Back in the City of Salt

Southern Oregon gave us a good look at an early spring in the hill country near our friend's house... endless road biking, orchards and farms but not a lot of skiing so we travelled on to Eastern Oregon. First stop on the way was the bustling city of Portland to spend the night with some friends from our last Grand Canyon trip.... it was great to catch up but the stay was short, enough time to enjoy a dinner of the hearty veggies left over from fall's harvest... impressive. We packed up in the morning and followed a windy rain storm through the Columbia River Gorge and towards a small Eastern Oregon ski area called Anthony Lakes. Thanks to its location there are not enough people to support its operation throughout the week so we camped in the parking lot of the closed ski area and left before they opened for the weekend. The area was a hidden gem with easily accessible back country skiing and the option for a run or two up the ski area. We had a great time but the cold nights in the van sent us packing toward the low lands and the hot springs on the Payette River in Idaho. After a relaxing soak in the hot springs we loaded up in the van and completed the final leg of our ski tour... back to Salt Lake City. We explored many of the two lane highways and small towns on our way home and at times went way out of our way to find a scenic spot. 

The reintroduction to the city is always a shock after traveling two lane highways so we did some laundry and drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon to stay at our friend's "ski Chalet" for a few nights. It is so nice to be back in the mountains and even though there has not been more than 2 inches of new snow in a while we were able to find some fun skiing on a really warm day here. Now it is time to dive into our stored stuff and get ready for the river! Hooray!!! 

(sorry for the lack of pictures, we are working on that!!!)