Salt Lake City week 01
Salt Lake City, Utah
Utah is phenomenal. Salt Lake City and the surrounding areas thrive on small and large businesses alike. I have never seen so many independently owned small businesses working perfectly with their large corporate counterparts. It's encouraging to say the least, very DIY.
Nature is everywhere here. Sure, the city is absolutely city but, even in the valley, there are still some wide-open spaces. All it takes to really break into the realm of the wild is to drive to any edge of the valley. Right behind the hospital, mountains. Right behind the University's dorms, mountains. Right behind the mansions on the foothills, mountains and no mountain is the same. Some are rocky and impossible, some are grassy and inviting. Although seemingly empty of people, I am starting to understand that, at any one moment, there are people hiking the cliffs, trekking the trails and swimming in the natural warm springs all over the wild. Just yesterday my friend James told us about a peak he decided he had to hike. He just bagged up some water and granola bars, put on a coat, and hiked up like 500 feet of rocks to his destination. Up there he met a man who told him that he enjoyed laying naked on the rocks in the sun because nobody could see him. Turns out the guy has been hiking the peak for years... he was older maybe 55 years old.
As goofy as that sounds, the wild is so inviting. "There are natural hot springs that you can swim in only a mile's hike away" says James, "and an old 45foot tall lookout tower you can climb up and sit in that will show you a view of the entire valley and the surrounding mountains." There is so much to discover here and the great part is that the mountains, depending on the weather, are always changing.
Right now they are lightly dusted with a few feet of snow, last year, by prime season, the snow base was over 240 inches. This place is glorious.
Moving In
Interestingly enough, moving all of my stuff from the car really only took me a day. I was extremely blessed with unnaturally warm weather for December in the area. It was about 60 degrees during my first two days here. I even went for a bicycle ride on the second day in short sleeves and jeans. It was a wonderfully easy move and I met some of my neighbors in the process. My house mate Jenee is super awesome and kept my spirits high. She drove me around and showed me the neighborhood/introduced me to people right away. The apartment is lovely. It's a two bedroom with a giant living room, white walls, some with white brick. The white brick is a very
cool touch and makes the rooms, once put together, like they are straight out of an urban outfitter's magazine. I have the middle room that has a balcony that faces the parking lot. On the balcony you can see the awesome view of the neighborhood behind out complex, the backs of the stores on the corner, and the mountains above them all. I love it, duh.
Before I moved out here I understood that Salt Lake City is predominantly a white city. It has been a serious change moving from Savannah, Georgia where the majority is black to Utah where white are the majority by a LONG run. When I got here to the apartment complex I expected exactly what I had heard, white and mormon. To my pleasant surprise, Jenee and I, along with only a few other tenants, are the minority. We've decided to call the complex "The Globe" due to it's diversity and the fact that it doesn't have a true name. Honestly I feel more comfortable this way, with people from all different backgrounds living here, than I think I would have if it was strictly white and mormon. Yay The Globe!
Our immediate neighbors across the way rock. One of them, Justin, is possibly giving me one of his old couches and he gave Jenee two of the giant goldfish he was getting rid of. They look awesome next to our orange couch!
Friends
My friend Abigail and her brother Cees (pronounced Case) decided to spend the weekend here with me. Abigail is a friend that I met at school in Savannah whose parents recently moved to Denver, Co with the rest of her family. I stayed with them in Denver when I was passing through. She thought it'd be fun to come and help me get settled, see her good friend James (who SHE introduced me to by the way) and maybe do a little snowboarding. Her brother Cees is in high school and was able to get out for break a day early and join her. It has been AWESOME having the both of them here for the long weekend... they have helped me get through a lot, including my first ridiculous illness that I've had in a long time. I get to SLC, move my stuff in, meet up with my friends from out of town, and the next day I'm sick as a dog with a head cold. We went snowboarding anyway- at Solitude the day after the cold started bugging me because the temperature cooled off and it snowed over 8 inches overnight. Our friend James was super stoked to get out into the fresh powder and served as our guide to the beautiful resort. Solitude was really special. The only difficulties we had were blending James' taste of good skiing terrain with what I know to be good snowboarding terrain for beginners. Abigail and Cees had only been snowboarding for a few days and, although they have caught on terribly fast, sometimes that chunky deep powder can be a little frustrating. All in all we had a wonderful time and, after a full day, headed back down the hill to chill out.
Wildlife, Coyote, and a Moose!
While at Solitude I saw a coyote running across one of the slopes. It caught me off-guard since it was only maybe 10 yards away. What a big dog! It was funny because he had to jump up very high in order to clear the powder and every time he came down he sank into it over his head. It was really funny to watch. I have never seen a full grown coyote out in the wild before. I've seen pups in michigan but not an adult. I love wild life, it gave me a charge. I hoped right then that I'd be able to really experience and see a ton of other wild life while I snowboarded this year.
