Much of the activity revolved around trail running, as my sister and BIL were training for a couple of big trail races in the fall. Helen and I dove in day one, somehow agreeing to get up in the wee hours for a 10+ mile trail run on the Pipeline Trail near town. As many readers may know, I love to run far, and I love to do it real slow (#runyourpace). I like to plead to the gods for mercy when it gets hot and difficult then pig after, assuming all the calories disappear into my stomach turned furnace. It was a treat to do this first run, several smaller runs in the city, another longer/earlier trail run, and a trail run race over the week and a half. And by treat, I mean my body felt like a dried-out roadkill carcass by the end of it, but in the best way.
The trail run race was especially cool, as it was part of a series that my sister and BIL do throughout the summer. Each Wednesday, there is a short and long course at various ski hills in the area. Helen, my sister, and I ran together (aka they waited for me to wheeze through the uphills and we ran the flats and downs together), which was an absolute blast. If you’ve never crossed a finish line holding hands with people you love, give it a try. It’s nice. Each race ends with everyone gathering in the parking lot for a grill out in a camp chair circle as the sun settles into an alpine glow.
While the outdoor activities shined as always in Salt Lake, what really stood out to me this trip was the city itself. We had some great food including a newfound favorite pizza flavor at a downtown by the slice joint named Pie Hole, a myriad of dishes at a food truck fair in Liberty Park, and incredible homemade yogurt bowls at a coffee shop just down the road from my sister’s. We explored the beautiful public library, as many bookstores as we could find, antique shops, and art fairs at ski hills. Overall, it was a wonderful place to turn the car engine off for a while, enjoying everything Salt Lake had to offer, in the mountains and below them.
Sasha sidenote 1: Sasha (and Ranger) finally got to meet their cousin, Cooper, on this trip. It’s funny how dogs can mirror human family dynamics. Cooper was a champ, putting up with her relatives crashing her home space for a week, including that crazy cousin that everyone worries about a little. As with many family gatherings, there were a couple squabbles as the cousins figured out how to share toys (the aunts and uncles had to put them away if things weren’t going well). Ranger embraced being the elder cousin, sometimes rolling his eyes at the two younger ones. But overall, everyone put up with each other and even had a few enjoyable moments.
Sasha sidenote 2: I was admittedly hesitant to do a lot with Sasha in the SLC area. Most spaces are designed for dogs to be off leash, galloping to their hearts content in the foothills and mountains. While that’s wonderful for most dogs, that environment can be tough for Sasha to thrive in. We chose to dive in though and give her an opportunity to shine. And shine she did. Muzzled and free, she ran around a couple of off leash areas, acknowledging the other dogs, but mostly not interacting with them. We used an array of tools including tasty treats and her vibrating collar to keep her on the straight and narrow. It filled me with joy to see her running around those spaces as well. It was good to push everyone a little out of their comfort zone.
Extra Special Teaser: I’m writing this blog post from a hotel midway through hiking the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT), which will be the topic for the next two blog posts. While in SLC, we had to call the TRT association to get our permits for this hike and hear about trail conditions. The info we got from the ranger was that there would be some soft snow, but nothing too bad. That was not what we found once we started hiking…