Park City - A Month Back In The Mountains - Week 5

We had to extend our visit to Park City by one week so that will give us a total of about 6 weeks of mountain time by the time we leave August 7th.  The extension of a week is totally bumming Trace out since waves have been firing in Sayulita and he misses his life in Mexico.  With the reported power situation being so bad in Sayulita this summer we may have picked a good one to be away for a little while.  No fans or AC for those who have it.  Bugs and heat.  Not a good combination.  It has also meant mold in our apartment.  Heat, humidity, no ventilation and the fans and dehumidifier not being able to run.  Not sure what we will go back to.

What have we been up to?  Oh, house stuff of course.  Some things are finally done and we can move on to other items.  Gram-O and Gramp-O have reported for work duty almost every day during their time in Park City and have been a HUGE help with cleaning, painting and providing some needed help with some demolition.  Alex and Trace have been able to pitch in a bit more that do not require much supervision.  Ashley is now seeing the finish line and is motivated to be done with this too.

Trace and Gram-O kicking ass in the kitchen.

The early morning hikes with Trace have continued and we are getting stronger and accustomed to the thinner air.  Hikes we needed multiple stops for a couple weeks ago are done with little or no break.  We may not have had water time but our legs and lungs will be ready for the surf when we get back.  Alex has mostly opted to sleep in but joins in with the strength workouts Trace has put together after the hikes.  The kid action on the street has been quiet lately so the bikes have been parked and have not moved.

Trace and I are rewarded by our early morning hiking efforts. 

 The grandparents have not only been a big help around the house but took us out to eat in Old Town one night.  We took the free Electric Express bus into town for dinner and arrived early so we walked around Main Street for a bit.  For years I would see visitors stop and look around and have no idea where to go or what to do once they arrived.  Well, we were suddenly in that position.  We were now the tourists strolling down Main Street and not locals anymore.  We all were in agreement that Main Street now resembled something like Main Street USA at Disney.  So clean, so tidy, so well maintained and essentially "perfect".  In the 90's I worked for the City of Park City and this was essentially our goal with Main Street, parks and facilities.  Now that Main Street and Park City has achieved that I feel that it has lost a lot of it's character and local feel.  It is all like a photo shoot.  It is "Disney-esque".  Some of the same names/establishments are still there but most of the smaller unique shops have been replaced by big name brands who can afford the current rents downtown.

Strolling the streets of Park City after dinner

Alex in front of the famous Banksy mural

Trace and I went out one night to get some Mexican food and to see my old softball team play in City Park.  I played a few nights a week for over a decade and brought the kids in their baby carriers to games as other players on my team helped me keep an eye on them or even give them a bottle if needed.  They grew up going to games until we moved to Mexico.  Well, there are not that many familiar faces left on the team since my last game 7 years ago but it was super fun to be at the ball field in City Park mid-summer in the mountains.  So many fun memories and it was great to see a few familiar faces and Trace interested in the game too.

From behind the backstop.  Photo by Trace.

Ashley and I celebrated our 14th anniversary.  Tequila and vino tinto!

How we roll.  Red and Reposado.

Access to more choices is certainly reality here and Alex took advantage of it this week when Ashley and her went to an equestrian outfitter shop in Salt Lake City.  Alex was borrowing riding clothes for her competitions and now finally has her own gear to take into this winter's season.  She looks great!

White pants and white polo.  If you do not have it you do not compete...so say the judges.

What is up in Sayulita? Besides the heat and power issues, the biggest news came from a friend of ours who took this photo of what looks to be our street getting ready for resurfacing. NOT a bunch of dirt thrown on the street to fill in the trench created but the summer rains but a real effort to begin putting down a real road. We will see how that develops but we might go back to a new house AND a new street.

So, here we are at the end of July and the house is not ready and we do not have a renter yet.  Got to fix both those situations in a hurry.  We will be on our way on the 7th.

Our neighbor's trees get some trimming. Super high boom.  3.5 stories plus...?

