A Mountain Getaway

As a special treat for me, Hannah and I jetted off to beautiful Park City, Utah for Labor Day weekend. Leaving everyday concerns and Texas heat behind, we landed in Salt Lake City, which sits in a basin ringed by mountains. We took a quick tour through downtown to see Temple Square, home of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS). Although the area is mostly walled off, you could glimpse the beautiful gardens and spectacular Tabernacle. Many other LDS buildings surround this area, giving you an idea of the magnitude of this religious body.

Then it was a 25-minute drive east through the gorgeous mountains to Park City, a popular resort and home to the Sundance Film Festival. It's a slice of paradise, with a sloping Main Street dotted with upscale shops, art galleries and restaurants. The small but expensive hillside homes in town are primarily rentals for skiers. We staved off hunger with an ice cream cone and enjoyed watching the crowds of people, kids and dogs. After checking into our hotel and resting for a bit, we were back on Main Street for dinner at Purple Sage. 

First thing Sunday, we breakfasted at Harvest, a trendy spot featuring healthy foods. We went for a drive to find the venue for that evening's concert and rode a chair lift up one of the mountains to get a panoramic view of the city, ski runs and the surrounding peaks. Tall pines and aspen trees sporting a few of their early fall Kodak-yellow leaves lined the way, reminding me of our time in Denver. At the top, we rotated around and headed down, affording another perspective. Main Street was jammed with Silly Sunday fair-goers, so we opted to get out of town and have brunch at the Waldorf-Astoria in the Canyon Resort area. Who knew the venerable NYC hotel had a branch in Park City? 

After a break at the hotel, we took the shuttle to City Park to enjoy an outdoor concert featuring two musicians from the TV show Nashville: Charles Esten and Chris Carmack. While waiting for showtime, we scarfed down lobster rolls hawked at a pop-up stand. The sun was bright on our faces for the first half of the concert, but when it set behind the mountain, it became quite chilly. Hannah and I had seen the cast of Nashville perform in other concerts and love their music, a blend of country and rock covers. At the end, we stood near the stage to watch them lead the crowd in singing A Life That's Good (title of my blog).

Our all-too-short weekend came to an end as the alarm sounded early so that we could make our flight back to Dallas. Many thanks to my generous daughter for a wonderful time and great memories of a beautiful spot.

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