Picto Diary - 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 April 2021 - Ski season not over yet
Above: Bishop and Freddie at Little Jenny Ranch, Bondurant, WY. 14 April 2021
LSDM event organized by Daggett and hosted by former LSDM speaker, ranch GM, Faith Hamlin.
Above: ROMEOs and RWOACAs congregate in the beef line. Little Jenny Ranch, Bondurant, WY. 14 April 2021
Many thanks to organizer, Daggett and to Little Jenny Ranch GM, Faith Hamlin.
ROMEOs and RWOACAs toured the ranch and fed the cattle from a hat wagon pulled by a big ass John Deere tractor.
— at Little Jennie Ranch.
Above: Deck. Iron Canyon. 15 April 2021.
Sight on returning from Wyoming. Post ski season snowfall while we were away in Wyoming!
After visiting the little Jenny Ranch yesterday, three couples (Maharajah and Comic Mom, Bishop and TIMDT, and 777 and RN) drove on to Jackson Hole for the night. Dinner at Blue Lion Restaurant, joined by 777 and RN's friends Buzz and Biz, residents of Jackson Hole. Buzz and 777 were childhood friends in San Diego. Very good dinner and aimiable companionship. Thanks to 777 for organizing.
Above: Freddie at Gilgal Garden. Salt Lake City, UT. 16 April 2021.
Freddie and Bishop walk while TIMDT shops at Trolley Square.
Above: Summit County Sheriff Cruisers. Wasatch Bagel, 18 April 2021
LSDM Walkers: TWO3 and Bishop.
Summit County Sheriff Cruisers.
Dress Right Dress.
Good to see high level of discipline in vehicle parking when the deputies are having breakfast. Summit County and Park City residents are blessed with great police departments. Thin blue line. Separating order from chaos. Respect the cops...else anarchy. Keep Minneapolis out of Utah.
— at Wasatch Bagel Café.
Above: Solitude Ski Resort. Utah. 18 April 2021.
106 13 1328 (10)
Image: The Actuary beside the Sprinter.
Ski season not over yet, though Solitude, nearby, closes today. 'Bird remains open for future outings. Fabulous, near winter conditions snow through noon, thanks to recent major snowfall and persistent below average April overnight temperatures.
Skied with The Actuary, Guzzi, Kathy, and Dry Wall.
Possible last day skiing this season.... though I might get in another day or two at Snowbird.
I started the season intending to ski more resorts than typical. I was modestly successful. Ten resorts: Deer Valley (91), Jackson Hole (3), Targhee (1), Pine Creek (1), Beaver Mountain (1), Brian Head (2), Eagle Point (2), Solitude (3), Snowbird (1), and Steamboat (1). Also, 106 ski days, and 1.3 million vertical feet.
REFLECTIONS FROM THE LIFT: I'm thinking, what a whirlwind of activity the last twelve months has been. One hundred six ski days. A spate of discovery walking around Summit County. 8,000 motorcycle miles (ten states). 11,000 Sprinter miles six states). A new dog. A second home purchase. Numerous family gatherings, and events (Duchesne County Fair, Speed Week at Bonneville, concerts at Murray City Park). We're getting old. How long are we going to be able to keep up this pace? I tap on my ski helmet as a substitute for knocking on wood... and, resolve to get back on a weight loss program to stave off various and sundry ailments that derive from being overweight.
Bad health can stymie activity. But, so can externalities. A bad economic climate, a pandemic, civil unrest in an increasingly lawless country. I find myself not being too optimistic about the future. Here are three reasons for pessimism about the future that come to mind as I muse on the Summit Lift, here at Solitude.
1. US indebtedness has now reached levels not experienced since WWII. We have been reliant on the Chinese to purchase our debt, but they are buying less and less of our debt as they gain confidence in their own currency and observe America's fraying social fabric. The Federal Reserve Bank has been picking up the slack. As the Chinese and other international buyers of US debt shift away from the US dollar, the US risks hyper inflation. What goes up, must come down.
2. Traditional American values (family, hard work, community solidarity, individual liberty, self reliance yada) that have undergirded the most successful country in history are under assault. Prosperity has undermined appreciation for those values and allowed for belief among many that resultant inequities should be resolved by a stronger government role. The founders thought in terms of limited government ie. big government was a threat to freedom. American mindset shifts to a desire to have less freedom and more government... which, without question will lead to less prosperity and reduced human self fulfillment. Inequities are best addressed by strong individuals, communities, education, and private organizations... not big government.
3. Increasingly, social science narrative trumps scientific facts in today's America. Growth and prosperity are slowed and indebtedness grows when false beliefs that are not supported by science. One of many examples: In the recent "pandemic," authorities took actions, not supported by science, that resulted in economic devastation for many (lockdowns) and destabilization of human interaction (mask wearing). A people that lays down in front of oppressive rules driven by need to control, and not by scientific exigency, is not a people which values freedom.. A people that doesn't value freedom is doomed to lose it.
I always say that "it was good living at the apex." It may well be that old age slows me down before my three pessimistic trends result in harmful effect. In the short term, life is good. Asset values have held, interest rates have stayed low, and day to day life, at least where I live, has been at apex level. But, for me, there is nothing on the horizon which suggests a climate where economic freedom, general prosperity, individual liberty, individual self fulfillment and national aspirational reach can be sustained considering the three trends outlined above.
Carpe diem?
Above: Freddie and TIMDT. Rockport State Park, Utah. 18 April 2021.
Above: Park City Mountain, Utah. 19 April 2021.
Seeing Apex Ridge (right prominent descent) from this perspective almost makes me want to buy a Park City Mountain pass next year.