Reflections:
-All of our items here in Utah fit in to an 8x8 storage shed.  I incorrectly assumed we had very little in the way "stuff".  Nope, we still have lots of "stuff".  It was just efficiently stacked in the shed.
-People have big vehicles here that carry or tow really BIG toys.
-Gas prices.  Wow! With big vehicles so common I cannot even think about how expensive it is to fill the gas tank.  500 pesos will mostly fill our little car by in Mexico.  $30 USD does not even fill the tank of our rented Subaru Outback half way here.  When you have to drive everywhere here it gets painful.
-We are taking a lot of stuff back with us that have been in storage for a long time.  It will be nice to have some additional personal items back home in Mexico.

Park City - A Month Back In The Mountains - Weeks 3 and 4

We honestly cannot believe we have been here a month already.  Each day we wake up and just keep plowing forward with house items.  Repairing, maintaining, organizing, replacing etc.  We had no idea it would take this long and be such a consuming task.  The kids have been awesome considering Ashley and I are busy all day everyday.  But to tell you the truth we think Alex is liking it. She has her own room with a door, art supplies and loves not living in the apartment living room in Sayulita.  Trace is so ready to get back to the water he might pop but has discovered hiking and biking to be a good temporary substitute along with the occasional trip the local reservoir to paddle on a borrowed inflatable SUP.

The Aspen Lane house as of July 20th.

The Aspen Lane house June 24th.

The backyard now.

The backyard June 24th.

We have stained the exterior and the decks and have repainted most of the interior and replaced door hardware. All the interior carpet has been replaced and soon will have new kitchen countertops and flooring. The fun part about the carpet was that the installer is originally from Tepic but has been in the States for 30 years. So much to do still but Ashley feels like we are gaining on it. Me, on the other hand feel like the donut guy. Day in and day out just working on the house.  Aka "making the donuts".

Alex "helping" with painting her room.

We were able to meet up with our neighbors at a monthly get together held up the street. It was great to catch up with everyone, laugh a bit and just shake our heads about how fast time has gone by. Everyone is still the same. Good people. We have seen some rain as well. Utah is so dry this summer with a poor snow pack from the winter. It was good to see the rainclouds we are missing in Sayulita while we have been here.

Alex' rain dance 

Alex and Trace still like to find local Geocaches.  It is even better when the kids need to hike to find them.  Even BETTER when they are located in the neighborhood trail network.

Trace still misses the water but is eager to go out and hike in the mornings with me.  He needs the physical part of it but I think really likes to be in the woods with the tall trees and the views offered as a reward for the effort.  He was down for a few days with a trampoline injury but has healed quickly.  He has shown some real interest in mountain biking but we are without a bike or a way to transport bikes to a trailhead to get him out there.  A bit frustrating since we know he would love it and it would be great crosstraining for his water sports.

We met up with some of Ashley's long time friends who live in Salt Lake City.  We spent the afternoon at the the Jordanelle Reservoir cocktailing while the kids played on paddle boards.  It was cold with some rain but eventually the clouds moved on and we set up camp, had dinner and spent the night in the campground.  This may have been Ashley's last camping trip.  Setting up camp, too much wine, peeing behind the bushes and sleeping on the ground is just is not her "thing" anymore.  Our friends, on the other hand, have an awesome pull behind camper to stay in.  Fortunately our camping gear was still in great shape from being packed away 7 years ago.  Kids liked it though and got play with "Moki".

Camping with Carrie, Andrew and Moki

The kids enjoyed the camping enough that they teamed up with some of the neighborhood kids and had a second campout in our back yard. 

Tent construction happens.

Alex has always remarked about how her birthday is in August and her close friends are always away for the summer.  This makes having any kind of party difficult.  So, she decided to throw a mini-party with her friends on the street plus a few of the parents.  She worked on her cake for hours only to find out that baking at higher elevation sometimes is unpredictable.  One set of her grandparents were also in town so it was good to share the mini event with them as well and introduce them to neighbors they may not have met before.  Our new carpet was just a few days old and here we are having cake with blue frosting and red wine.  A fun couple hours.  This little house was always a great gathering spot.

