Snowmobiling, Park City

Today was the the most fun that I have in the longest time. We went up to do some snowmobiling with the Cunninghams up near Park City. We got up nice and early and put on all our clothes to keep warm, even though it wasnt going to be that cold up in the mountains- only around 0 C. After setting off at 7:45 we made our way up to the ranch where we were going to hire the gear. It really isnt that far from the downtown area, like the distance from Perth to our house, but the highway snakes all the way around the mountains. We got there at 8 40 and spent the next 40 minutes signing forms, getting helmets and and boots (they actually had boots there to fit both Luke and me, and they were a little too big as well- I had to borrow some socks from Mike). After a round of photos and instructions, we set off in a small group. At that time of the morning it so nice out- it looks just like the scenes from Narnia, with the snow covering everything, making it all white and silent. We drove around the trail for a while until we came to a spot where we could take some photos, but the fog was still hanging around the mountains, which made it a little hard to see far. Look at the picture of Luke to see how the visability is. A few minutes more, and we hit the small meadow and it was there I learnt that those snowmobiles are pretty quick. The small meadow was were I picked up a passenger, Racheal, and she rode on the back of my snowmobile until we got to the summit. The half hour ride to the summit resulted in a view of nothing. The shot of Racheal and me is a little peek at how far you could actually see, which was even less than at the bottom of the hill. A short trip down the mountain and we came to the big meadow- good times. Luke and I discovered that you can get one of these things up to about 55 mph (88 km/h) down a straight. Stopping is a little harder though, and that was half the fun as the tail of the snowmobile kicks out in a fishtail when you do. Turning requires you to lean like crazy into the turn to put pressure on the ski on the front, and at best I could get a 35 mph corner without falling off (which I didnt. Ask Luke how his little spill was) The trip back to the bottom of the mountain was alot quicker- we snaked through the trees and saw some really nice views of little ski lodges and cabins. Unfortunately it was too hard to get off my gloves and get into my camera bag and drive at the same time, so I didnt get any shots of those cool little homes. As we made our way down, the climate seemed to change dramatically. The snow that was once there had melted and was now leaving bare branches. The only problem with this is that you start skiing on dirt, which is all brown and not too nice to drive over. All of this in 2 hours. It seemed so much longer, but Luke needed to get back to Salt Lake City to practice at 1, so we finished at 11:40 and he made his way back. I continued on to Park City with the Cunninghams and saw the nice little mountain town with the ski resort attached to it. Imagine Subiaco in the mountains with old style buildings and snow and that is what Park City is like. Yes, I saw people walking down the street in full length fur coats and also in white Polo Ralph Lauren snow boots and pants. After lunch at the Main Street Deli, we walked around for a little while and then drove back to Salt Lake. A great day- it was so much fun and a big thankyou to the Cunninghams who took us out there! Tonight I hope to finally get some nightshots of downtown Salt Lake- I hope tonight will not rain.