ashleyonmusing: Extreme living

We drove up the mountain this weekend. Drove high enough above the ocean blue sea level that my ears popped like they do in a plane. We drove to Vail, to visit my grandparents at the condo they’ve had all my life that has housed many a sleepy skier. Before I lived in Colorado full-time, Vail was my ski town. Boots, ski’s, poles =’ed Vail. It was my quintessential wintery place where accents, languages and people from all over the world shared town buses and waited together in lines at Haagen Dazs. Where you knew what time it was when you woke up in the morning based on how much clunking of ski boots you could hear from outside.

This weekend, I experienced one of my favorite travel loves. Going to a familiar place, yet discovering in it, another layer. Being there for the golden aspen “changing of the leaves,” we enjoyed the last farmers market of the season. Now, one of the things almost missing were the farmers…. Only 1 booth sold produce. I mean, this is Vail, so $260 Christmas stockings are sold next to gluten free dog biscuits (something for everybody?) But, what the coolest part of the market and being in town before the ski season was getting into the groove of the local scene. If only for a few hours, we got a peak into the lives of what a Vail resident does the whole year through in their town. And what I came up with is, they do “extreme.”

Here is my theory on mountain town dwellers: They are totally into living. No one was ever born in a ski/mountain town (hardly). None of them were born into this kind of thing, this action sport atmosphere, most of them are marching to the beat of their own drum, they are totally into the sports they love and chose a lifestyle and town that allows them to do what they are passionate about on a daily basis. Which means, ski when it’s snowing, and bike, hike and climb on the mountains when the snow melts and they wait for it to come again.

These residents have gear too. bikes that tread, backpacks that hold houses practically, water bottles that never break, ropes, clips, swiss army knives- these people have the gear that will keep them alive on the mountain if need be, and help them play on the mountain most importantly. And, I think every Vail resident has a canine, every single one. Those Vail residents inspired me this weekend, to live it up in my life as a city girl. To strive to do what I am passionate about every stinking day, and to keep searching and exploring.