Alex and her blue whale tail cake.

Ashley is back on the work schedule.  She flies out after dinner.  Has a short layover where she may or may not be able to catch some sleep and then comes home mid morning.  She packs in three of these overnight trips over the weekend so that she can be home during the week.  Depending on her energy when she gets home she will pitch in with the house or go through the 1000s of photos we have and try to figure what we have or do not have uploaded to the Cloud.  She has been able to see the kids everyday for almost 6 weeks.  Very special for her.  We don't think that has happened since maternity leave.

Ashley's photo project.

Trace is always trying to find the sun.

There has always been music in the mountains in the Park City.  The long running Wednesday night free concert in the park was moved to Deer Valley years ago since it attracted so many people each week.  It was fun to go back to one and there were so many people!  We have seen some great shows on the beach and in the jungle of Sayulita over the years but it was fun to sit at the base of a ski area to listen to music again.  We joined our long time neighbor, Corrie, and her kids for the show.

Corrie and Ashley

Free reggae in the mountains.

We listed the house for rent and the response has been "underwhelming".  There is lots of competition at the moment and it is making us a bit nervous.  There are "nicer" places out there to be had and they are not moving either.  We are completing some important items this week at the house and some of the grandparents are in town helping us out a few hours a day.  We are already looking at the end of the month and realizing we may need to stay an extra week to get more things done.  Not much to go back to in Sayulita since the contractor's efforts have been minimal since we have not been there to see and influence progress.  Trace and I are eager to get back on the water but here we stay for the time being.

Reflections for weeks 3 and 4:

-It is sooo quiet.  No trucks, roosters, music, people selling stuff etc.  Just silence.  Weird.

-It is super expensive to feed ones family here.  We stop by the grocery to pick up just a few things and dropping close to $100 USD is easy...and that is before the stop at the liquor store.

-We do not recognize anyone anymore.  I spent 17 years here and have not seen anyone I really know from that time.

-Park City has grown a bunch and is very busy and we have heard the same from others.  Whether it is the addition of Vail Resorts to the area, mountain lifestyle or PC finally receiving the attention from the world it craved for so long, things are booming here.  

-Real estate values are shocking considering what we paid for our house 14 years ago.  A "entry level" price for a family home is about $600,000 and even those are few and are often in less desirable locations.

-Park City has a more diverse population than what I remember.  With all kinds of tech and industry coming to the Salt Lake City and surrounding areas I have seen so many more kinds of people than just the stereotypical white Mormon "Utahn".  A great thing!

-Did I mention I love the Home Depot here?  Yes I have and I said it again.

-The kids have never seen daily mail service before.  Odd for them to see someone stopping and leaving something at our house everyday.

Off to hike with the kids while mom catches up on some sleep then more house work.

Sewer Plant Project Update From GRUPO PRO Sayulita

The Sayulita sewer plant upgrades have been ready to happen but slow in coming.  The upgrade project spearheaded by GRUPO PRO Sayulita recently released this statement concerning the state of things.  We hope this is the breakthrough that town needs to help make Sayulita a much safer and healthier place to visit and live.  All photos by GRUPO PRO Sayulita.

GRUPO PRO Sayulita has provided our community with the following update regarding the water situation here in Sayulita. These words and this update comes directly from GRUPO PRO Sayulita and not Sayulita Life:

Many of you know the Ejido leadership took over Sayulita’s water/sewer utility a few weeks ago, and removed the plant manager from his position. The plant’s employees remain at the plant and continue to operate it.

The former manager pushed back against his removal. His supporters, including some important members of the Ejido, held a rally at the baseball field. At the rally, the former manager touted his 18 year record of accomplishment at the plant. A counter-narrative appeared in the local press, decrying the plant’s history of mismanagement and corruption.

