The entire west coast is having a very tough ski season. Total precipitation has been close to normal but we’ve had above average temperatures all winter. The meteorological features that are freezing the east coast are baking the west coast. The last couple years my plan has been to just pick a couple great ski days instead of going more often throughout the winter. Finally I decided that if I was going to wait for that to happen this year, I probably wouldn’t go at all. So last week I took a day off in the middle of the week and headed to Crystal to survey the carnage.
The first thing I noticed was that there was almost no one on the road with me. Even for a midweek ski day, the road is usually a line of cars in a long parade to the mountain. This time I only saw one other car. I arrived at the parking lot 10 minutes before the lifts opened and easily parked right in the front lot which I have NEVER done before even when arriving an hour before the lifts opened.
The base area had more grass than snow and the ride up the gondola didn’t change that much until we hit about 5500-6000 feet. However, once we got to the top, the coverage was actually pretty good, or at least it was better than I was expecting. Once the snow softened up, you could venture off the groomed trails if you took some care. Rock skis are a must as it’s nearly impossible to ski to the bottom of the runs without dodging rocks and there are places where you have a to carefully follow a path of snow that is just a few feet wide. Nobody is allowed (or able) to ski to the bottom of the mountain. You have to download on the gondola. Only the lifts on the top half of the mountain are open.
It’s not a pretty situation but everyone I rode the lift with was having a good time and enjoying it for what it was. The skies were perfectly clear and the views were amazing. It was worth the lift ticket just to remember how incredible the mountains look on a day like that. Sure, this isn’t a normal year, but there’s still plenty of fun to be had. You just have to go with the right mindset.
Kitchen Table
You know you’re getting old when you get excited about something as mundane as a kitchen table, but that’s where I’m at. When I moved out on my own, I got Great Grandma’s small table and four chairs. It wasn’t really an heirloom as she bought it after Great Grandpa died and she downsized to a smaller living space. But it was fun to think of her when we ate at the table.
Anyway, the table was nice (and free) but it was small. We just got in the habit of dishing up straight from the kitchen and then eating at the table. When there were four people eating there, you had no chance of getting any extra dishes on the table. Plus, the ends folded down and weren’t very sturdy so it wasn’t great for having people over to play games, etc. And when we have Tyla’s family over, we’d have to set up the folding table just to fit everyone. I’m 34 years old but I still have a college kid’s table.
Finally Tyla and I decided that we were in a position to buy a new table. We were somewhat discouraged when we tried this last year and couldn’t find anything in our price range. We saved up some extra money and then went for it again this year, but to our happy surprise, we found a crazy good deal! This new table comes with six chairs and can fit all six chairs without the extra leaf. Or we can extend the table and fit two extra chairs. It’s big enough to seat a bunch of people but it fits perfectly in our smallish kitchen eating area. (Our formal dining room is Elijah’s playroom.) The leaf is pretty cool to. It folds down inside the table so you don’t have to store it in a closet.
The table and chairs came from Don Willis Furniture in on Lake City Boulevard. It’s an odd place but they have some really nice furniture (no particle board.) They have some furniture that is unfinished and you can either have it finished in the exact color you want or finish it yourself to save some money. We’ll be checking them out again when we need more furniture.
The first time we used it was while my parents were still here. Mom had asked if she could do anything to help while I was outside grilling and I said, “Yeah! You can set the table!” That’s something we never did before! I got a ridiculous amount of joy out of seeing the main course, side dishes and condiments all sitting there on the table while we ate dinner. I’m an old man.
PS. Thanks Don for lettings us borrow your truck! Dad and I got five of the six chairs in the back seats in the cab and the rest fit easily in the bed. You saved us a $99 delivery charge!