The day at The Canyons was the BEST yet. We both agreed whole-heartedly that this was our favorite Utah resort over all. The mountain seemed to go on forever, and even though we attempted to see it all, we know that as the lifts closed we had failed miserably. With seven different canyons of skiiable terrain, we just couldn't squeeze all that exploration into seven hours. The snow was slushy on the runs that caught the morning sun (and though some folks don't like those conditions, we LOVED them), and on the sheltered slopes the snow stayed light and dry.
BP in Canyons of Heaven.
We took in some backcountry skiing and still made fresh powder tracks...something we figured would be unheard of this late in the season. When we discovered Harmony run on the outside edge of the resort, we discovered a bit of Heaven. The run seemed to go on forever, twisting and turning through the forest like an overgrown terrain park, with bumps and whoops, curves and banks. Some sections of the run paralleled paved roads...some went under or over them. From a 7-minute hi-speed quad ride, this run took us a good 12 minutes to eat up if we were jamming. It was awesome.
Torchlight Parade.
The terrain was so varied, we really felt like we were visiting a new resort every time we traveled to yet another peak. You could spend a week skiing The Canyons and only begin to discover what it had to offer.
Grand Finale.
When the lifts closed, we were excited to find that this weekend was a Grand Opening Celebration for their Grand Summit Condominium. Which meant live music, torchlight and groomers parades, and an incredible fireworks show that went on and on. There was also a troop of the scariest fire-breathing clowns we'd ever seen (complete with dreadlocks, jet black hair, and multiple piercings). We heard a little bit of rock band Cinnamon Brown and the Eskimos, but most of our time in front of the stage was with Soul Brothers, a nine-piece band that covered the King of Funk, Mr. James Brown, plus some other great covers and original pieces. Everybody was up and dancing, around the huge fire pit and all around the band.
Soul Brothers Gettin' Funky.
When they played the last song, a funky rendition of Dance to the Music, we were sad to see them go, convinced that we still had several hours worth of dancing to get to.
We jetted back up to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory at Park City Village to grab a couple Apple Pie Caramel Apples (possibly the best thing to eat in the world), and then headed back down to Camping World for the night, where the hours of dancing that we thought had been there quickly proved absent as we both collapsed asleep.
Miracle Motorhome Minus a Mechanic.
We woke up this morning to find the same motorhome that had been in its same spot in the Camping World parking lot three days ago. And the spread of tarps under the front of the RV were still there, too. And the owner was still sprawled out under the engine, trying to work miracles apparently. His wife came out briefly, and as far as we could tell she was putting an electric shaver to use. We're almost sad that we'll be leaving for Colorado today, because there's no way we'll know how their saga will turn out. We'll never know how many days on his back on the asphalt it will take before he realizes perhaps he'll have to turn to a mechanic.
Hopefully the Colorado slopes will soothe the pain.