Following these developments the Ejido responded by appointing a new water council that includes a member of the Infrastructure Committee. We understand the Ejido plans to form a legal corporation (Asociacion Civil, or AC) to operate the utility, to hire an administrator and an accountant, and to establish a tax ID with the Mexican tax agency SAT. If successful, this will mean a legal non-profit Mexican corporation will operate Sayulita’s water/sewer utility, subject to oversight and public accounting for receipts and expenditures.

In addition to the Ejido’s action, the state water agency CEA continues to make improvements to Sayulita’s sewage treatment plant, using government funds. They finished the concrete and stone river crossing connecting Calle Manuel Navarette to Avenida Palmar. They armored the north bank of the river with “baskets” filled with large rocks, and covered the river bed with reinforced cobblestones. This reinforcement may extend from the crossing to the beach.

CEA also began constructing a huge underground carcamo (holding tank) next to the plant. The tank may extend to nine meters below the surface, and will pump effluent into the plant for treatment at a precise rate. ProSayulita will cooperate with CEA on connecting the Gaviotas project to users and paving the broken areas of Manuel Navarette and Gaviotas.

We will continue to update you as things progress at the plant.

GRUPO PRO Sayulita

Pacifico - Sayulita Style

Sayulita has seen ceaseless promotion in recent years from magazines, fashion, government, TV,  internet and now beer.  I will give this one a pass since Pacifico cans are my beer of choice to accompany my tequila.

Park City - A Month Back In The Mountains - The First Two Weeks

This summer we decided it was time to go back to Park City.  This is where the kids were born and where we still have friends and a house.  Ashley and I bought the house in 2004 before I "made an honest women out of her". This was a trip we had wanted to make a year ago but things just didn't work out the way we had hoped.  A long overdue trip where we finally went back to the mountains of Utah and stay in our house in Park City.  To be a mountain family again.

The school year finished up on a Friday at CVIS with a morning full of class presentations and performances and suddenly we were school-free for the summer.  After taking care of a few punch list items with our contractor, some last minute packing and a last plate full of tacos and we were off to the airport.

It had been 6 years since we last saw Park City.  Yes, 6 years!  Lots of waves, tequila, wine and tacos since then for sure.  We are "flatlanders" now.  Ocean dwellers.  Would anyone remember us?  Would our old neighbors welcome us back?  What would be new?  What would be gone? What kind of condition would our house be in?

Ashley and Alex look on as the school performances begin

We were successful getting on a flight from PVR to SLC flying "stand by" on Delta and suddenly we were looking out the window of the plane at the Wasatch Mountains.  We had come back to Utah just briefly after our first year in Mexico.  Ashley occasionally has trips or layovers in SLC but the kids and I had not seen this mountain view since Alex and Trace were 5 and 7 years old.

We immediately noticed the big changes taking place at the airport.  The Salt Lake City Airport is growing and growing in a big way.  We had rented a car through a rental service called Turo ahead of time and hoped that it would be waiting for us in the parking lot.  Turo is kind of like AirBNB for cars and we were happy to make a reservation for the older model Subaru at a discount compared to renting a newer car through a national rental agency.

We spent the first night in Salt Lake City at a friend of Ashley's.  We had no idea what to expect the next day, what kind of condition the house was in, where our linens were left 6 years ago or how to even breath at 7000 feet above sea level.  Arriving and staying in the valley, elevation 4300 ft, the first night was a great plan and downing some good beer, pizza and tequila was a great introduction back to the States.

We woke up early to head up the canyon to Park City but first we stopped at a local bagel shop near our old neighborhood.  Good bagels and cream cheese are always welcome breakfast food as far as Trace and Alex are concerned.  After a bunch of bagels and some coffee, we finally made the move to get back to our house.

We pulled into the neighborhood and through the streets noticing a few new houses but things were generally the same.  We drove up our street and into the driveway and just stared.  Holy shit!  The place looked abandoned.  The driveway had weeds growing out of it, the house needed a good paint job.  The yard had not had any kind of weed control effort in years.  The place was literally falling down as one of the front entry posts had shifted at some time in the past.

