corn goodness. It’s pretty special to be getting in quality runs this late in the year. Sadly, not everyone follows the common etiquette of Spring skiing. Allow me to explain.

Steph’s rules for Spring Skiing/Riding

1. Men should never, for any reason, wear tank tops or go shirtless. This applies to both muscular men and men with chest hair/beer guts. Regardless of your body type, you look like a tool.

2. Jerseys may be worn, but only if they are not too long. Unless it’s a U of M jersey - that’s not allowed. Guideline: Knee-length IS too long.

3. Jeans, as always, are discouraged on the slopes.

4. Do not ski/ride in shorts. You look like an amateur. When you wear shorts, waters sprays up from the ground and drips into your boots. Don’t worry, you’ll discover how uncomfortable this is in a few hours.

5. Neon, plaid, one-pieces, and other gaper-wear increase the entertainment factor for all, and are therefore encouraged. As long as you are not serious…

6. Do not, under any circumstances, ski/ride with a PBR in hand. (Yes, I saw this several times.) Riding down a hill with your body strapped to a wooden plank is arguable MORE dangerous than driving. You have nothing like a seatbelt or airbag to protect you  (and we all know idiots who do this are not wearing helmets). Beers on the patio AFTER riding are strongly encouraged, so just try to hold off until then.

7. No Whooping. Whooping is for epic powder days only. Have fun, but don’t act like a gaper.

8. Swimsuits should not be worn unless you are in a slush cup/pond skimming competition.

9. If you are breaking any of these rules AND wearing a fanny-pack, you deserve to be punched. (Real life example: A teenage boy who thought he was hot was skiing shirtless with a maroon fanny pack on. Not cool.)

10. Rapping while riding is encouraged. I recommend mining the vaults from the ‘90’s for favorites like “Whomp, There it is!” and “Baby Got Back.”

If you follow these rules, you will soon have the Snowbird Sunshine video playing through your head as you enjoy your epic Spring day without grossing other people out. 

Snowbird Sunshine video

CSAness

Despite my gardening ambitions, this is the first year I joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). The idea is that you buy a share in a farm early in the season, then you get produce weekly. The risk is that with floods or draught you may not get much of a return on your investment.

It's amazing how many CSA farms there are in Utah. In my area alone there were 10-12 farms to choose from. I chose Zoe's Garden for several reasons: they are natural/organic, they include fruit (many just have vegetables), and the shares are larger with more variety.

One month into the season, I've been thrilled with the whole thing. each Tuesday I go and pick up my box. I sort through it and make a weekly menu based on what needs to be used first and what will keep until the end of the week. Then, I go the the grocery story to buy grains and meats to go with the meals.

I love using vegetables that I have never cooked with before (Chinese snow broccoli, mustard greens, amaranth, and scrapes). The only downside - so far - has been the fact that you get what is in season...and sometimes a lot of it. After never eating sunchokes before I received a huge bag of them for three consecutive weeks. I've eaten sunchokes sauteed, mashed, roasted, shaved, and just about every other way you can eat them. It was a bit of an overload.

Pure MIchigan

Almost exactly one year after packing up and heading west, I went back to Michigan to visit some dear friends that I missed terribly.

The visiting madness included a dinner with Dirk’s brother and his family in Kalamazoo, Englishfest with all my former English colleagues, and a Quad party. Dirk also had many client meetings throughout Michigan.

Coming back was a ton of fun, but also eerie. Here’s a list of things I’ve missed and those I can live without.

Things I missed:

-       My friends: We have made some friends here in Utah, but the bonds I have with my Michigan peeps are still much stronger.

-       The MAC: The OAC just doesn’t compare. It was weird to see all the same people doing the same exercises.

-       Midwest sarcasm: Trust me, people outside of Michigan have practically no sense of humor

-       Detroit driving: In Utah, people are somehow timid, aggressive, and inept at the same time. Detroit drivers may be aggressive, but the know what they’re doing

-       Meijer: Nothing compares to it.

-       Racial diversity: I really cannot describe how great it was to walk through Detroit Metro and hear the “Detroit dialect” coming from all different types of people. It makes Utah look like The Stepford Wives.

-       MSU campus: I took a run by the Sparty statue for old times sake and felt an incredible need to tailgate.

Things I can live without:

-       Mountainlessness: I kept looking around for the Wasatch Range, but it was never there.

-       Constant grey skies: I think the sun came out once in four days. Yep, that’s how I remember it.

-       Walmart Wolverines: This type of person is native to Michigan, and was observed in abundance during the trip.

-       My old school: So many memories of being disrespected by both kids and administrators. Ugh.

