Escape

As anyone who lives in Utah will tell you, the worst thing about January is the inversion.  According to our local meteorologist, as high pressure builds, cold air and pollution get trapped in our lovely valley.  As pollution builds, the air turns a putrid shade of brown.  Sometimes it gets so thick you can actually taste the acrid air.  Only a really strong storm will get rid of the inversion.

So, when inversion hits, there are really only two ways to escape it.  One, is to go up to the mountains above the brown air that sits in the valley.  Or, my personal favorite way to deal with inversion is to get out of town, preferably to Mexico.  There is something about sitting on the beach by the ocean, eating a little guacamole that makes the inversion in Utah a lot easier to survive.

Well, today Andrew had to go up to Alta to pick up some ski equipment.  We had nothing going on this morning, so Henry, Peter, Lucy and I went along for the ride.  If nothing else,  I knew it would be a good way to escape the smoggy air if only for a short time.

When we got to Alta, the sun was shining, the sky was blue and it was a gorgeous day.  As we stood there soaking in the sun and surveying the spectacular surroundings, Andrew said, "This is as good as Mexico for me."

Andrew surveying "his Mexico."

I took a deep breath, not sure how to respond to his statement.  Standing there in the sunshine, looking up at the blue sky, it was a little hard to argue - but c'mon - it was 23 degrees up there.  There's nothing Mexico about that!

We were only there for a short time - just long enough for the boys to play in the snow and to take some great pictures - but it did do me a world of good just to sit in the sun and breathe some clean air.  And since we have no trips planned anytime soon, Alta may just have to become my Mexico too.

At least the fish tacos we got on our way home helped it feel a little more like the real thing.