The view from the driveway to the front of the house

The driveway

Side deck looking into back yard

We were shocked and sad.  We know our little house needs of lots of updates and improvements but we always kept it up and maintained.  The house was like a member of our family.  Our little cul-de-sac of 11 houses is a great place with owners who take care of their properties.  We were now the "blight" on the street and knew we had lots of work to do.  We were embarrassed and motivated.

We walked in the house and it felt like we never really left.  The house still had the same furniture, paint, squeaks etc.  Trace remembered virtually nothing of his years here but Alex remembered quite a bit.  She remarked on how "small" the house was from what she remembered.  Ashley and I felt it was small too with it's 8' ceilings and chopped up floorplan.  Fortunately, the interior of the house was actually in pretty good shape.  The inside of the house was clean and other than some needed updates and repairs we were in a reasonable situation at first inspection.

After a quick trip to Home Depot to get some paint/stain supplies I began cutting limbs and branches that blocked the driveway, the street and were growing through the back yard fence or up against the house.  Ashley dug into the small storage shed that our remaining personal items were stored away all this time to find kitchen items and bedding so we could begin to make this place our home again for the next month and then joined the effort outside.

Ashley hauling away limbs with a tired deck and jungle gym.

The first night back in the house we met up with our neighbors again for the first time.  We did not know how we would be received.  We had been mostly out of touch for several years and our house looks like shit.  One of the hardest parts about leaving in 2011 was saying "goodbye" to our street, our neighbors.  We were not sure what to expect.  Just like we never left, the kids picked up and started playing with the other kids they once knew and the adults stood in the street with cocktails and traded hugs and stories.  We always stood in the street for some reason.  Rarely in a driveway or front deck.  Standing in the street a group was visible to most all of the other houses so it became an open invitation to come join the conversation usually with drinks in hand.  It was great to be welcomed back and see some things had not changed.

The limb cutting continues

And so it went for an entire week.  Cutting, hauling away limbs, weeding, painting, sanding and staining.  We barely looked up during this time until Happy Hour rolled around each night.  We worked hard, ate a lot and Happy Hour was extremely happy.

Old jungle gym coming down

Everyday we were up early trying to make some progress and the kids were extremely patient with us as we worked the first week.  They pitched in occasionally but mostly played with the neighborhood kids or went off with friends of ours to the local reservoir for some paddle/boat time.  We had planned on having the kids on race SUPs during this time but the local paddle board outfit turned out to be a real disappointment.  This just crushed Trace.  He needs to be on the water and paddle.  It is his thing and he knows his buddies back home are paddling and training for the big race in October.  Alex was a little less disappointed about the paddle boards but she was more disappointed when the horseback riding program she was going to volunteer with also flaked out.  Ashley had been in touch with them for several months and they never let us know about training dates to be able to work with the program.  As a result the next available training for Alex wouldn't be until mid-July at which point would be too late for her to work at all.  Two big activities we were stoked about for the kids this month totally tanked in the first week.  We were so unimpressed by the lack of communication by both the SUP and horse programs and the kids took it pretty well.

Ashley and Alex on the trail.

 After the first week we vowed to be sure we did something with the kids each day.  After all, this was supposed to be family time too.  So, what do we do now with no horse or SUP?  We hit the trail!  Our neighborhood has an awesome trail network for hiking and biking.  Add the occasional path only a local would know about and the kids were immediately challenged.  Challenged partly with the need for leg strength but also the challenge of trying to breath at 8000' above sea level.  A downside to living at the beach.  The kids have always liked to hike and "get to the top" or just see what is around the next corner.  They have always been up for that kind of adventure.

Geocaching

They loved the being in the woods.  The trees, the smells and the views.  We tried to be sure we took a new route every other day or so whether it be a Geocaching adventure, a mellow hike or a real leg burner.

On the trail.

