We have company this weekend that snowboards. MK had taken care of NN and ND in my absence so this was my first trip this year to a resort other than Deer Valley. (DV doesn’t do snowboards). The main problem I had with Park City resort is that they don’t limit their ticket sales. There is no “sold out” point. It was amazingly crowded. We couldn’t find parking. On the mountain no matter what your level of ability, you got to harrowing spots. The pit stops for food were packed. The bathrooms were dirty.

I’m not going to preach too much about etiquette and skiing vs. snowboarding. The evidence speaks for itself…and to be fair there were some crazy skiers out there too. I got pretty worn out looking out for people that were supposed to be looking out for me – that’s why I got better at skiing in the first place- and trying a new strange mountain. I hope tomorrow is a little calmer. Seriously it was a strong reminder that we are so spoiled at Deer Valley and will continue to appreciate that.

Otherwise we had a lot of fun. We weren’t happy to see KG get hurt, but did enjoy the Celtics game. We made new friends and found an interesting new bar. Keeping busy is always fun but I’m headed to a lazy dinner and night in with a movie – unless my eyes don’t cooperate, a distinct possibility.

Every place that we have lived has been a learning experience. Seattle right downtown gave us real city living. San Diego, of course, showed us life’s a beach. And here in the middle of Park City ski season we are learning what it feels to be like the other 8000 people completely shocked by the behavior of the people just stopping by.

Don’t get me wrong, I can’t judge everyone. BB certainly can, and will feel free to point out every terrible non-capable-snow-driver (to keep swear words out of the blog). He’s an expert at this on the slopes as well. I’ve only noticed that there are people that act the way they always do, totally cool and normal, and people who should be made to wear giant bumper stickers on their backs that say “Excuse me”.

The driving is one thing. I like to think that when we visited even if we didn’t know exactly where we were going, we didn’t endanger any lives. I like to think that wherever we fly we aren’t that out of the loop. Our main shopping for necessities here typically takes place in the Wal-Mart, because it is the closest. Mostly since the holidays started, people are tearing that place up. No one picks up after themselves. If they or their children drop something, they walk away. One lady, instead of trying to move around me, plowed straight into me with her cart. Awesome. I certainly hope it’s holiday-shopping-itis. but I don’t think so. And if you’re wondering how I know if they’re local or not, come visit. It’s pretty clear. Tourists complain more about things they don’t like, out loud. Some people here act like you don’t speak the same language if you tell them something they don’t want to hear.

There is another kind of tourist, though. And TB was quick to point out – without them, we’d have no good people watching. Deer Valley is a premiere ski resort destination. There are homes worth more than Donald Trump out here. I’m never going to get tired of the older done up ladies trying to drag their giant fur coats through muddy mushy snow. Or the once every ten year skier:

tourista fashionista

PS – Don’t get me started on this crap – the post I found the pic from…