Salt Lake or Bust!

I'm pathetic in that I have a box of family photos I still haven't finished scanning- over a year ago. Going through them tonight, I found some photos of the morning I moved to Salt Lake. I had originally planned on attending BYU in Provo and transferred with my company- it sounded like a great plan. That 3 day trek was undoubtedly the coolest thing I have ever done. I felt so alive- so liberated- so independent! It's sad, but I don't have many photographs from the time that I spent in Utah, even though it was short-lived. I did manage to get a few shots of my first actual "snow fall" and snow man. Awesome I must say.

For us Florida peeps, snow is something magical. We don't know what it's like to have a white Christmas or what it's like having to wake up an hour earlier to shovel the drive (thank goodness!) Once in my existence has it snowed here and that was on the morning of my 12th birthday, December 23, 1988. My mom woke me up and said my birthday surprise was outside my window. I remember rubbing my eyes and praying for a horse but quickly forgetting about any horse when I saw that white blanket of snow! I tore off my covers and ran barefoot out the front door. It was heavenly!... and cold. I made my very first snowman that morning. He was 6 inches tall and I dressed him in Barbie attire. Sigh... back to my move!


I left on the morning of April 1st (I think?) of 2001, with the my parents, Regan and Joelea there to see me off. Kenji and Susie were still in the hospital since the new arrival of Hannah just days earlier. It killed me to leave without getting to know my new niece, but I had to venture out there- something was forcing me to go. Can't explain it. After saying good bye and drying my eyes, off I went!


I didn't really have a plan. I just figured I'd wing it as I did so often. I was smart enough to bring an atlas (this was before I discovered Mapquest). I think I had a smile permanently stuck on my face all the way to Houston, TX that first day. I'm a total stickler for obeying speed limits now, but back in the day, 90mph made for "good time" on the interstate. Lucky chick. I spent the night in a Houston hotel only to be kept awake most of the night by the local vatos. I was young and naive and had no reservations until they attempted to break into my room. No thanks! Needless to say, I got an early start the next morning.


I'm sure there was a better route than the one taken, but I thought it would be "cool" to drive through Oklahoma and then head west again through Kansas, Colorado and eventually Utah. What the butt. Nobody bothered to tell me the only thing worth making note of when traveling the interstate through Kansas is that they boast the world's largest prairie dog. There was a silver lining however once I began to see foothills and a drastic change in the topography... only to be let down once I crossed into Colorado. One minute you see hills, the next minute you don't.



I stopped for the night in Hayes, Kansas. Never heard of it? No worries, I'm sure nobody else has either. Well here it was, day 3 and hopefully the final day of my journey until my final destination of Provo, Utah. (That was the original plan anyhow...) It felt like that scene from Dumb and Dumber when Lloyd drove all night in the wrong direction and protests the flat land by saying "That John Denver's full of **** man." Rockies? Where'd they go? I've been driving for 2 days and deserve to see something magestic and WHOA.. there they are up ahead! I was a giddy little school girl the entire drive through Denver- except for the insane altitude. I'm from Florida......



I finally arrived in Provo around 8pm and quickly found a hotel for the night. I managed to make a few friends on my first night there in fact and things were looking up. I had some friends that had moved to Salt Lake the year before and they invited me to stay with them until I found my own place. Vrooooom, off I went to Salt Lake. My first week there just happened to include their last snowfall of the season. I woke up and saw flakes falling to the ground and as if I were 12 all over again, ran out in my pajamas and played in the snow. That same day, I managed to make my very first snowman. He was insanely ugly but gimme a break.



My friends gave me a tour of the area and Bountiful Canyon. The hike down was great! I've always been a fan of the outdoors and have had my share of hiking- just not in the snow. My jeans were sopping wet and I was thankful I had worn my boots that morning. The only thing I can compare hiking in snow to, is walking through mud or trying to run in water.


David and I hiked for nearly and hour and I finally realized that if I took one more step, I'd never make it back to the truck. We headed back and I was doing fantastic until I looked up and realized I'd have to climb ALL THE WAY BACK UP the canyon. I didn't want to look like a sissy, and honestly, I'm not sure how I managed to do it as much as my legs burned and ached but I soldiered on. What a gorgeous view it was!!



Soon after, I had my first snowball fight and experienced driving in the snow. I'm glad it doesn't snow in Florida. Things happen and I had to move back after just 5 months. All good, everything happens for a reason. I'm still drawn to Utah and can't wait to return to Salt Lake one day- I just need to convince Fernando that he wants to move out there too. I met some amazing people, learned some vital life lessons and wouldn't change a thing.