After the first week, Ashely had to return to work.  After receiving her month long transfer she was able to fly out of Salt Lake City and not Atlanta.  This makes things so much better since she leaves after dinner and returns the next morning rather than being away for days at a time.  She is even able to get some sleep overnight in-between flights.  This leaves the kids and I to do some solo adventuring.  We made it to Park City Mountain Resort for a quick look around and to see what kind of summer attractions they have added.  I spent many winters there starting in 1994 and it has change so much since then.  The kids first learned to ski here but do not remember much about it.

Park City Resort Center with Ski Team ridge in the background

The July 4th holiday is a big deal in Park City.  The kids had been to the parade years ago but now only remember the small parades in Sayulita.  It has grown to over the decades and people come from far and wide to attend.  After Ashley came home from an overnight trip to Montana we headed out early to make our way into Park City Old Town(our house is about 20 minutes outside of the "city" of Park City).  Getting into town and finding a spot to watch the parade would be a challenge.  We parked near a public transit hub that had an express bus to take us the rest of the way to the parade.  The 4th is not a day to drive into town.  The express bus drives non-stop to a second transit hub and then into town.  It is an electric bus and has a charging station at each end of the route and it is FREE!  Tax dollars at work.  Very cool and and a far cry from our local bus hot and bumpy bus service between Sayulita and Puerto Vallarta.

The Electric Express.  Photo by others.

The 4th of July parade is nothing the kids have ever seen before.  So many people!  We were on the parade route right on Park Avenue, the heart of Old Town, and were able to watch the hour+ long event curbside.  Super fun and the kids loved the parade floats that gave out candy, shot water guns at the crowd or got a float driver to honk their horn.  They were even interviewed by Park City Television while we were waiting for the parade to start. We managed to walk down to City Park to see the events and rugby game being held but it did not hold our interest like the parade so we made it back to the bus and nap time back at the house.

PCTV interviews the kids.

The kids chillin' before the parade curbside

Some of our neighbors. Ray, Corrie and Christian.  Good people.

Alex with her American flag and her Celebrando el Ritmo shirt.  We love this!

Since then work on the house has continued with more cutting, ripping out, repairing and has finally  turned partially inside with some painting, staining, new carpet and kitchen countertops ordered.  The neighbors come by and cannot believe how much progress we have made in the two weeks since we arrived.  Just goes to show that they have been paying attention to how bad it actually looked previously.

Reflections so far.
-Our neighbors are still great!  So friendly and easy to hang out with. We are very lucky to be a part of this street when on this side of the border.  Turnover/sales in our cul-de-sac have been rare since we bought our place 14 years ago and this is a big reason why.
-Park City is sooooo clean and tidy!  I do not think people actually realize just how tidy it is.  Sayulita is a totally different when it comes to community attitudes concerning garbage and recycling.  Some people think it is still ok to throw their trash in the river.  The culture is changing but it is shocking just how far apart these two communities are.
-Infrastructure to support community growth seems minimally planned for in Sayulita.  When they are actually done, like the recently entry road improvements and Calle Pelicanos, the result is lacking in anything that resembles decent design, thought or function.
-So many choices to be had here as a consumer.  A good thing and a bad thing. Alex has been to Michael's 3x, Ashley loves the Trader Joes nearby and I love a fully stocked Home Depot 15 minutes away!
-We have to drive EVERYWHERE!  In Sayulita we walk, shop and recreate by foot.  Sometimes our car sits for days and does not move.  In Park City we have to pile into the car to do anything.
-My tequila habit would be financially unsustainable here.  $55 for 750ml bottle of Don Julio?  Ouch!
-Ashley is now considered by the local county to be dangerous to everyone and everything in a 50 yard radius when she has a paintbrush in her hand.

More later as we enter our third week in the mountains today.  More projects, visitors, adventures and who knows what else.  We hope the house duties slow down a bit but for the short term we will just keep pushing.

Oh, and what about the Sayulita house?  A photo sent to us by our contractor last week.