After our west coast swing, we landed back in Park City the first week of December 2018.  It was an epic adventure that lasted more than two months, covering 7 states, and an undetermined number of miles.  Although we enjoyed almost every minute of the journey, it felt great to be back home just in time for the ski season.

We are fortunate to have many good friends in Park City, the kind of friends that won’t hesitate to invite you into their homes.  It was because of these fine people that we were able to enjoy an extended stay in Park City, a stay that would not have been possible with only the Tall Boy to call our home.  As many of you know, the Tall Boy is equipped with a diesel heater that keeps the interior fairly toasty.  And although we had fairly high expectations of living out of the van in winter weather, we underestimated how challenging it would be.  We envisioned living in ski resort parking lots for weeks at a time, but we now recognize it’s not for us.  Maybe we are getting wimpy  in our old age, maybe skiing isn’t all that important to us anymore, or maybe we are just generally resetting the rules for the choices we make every day.  I think all of these might be partially true, but I also think that our PC friends make our choices easier by allowing, if not insisting, we stay with them.  It’s a testament to the character of these folks, and they mean the world to us.  To that end, we’d again like to thank Carmen and Paul, Susan and Simon, and Julie and Sabina for their incredible hospitality.  You are all champions.

We ended up staying in Park City until the first week of January.  Honestly, we had no intentions of staying that long.  It just happened.  Maybe it was all the dinner parties and fine food?  Maybe it was our ability to cherry-pick the finest of all powder days?  Maybe it was all the fine lodging provided by our incredibly hospitable friends and all the wildlife in their backyards?  Maybe it was an unspoken need for us to spend the holidays in an area that we still call home?  Actually, it was all of that, and more.  Park City is still very special to us, and we know it will always be that way.

Julie and Mark spent the holidays in Italy, so it was an easy decision for all of us to stay a Julie’s place to take care of her beloved puppy, Sabina.  It was an enjoyable week for us, as we managed to keep all of our standard holiday traditions while keeping Sabina appropriately entertained.  We roasted a prime rib on Christmas Eve, skied at Powder Mountain on Christmas Day, and ripped up Main Street on New Years Eve.  Well, maybe we just had a quick bite and a couple drinks at The Eating Establishment, so “ripping it up” may not be entirely accurate.   But after all, we are seniors these days.

Meanwhile, as I continued to pout about not catching a steelhead on our west coast swing, MJ gave me a hall pass for a few days to return to Oregon to give it another try.  The weather gave me a narrow window, and I seized the opportunity to turn the Tall Boy around and head straight back to the John Day River.  After all, it was only a 1,400-mile roundtrip, so what did I have to lose, other than my pride if I didn’t catch a fish?  Well, the whining and pouting stopped after my first day on the river, when I was fortunate enough to hook and land a beautiful, wild female steelhead.  It was a glorious moment, for sure, and I will remember it for as long as I live.  Thank you, John Day, for paying me back.

Back in PC, we managed to grab a handful of awesome, early-season powder days.  We also managed to grab a backcountry powder day before UDOT closed the gate heading up to Wolf Creek Pass.  As with ALL of my backcountry adventures, it was awesome and well worth having to earn our turns.  MJ was thrilled, once again.  You’re welcome, MJ, again.Thank you, once again, Park City.  We will always love you, and we are proud to call you “home”.  Until next time…