As it turns out, at Solitude, there are ski/snowboarding "tours" given by rangers that last a few hours. They take you all over the mountain and tell you all about the wildlife in the area and the history of the resort and the mountains. I will absolutely take advantage of one of those tours next time I ride Solitude.
So when I got back to the lift I told everyone that I say a coyote and we all laughed about it. I ended up saying something about how I hope I see a moose sometime when I'm out here. We had been talking about moose on and off all day for some reason which was funny in itself. On the drive back we were cruising down the mountain and NO JOKE what the heck is running up the street in the opposite lane right at us? A GIANT MOOSE! No, not a bull moose with the antlers but a female, equally as large, just clobbering up the road. Chasing it was a safety truck with lights flashing trying to get it off the road. The thing was feet taller than the truck and just being goofy all over the lane. Everyone in the car with me was like "AHHH MOOSE MOOSE MOOSE!" We were all freaking out. I don't think that any of us though we'd ACTUALLY see a moose. No joke. It was hilarious. The thing eventually jumped off the road into the deep snow and hung out under some trees. We continued down the mountain laughing at how lame our reaction was to the animal and about how goofy the thing looked clobbering up the hill. What a cool experience. haha.
It's Been a Great Weekend
Despite my illness, which got worse by the way after we went snowboarding, I had a great weekend. I met a bunch of cool people and got to spend time with Abigail and Cees who are so awesome. They helped me move stuff and really blessed me with their presence. It really means a lot when friends or family come and visit you and, to visit RIGHT when you are moving in, sick, and getting to know the place, realllly is awesome and helpful. Thank you Cees and Abigail.
Today is Monday the 19th. Abigail and Cees are leaving today. Hahaha we had a long night last night hanging out with James and they are STILL SLEEPING. It's almost 1pm. hahahaha. Today I have to go bust my butt and get my Christmas shopping done and in the mail. hahaha Think I can get people their stuff in time? Probably not. Oh well, when am I EVER on time for gifts? Never. haha. I also gotta pick up a desk I bought at a thrift store called "The D.I." before dark and figure out how on earth I can afford cable internet/ get it and then return my aunt's vacuum to her after vacuuming the whole apartment.
All is well:)
We could be closer than you know,
Chelsea
Utah is phenomenal. Salt Lake City and the surrounding areas thrive on small and large businesses alike. I have never seen so many independently owned small businesses working perfectly with their large corporate counterparts. It's encouraging to say the least, very DIY.
Nature is everywhere here. Sure, the city is absolutely city but, even in the valley, there are still some wide-open spaces. All it takes to really break into the realm of the wild is to drive to any edge of the valley. Right behind the hospital, mountains. Right behind the University's dorms, mountains. Right behind the mansions on the foothills, mountains and no mountain is the same. Some are rocky and impossible, some are grassy and inviting. Although seemingly empty of people, I am starting to understand that, at any one moment, there are people hiking the cliffs, trekking the trails and swimming in the natural warm springs all over the wild. Just yesterday my friend James told us about a peak he decided he had to hike. He just bagged up some water and granola bars, put on a coat, and hiked up like 500 feet of rocks to his destination. Up there he met a man who told him that he enjoyed laying naked on the rocks in the sun because nobody could see him. Turns out the guy has been hiking the peak for years... he was older maybe 55 years old.
As goofy as that sounds, the wild is so inviting. "There are natural hot springs that you can swim in only a mile's hike away" says James, "and an old 45foot tall lookout tower you can climb up and sit in that will show you a view of the entire valley and the surrounding mountains." There is so much to discover here and the great part is that the mountains, depending on the weather, are always changing.
Right now they are lightly dusted with a few feet of snow, last year, by prime season, the snow base was over 240 inches. This place is glorious.
Moving In
Interestingly enough, moving all of my stuff from the car really only took me a day. I was extremely blessed with unnaturally warm weather for December in the area. It was about 60 degrees during my first two days here. I even went for a bicycle ride on the second day in short sleeves and jeans. It was a wonderfully easy move and I met some of my neighbors in the process. My house mate Jenee is super awesome and kept my spirits high. She drove me around and showed me the neighborhood/introduced me to people right away. The apartment is lovely. It's a two bedroom with a giant living room, white walls, some with white brick. The white brick is a very
cool touch and makes the rooms, once put together, like they are straight out of an urban outfitter's magazine. I have the middle room that has a balcony that faces the parking lot. On the balcony you can see the awesome view of the neighborhood behind out complex, the backs of the stores on the corner, and the mountains above them all. I love it, duh.
