weekend report

We’ve been taking outings to local parks lately, which offer the excitement of LEAVING THE HOUSE but make spreading out a lot easier than on a hiking trail.

I’ve never really spent much time in parks–we don’t have kids or a dog to play in them, and I always (snobbishly) thought, “Parks aren’t really nature; just go on a hike instead.”

But you know what? City parks are kind of a miracle: There’s open space, there’s something for everyone (Fairmont Park has a skate park! Murray Park has an outdoor fitness circuit, complete with bros!), and they’re just…there…waiting to be enjoyed. For free!

Spending time in places that embody civilization has been really soothing, an antidote to fears of the end of it. Find some local parks and start your own tour this week.

There’s been far less snow on the ground this year compared to last year, but I’ve still reached the point in winter where I’m so sick of browns and grays and need to see green. So we went to Red Butte. There wasn’t a lot of green outside but their big greenhouse–the Orangerie–didn’t disappoint.

They even had orange blossoms!

Doc had the BRILLIANT idea of doing a kid’s party package at the local skate rink for my birthday and it was amazing. About 20 people came, we fed them pizza and soda and Rice Krispie treats, and I went off the smallest jump on the speed track at the very end.

Not bad for a 40-year-old!

Having a week off was SO GREAT: We went on a Black Friday hike and a Sunday hike, I sewed elaborately ruffled things, we watched movie trilogies and I knitted, we had a mellow Thanksgiving and put up the Christmas tree, and we took my nephew ROLLER SKATING (finally! and I didn’t fall down).

I have the week of Christmas off, as well–can’t wait for MORE VACATION.

We went to the botanical gardens yesterday instead of a hike. Outside, it looked like the Arthur Rackham illustrations for The Wind in The Willows…

…and inside it looked like Hawaii–the Utah Orchid Society was having their annual show.

We took a long weekend off to originally go camping, which turned into plans for a staycation when the weather didn’t want to cooperate. I had big plans for day trips, taking my nephew out, maybe painting an accent wall–but we only got the first day’s activities in because I got sick.

But what a first day! Our friend told us about a place 2.5 hours north that her brother was bringing back to life: Maple Grove Hot Springs. We went up for the day to check it out and soak and it was just lovely–stunning setting, perfect fall colors, and the best natural (non sulfur!) hot springs.

After we got back home and my head cold hit, I kept wishing I had a hot springs handy for soaking. We’ll have to go back and stay!

This is the kind of story that would have made me roll my eyes SO HARD before I started going to the gym, but my Sunday morning workouts have included Bulgarian split squats for the last few weeks and they make my quads hurt so much that hiking anything steep that same day is right out (I made Doc turn around last week!).

So instead, we went to Red Butte Garden to look at the roses in bloom: