Colorado Bound ~ When Expectations Don't Match Reality

Sunday ~ March 3, 2013
Road Trip ~ Colorado Bound ~ Day 4

I think it's important to get a few definitions on the board before I continue .....

Expectation (n) 1. the act or state of looking forward or anticipating

Reality (n) the real thing or fact 

My husband and I were full of expectations for our almost two-week road trip.  Being avid skiiers, having never skied Vail or Beaver Creek, hearing stories of epic powder, and how the picturesque the Vail Valley area is, we were eagerly looking forward to our time in the Rockies.

So let's check in to see how reality met our expectations so far.

Expectation ~Taking US 80 to Salt Lake City and then heading southeast through Utah, the drive through Nevada and Utah would be a bore until we reached eastern Utah.

Reality ~  I've harped on Nevada many times before, so this is not news to my blog readers.  But it occurred to me on this trip that while it's not the most scenic route, perception is everything.  Nevada could be a dream drive to a geologist, miner or builder of highways.  The Great Salt Lake is an amazing site to anyone who appreciates stark beauty, is curious about natural history or likes Morton salt.  Salt Lake City is a "nothing" but everyone living there has access to the Wasatch Mts, killer ski resorts (also with epic snow) and the Sundance Film Festival.  And as you head towards eastern Utah, the eerie red rock formations begin to emerge (especially the transition on hgwy 6 past Helper); not stunning but an intriguing tease as to what treasures are held in southeastern and southern Utah.  

Expectation ~ Vail Valley would be nestled in the mountains like some European village, or at least a Disney wonderland.

Reality ~ Let me begin by saying the drive on US 70 along the Colorado River was quite nice, particularly the engineering feat of making it an almost two-tiered roadway through the narrower parts of the canyon.  Avon, site of Beaver Creek Resort, Vail Village and the other smaller burbs are all picturesque BUT a major, four-lane highway (70) bisects the entire Vail Valley.  And this is one busy freeway with cars screaming along both directions.  I honestly was not prepared for this.  True, once you are in the heart of any of the towns or at the ski resorts, the sound of humming tires fades away but still ~

Expectation ~ Having a slim budget and not needing fancy amenities, we were pleased to book a stay at the Comfort Inn in Avon.  The best part? The ski bus picks you up at the front door of the hotel and takes you right to the "front door" of Beaver Creek ski resort. And with Vail just 8 miles up the road and accessible by a $4 shuttle or by our car, we figure we had it made.  After all, we are here for the skiing not the apres skiing.

Reality ~ Okay, first I must confess that if one waits until the week before one's trip, and one has a slim budget, you get-what-you-get.  The Comfort Inn sits right along the highway, the one I mentioned that has cars screaming in both directions 24 hours a day.  That in itself isn't so bad if you have a room that faces the mountains, but if you wait until the eleventh hour, you end up with a room facing the traffic ~ a room without sound proofing windows.  Not all is lost, while a bit worn, the room is large and has a nice heating unit that helps drown out the sound of the cars. And we get a free breakfast, and the local grocery store has a nice hot food deli section so we don't have to go out to restaurants for dinner, and we still have access to that nice shuttle bus.

Expectation ~  We would ski every single day we were here.

Reality ~ On what would have been our second day, Rich's allergies knocked him for a loop without much energy to do much of anything.  So we will spend the morning buying our souvenir t-shirts, and maybe, just maybe, hit the slopes in the afternoon ~ after all, it's expected to start snowing later in the day and snow trumps allergies.     

After all  expectation is also the degree of probability that something will occur.