OCR Text |
Show :$jrvy MlaDiinimitanim '& sanim Springtime in the Wasatch means suntans and snowdrifts At this time of year, altitude is not necessarily an advantage. The neighborhood where you unfold your lawn chair is often the determining factor in whether your tan line stops at the wrist or the shoulder. If home is at the top of town, for instance, you may still be knocking icicles off the eaves while friends down below are already counting their crocuses. v- Sometimes even a few inches seems to make a difference, leading one neighbor to set out for work in snow boots and parka while the one next door dons a rain slicker and takes along an umbrella. In fact, there is now a reverse sort of one-upmanship being played out at the office coffee machine. Where the ridgeline residents were the first to brag about snow on the front lawn, skiing out the back door and 10 inches of fresh powder in the driveway, now it is their lowland associates who have the upper hand. They casually mention that their lettuce is up while flaunting a tan that clearly does not end at the neckline. It is also interesting to note that the mountain dwellers who scoffed at Salt Lake's smog all winter have now become curiously silent. When no one is watching, they slip down into the valley for a quick hit of summer, returning with bags of flowers and vegetable seeds which won't be planted for another month. Still, the key to appreciating this fickle, season, no: matter what altitude you chose, is flexibility. So what if j the cycling is here today, gone tomorrow, if your skis are-still are-still close at hand? And the nice thing about a hot5 weekend in April is that there is no garden to weed, so you are free to debauch instead. Nevertheless, for those who don't like to play the oddy and want to be guaranteed the golden hues of an all-overs tan without the expense and bother of a trip to Mazatlan" there is always Utah's Dixie. On any given weekend in May, approximately a third of our high-altitude population expatriates to canyon country. I Some head south for isolation and introspection toting large backpacks and topo maps to guide them through the labyrinth of canyons, while others take to the waters of Lake Powell and the Colorado River. Still others opt for mountain biking along remote jeep trails and taking advantage of the sunshine to train for summers competition. Meanwhile, those of us at home watch the skies and are alternately filled with gloom or sunshine depending on the weatherman's forecast. Instead of taking the; afternoon off to head for the high country, we cruise toward the valley to celebrate two springs theirs novf and ours next month. , . i 2 |