Wanderlust

Winter Wonderland

We have been besieged by snow. It began with several snowfalls just prior to Christmas. Since then it's snowed almost every day, leaving mounting snowdrifts in the suburbs and messy road conditions everywhere. This is when telecommuting becomes an infinite blessing. Sitting in your flannel pajamas with your mug of warm coffee, peppermint marshmallows adrift on cream, watching the cars slip around on the roadway like circling dancers.

Just this week what had previously been a nuisance quickly became a disaster. On Wednesday morning nearly ten inches fell in the space of a few hours. This is incredibly unusual for the valley- only the benches and the mountain areas typically receive this kind of storm. On top of the extremely high amounts of snow we already had piled up, this snowfall buried driveways, mailboxes and made many roads simply impassable. George was stranded at home that day and spent the good part of the afternoon snow blowing. Even when we ventured out the next morning, pavement was not visible on any of the main roads and the side streets were treacherous to navigate in front wheel drive. It was only yesterday that we actually saw pavement again on our own street, which is a fairly well traveled route and a shortcut for many to the shopping district.

This storm significantly impacted some birthday plans I had made for George. After reading about it in Sunset magazine, I decided to book reservations for us to eat at The Yurt at Solitude, a Mongolian style yurt on the slopes where a chef prepares an organic meal for a small, exclusive group of diners that hike in on snowshoes. However, Solitude is a major ski resort located in Big Cottonwood Canyon. During storms they often close this route to all vehicles without four wheel drive or chains. Our Mazda, as we have had the chance to discover this winter, is extremely shitty in snow. EXTREMELY. The reservations at this point were non-refundable and the entire experience was expensive enough that I couldn't risk it. I rented a Toyota 4 Runner and picked George up at work. It started snowing again about midway up the canyon and while the parking lot was a mess, we made it safe and sound.

It was an incredible experience, although a bit different from what we had anticipated. We spent an extra half hour waiting for a group to arrive. This group arrived drunk and was especially inconsiderate of others during the entire experience, which we should have expected since it turns out it was this guy and all his friends, celebrating his recent win at a golf tournament. George and I immediately got to the front of the pack and ahead of the head lamps and drunken chatter so we could enjoy the scenic walk up to the Yurt. The pines were so heavy with snow you could barely see the outline of their branches and the silence was extraordinary and perfect. We arrived at the Yurt and after some minor reshuffling, were seated. There was no electricity and everything was lit by Coleman lamp and cooked by wood stove. We brought our own wine and corkscrew and enjoyed some sips before we dug into the fabulous menu which included: Broccoli Parmesan Soup, Crab Cakes, Salad with Mustard Seed Vinaigrette, cranberries and apples, freshly baked bread, beef shoulder tenderloin with a pepper sauce, Pattipan squash and roasted potatoes. Dessert was a heavenly offering of fresh fruit, sugar cookies and chocolate and vanilla mousse. The walk back alone through the snow was even better and arriving back into Solitude village, with it's twinkling lights and cobblestone paths seemed enchanting. Our snowy week definitely had something of a winter wonderland quality about it.