-       Smokers: It was crazy to see people smoking all over the streets. (And throwing the cigarette butts everywhere except the trash can.) Few people smoke here in Utah – which is probably one reason why our health care is cheaper.

It was great to come back, but after 3 days I had my fill. It was nice to come HOME to good old Utah and the kitties. You never know, we may just have to go back to see a State game this fall. 

It was a very good year: 53/50

Today, Snowbird was on the front page of the New York Times. No big deal - they were also on the NBC evening news last night. Why? Let's just say it has been a very good year. It's been such a good year that even non-snow lovers are stopping to take notice.

Snowbird's average, yearly snowfall is 500 inches (but we've found it closer to 600 for the past 5 years). This year's snowfall? 776. 

Not only was the snowfall epic, but this year did not have a huge dry-spell or mid-winter warm-up. That means that November snow is still gracing the slopes, and there is a huge base of white stuff that's not going anywhere anytime soon. 

Even our local, Ogden hill (Snowbasin) opened up today - June 11th - for summer skiing and riding. This was a first for Snowbasin. Sadly, they were not honoring last season's pass. (I mean...come on! It's last season's snow!) We didn't have the money to drop on next year's Snowbasin pass, so it was Snowbird for us.

The mountain was smooth, with some mashed-potato piles building up as the day progressed. We had a few great runs just passed Old Ladies, where the creaminess was smooth but still fast. We also ventured through the knucklehead traverse, but found it a bit stop-and-go. 

We met up with one of the Utah Spartans and grabbed a beer on the patio to enjoy some greasy food and live music in the 60 degree sun. It was one of those days when I just sat there in awe. Life is pretty damn incredible sometimes. 

Sometimes I think about what would have happened if we didn't move to Utah. We would have been hanging out on the deck in Williamston. I probably would have been manically grading papers in preparation for the end of the year at Holt. No doubt, we would have seen the newspaper article and news broadcast through Facebook or Twitter, where we followed Snowbird diligently, even when living in Michigan. We would have sighed but reminded ourselves of all the reasons why we were still in Michigan: good jobs, family, friends, health care, etc. We would have viewed Utah as we always did: a pipe dream, one to be saved for later years. 

Most days, I don't know what really drove us to (finally) get the guts to move to Utah. Was it Dirk's injury? Restlessness? A premonition of how things would go downhill in Michigan? I'm still not sure. But I'm glad as hell that we did it. 

And, truly, we could not have picked a better year. 

View the New York Times article

Garden Envy: Year 2

I’ve eaten healthy for the past decade, but it wasn’t until I saw the Mormons in action that I realized just how much healthy food you can grow in your backyard. With a new house, I vowed to step up my garden again this year.

The soil here is complete crap: hard clay with no drainage. Luckily, the former owners left behind two Square-Foot Box Gardens with rich soil. I capitalize that term because it’s a brand, and a theory of gardening. I bought the book (the guy who created the system lives about 30 minutes from my house) and went to work.

Two, 4x4 gardens were not quite enough for what I wanted to do, so I also planted some tomatoes and peppers in “permanent pots” (dug into the ground).

Based on the book, I really branched out from what I grew last year. Here are a few things I’ve learned so far.

-       Broccoli: It’s cute, but I’m growing 6 plants and each head (what you eat) is about as big as a wine cork. That means if I get one from each plant, then I have enough for a salad garnish. They take up a square foot each, so this is a veggie better saved for the grocery store.

-       Strawberries: I planted three squares of strawberries. The fruit is out, but not ripe yet. So far, each plant has a ton of flowers. I can tell the fruits themselves will be a bit small, but I’m happy with them so far. According to the book, strawberry plants are a perennial that will live for several years….we’ll see about that.

-       Greens - Kale, Swiss Chard, Spinach: We love greens, so I’m growing some of each. I bought transplants, but I can tell the plants were shocked when I transplanted them because they just sat there, stunted, for about two weeks. Next year, I will definitely plant from seed. These plants are all growing well. It’s getting warm for the kale and spinach, so those will be done in a few weeks (but more can be planted in the fall). I’ve heard spinach is harder to grow, but I have not experienced that yet. I have a lot planted, but I still have to mix and match varieties to get enough to sauté as a side dish.

-       Tomatoes and Peppers: Last year, both of these did not do well growing in pots at the Uintah house. I have a few theories about why. First, it’s very windy there; I’m amazed the plants even survived. Also, Dirk was in charge of watering them for 3 weeks before I moved. I am hoping that in our new house with no wind and my own diligent watering, they will be fine. Heat could also play a big factor, but that’s something that just won’t change this year. 

-    Beets & carrots: I can see the little tops, but Im still not convinced there will be anything down there when I dig them up...