Before I moved out here I understood that Salt Lake City is predominantly a white city. It has been a serious change moving from Savannah, Georgia where the majority is black to Utah where white are the majority by a LONG run. When I got here to the apartment complex I expected exactly what I had heard, white and mormon. To my pleasant surprise, Jenee and I, along with only a few other tenants, are the minority. We've decided to call the complex "The Globe" due to it's diversity and the fact that it doesn't have a true name. Honestly I feel more comfortable this way, with people from all different backgrounds living here, than I think I would have if it was strictly white and mormon. Yay The Globe!
Our immediate neighbors across the way rock. One of them, Justin, is possibly giving me one of his old couches and he gave Jenee two of the giant goldfish he was getting rid of. They look awesome next to our orange couch!
Friends
My friend Abigail and her brother Cees (pronounced Case) decided to spend the weekend here with me. Abigail is a friend that I met at school in Savannah whose parents recently moved to Denver, Co with the rest of her family. I stayed with them in Denver when I was passing through. She thought it'd be fun to come and help me get settled, see her good friend James (who SHE introduced me to by the way) and maybe do a little snowboarding. Her brother Cees is in high school and was able to get out for break a day early and join her. It has been AWESOME having the both of them here for the long weekend... they have helped me get through a lot, including my first ridiculous illness that I've had in a long time. I get to SLC, move my stuff in, meet up with my friends from out of town, and the next day I'm sick as a dog with a head cold. We went snowboarding anyway- at Solitude the day after the cold started bugging me because the temperature cooled off and it snowed over 8 inches overnight. Our friend James was super stoked to get out into the fresh powder and served as our guide to the beautiful resort. Solitude was really special. The only difficulties we had were blending James' taste of good skiing terrain with what I know to be good snowboarding terrain for beginners. Abigail and Cees had only been snowboarding for a few days and, although they have caught on terribly fast, sometimes that chunky deep powder can be a little frustrating. All in all we had a wonderful time and, after a full day, headed back down the hill to chill out.
Wildlife, Coyote, and a Moose!
While at Solitude I saw a coyote running across one of the slopes. It caught me off-guard since it was only maybe 10 yards away. What a big dog! It was funny because he had to jump up very high in order to clear the powder and every time he came down he sank into it over his head. It was really funny to watch. I have never seen a full grown coyote out in the wild before. I've seen pups in michigan but not an adult. I love wild life, it gave me a charge. I hoped right then that I'd be able to really experience and see a ton of other wild life while I snowboarded this year.
As it turns out, at Solitude, there are ski/snowboarding "tours" given by rangers that last a few hours. They take you all over the mountain and tell you all about the wildlife in the area and the history of the resort and the mountains. I will absolutely take advantage of one of those tours next time I ride Solitude.
So when I got back to the lift I told everyone that I say a coyote and we all laughed about it. I ended up saying something about how I hope I see a moose sometime when I'm out here. We had been talking about moose on and off all day for some reason which was funny in itself. On the drive back we were cruising down the mountain and NO JOKE what the heck is running up the street in the opposite lane right at us? A GIANT MOOSE! No, not a bull moose with the antlers but a female, equally as large, just clobbering up the road. Chasing it was a safety truck with lights flashing trying to get it off the road. The thing was feet taller than the truck and just being goofy all over the lane. Everyone in the car with me was like "AHHH MOOSE MOOSE MOOSE!" We were all freaking out. I don't think that any of us though we'd ACTUALLY see a moose. No joke. It was hilarious. The thing eventually jumped off the road into the deep snow and hung out under some trees. We continued down the mountain laughing at how lame our reaction was to the animal and about how goofy the thing looked clobbering up the hill. What a cool experience. haha.
It's Been a Great Weekend
Despite my illness, which got worse by the way after we went snowboarding, I had a great weekend. I met a bunch of cool people and got to spend time with Abigail and Cees who are so awesome. They helped me move stuff and really blessed me with their presence. It really means a lot when friends or family come and visit you and, to visit RIGHT when you are moving in, sick, and getting to know the place, realllly is awesome and helpful. Thank you Cees and Abigail.
Today is Monday the 19th. Abigail and Cees are leaving today. Hahaha we had a long night last night hanging out with James and they are STILL SLEEPING. It's almost 1pm. hahahaha. Today I have to go bust my butt and get my Christmas shopping done and in the mail. hahaha Think I can get people their stuff in time? Probably not. Oh well, when am I EVER on time for gifts? Never. haha. I also gotta pick up a desk I bought at a thrift store called "The D.I." before dark and figure out how on earth I can afford cable internet/ get it and then return my aunt's vacuum to her after vacuuming the whole apartment.
All is well:)
We could be closer than you know,
Chelsea
posted by Chelsea at 10:50 PM
1 Comments:
So now you're a SLC Punk! Talk soon. Taters.
-Zaxk
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