Normally I save the introspection for my birthday and the start of the New Year, but Thanksgiving has extra special meaning for me this year. Today, I am quietly celebrating strength, healing, clarity, and hope after a rather tumultuous year! And what does this have to do with the mountain lifestyle?
Travel and Leisure was really right on it when they picked the five best small ski towns in America. How often do you look through one of these lists and wonder what they were thinking, if they had ever been to these places or who paid them to put some of those towns on the list! These are five places to check out if you love the mountains and prefer vacationing and/or living in more laid back small towns.
How is everybody there reacting to the current state of the economy? Are you cutting back? I asked one of my friends this in another ski town, immediately realized what a silly question it was and we both had a laugh. “When are we not cutting back?” she laughed. Living in a resort town as a working full-time resident, especially in ski towns such as Aspen and Jackson Hole, counting your cash is as much a part of your daily life as skiing, hiking, biking, or anything outdoors.
True, winter season is just getting started, ski resorts are starting to open and everyone in the mountains is mainly focused on the snow but for college students on the path to an outdoor career and for those who work two full-time seasonal careers, now is a good time to secure next summer’s seasonal job!
Living in the mountains where there are very few, if any, distractions that can compare to the natural environment outside your door, it is rather easy to forgo activities like video games, manicures and shopping malls. That is not to say though that you can not find and enjoy the benefits of the outdoors wherever you are.
