Park City Ski Trip 2018: Day 1

Alex and Christina in Park City, UT

Getting Ready

Christina and I departed our home in Wichita at 12:40 PM on a slightly delayed Southwest flight on our way to Salt Lake City through Phoenix. I had dropped Ava off at Peter and Tracy’s earlier in the day and Christina arranged care for the cats. We both missed the animals very much.

Before we could relax we had to do some work, so after breezing through security thanks to TSA Pre, we arranged our laptops across a table in River City Brewing for emails and 44 ounces of pre-flight beer.

Flights

The best part about the flight(s) was when I spotted the Grand Canyon out of the east-facing window and took a picture:

The Grand Canyon, as viewed from 40,000 ft

In 2013, Carol and Kim took Benjamin and I to hike the Grand Canyon (Christina could not attend due to medical school), which was an incredible trip. Looking out the window, I spotted the campground where we spent the night at the base of the trail, the suspension bridge we had used to cross the Colorado River, and the lodge where we had begun the hike. I found the same view via Google Earth satellite imagery and confirmed my observations:

The Grand Canyon, as viewed from space

I was also able to zoom in and follow the North Rim trail all the way out of the Canyon. Memories!

Park City

After an enjoyable and uneventful flight, we picked up our rental car and headed east from Salt Lake City International to Park City. Feeling wrung out from the airports, but excited to be in town, we headed downtown for food and drinks at Boneyard Saloon and Wine Dive, where we enjoyed:

• Local beers (Moab Deadhorse Amber for Alex, Schöfferhofer Grapefruit for Christina) 

Grapefruit

• Cocktails, for which we invoked “Dealers Choice”, a discounted ($9 ea.) option wherein the bartender improvises you up a cocktail. I got a “tequila old fashioned” which was outstanding, and Christina got “blue, with vodka” which tasted of blue.  

Blue

• Small plates, including an Amish Friendship Pretzel, an Ahi Poke tower, and roasted Brussels sprouts. 

Everything was just great, and we discussed plans for the upcoming trip. Finally, it was a few stops for groceries and beverages, and then to bed. Definitely an enjoyable first day, especially for a travel day.