A Quick Round Valley Fix
Like most busy parents, I was wild with joy last week when I discovered one hour of time all to myself. It was a crisp, sunny day, the kind of blue skies-without-a-cloud weather that Park City seems to have patented. Frankly, it would have been blasphemy to squander that hour working.
Since the dog needed exercise as desperately as I (and Round Valley was perfectly situated on the road to school pick-up), the decision wasn't hard. I grabbed my eight-year-old, ski swap, never-been-waxed, classic cross-country skis, loaded up my golden retriever and headed for the ice rink parking lot. We parked closer to the snow-covered baseball diamond than the rink, walked across the street to the trailhead sign, clicked in, un-clicked, picked up the pup's poop, clicked back in and we were off.
We chugged along. And it was glorious. I immediately removed my outer jacket, then my hat and then my gloves as we wove our way through Round Valley's sun-drenched track - a gently rising and falling series of loops that the town graciously grooms. We stuck with the small loop near the National Ability Center, checking out the horses and the mountain views. We had to ignore the itch to veer left and spend hours traversing a longer series of trails and loops.
Occasionally, a skate skier zoomed passed us - always with a friendly hello and the standard, "Isn't it a beautiful day?" For the most part, we had the track to ourselves. My dog raced beside me on the downhill curves and generously waited for my slow ascents. Just as my hip flexors were starting to tighten and I was cursing myself for failing to bring a Camel Back, it was time to end our mini "stay-cation." Perhaps next time, I'll rig together a sled, harness-type gizmo and bring the wee one (an adventurous 2-year-old) for a not-so-stolen hour of Park City at its finest.
Jane Gendron is a Park City-based freelance writer
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Jane, your son is getting so big! He'll be the one passing you on skis before you know it... Enjoy the snow and thanks for the blog.