Alone in Aspen

November 23, 2019

3:30 am – Woke up in Sun Valley, packed my tent, drove into the pitch black.

8:10 am – Arrived in Jackson Hole after watching the sunrise on the west side of the Tetons.

3:50 pm – Fireside coffee at The St. Regis Deer Valley (outdoors), watched the sunset.

7:30 pm – Shower. I hadn't bathed since I left Seattle four days earlier. Went to bed.

November 24, 2019

I left Park City around eight in the morning after getting a coffee at Atticus on Main Street. The prior day of driving had worn me out – though I'm not complaining. Watching the sunrise in Jackson and the sunset in Park City in the same day is extraordinary.

I crossed the Utah/Colorado state line around noon and arrived in Aspen at four o'clock. I got a few slices of pizza, checked out the John Denver Sanctuary, bought some used books, and spent the evening reading fireside at Hotel Jerome.

I checked into my hostel around eight o'clock…the infamous St. Moritz Lodge (the only one in Aspen). I went for a swim in the heated pool. Snow fell. I was in heaven.

The St. Moritz is sparse but comfy; the bedrooms have no televisions—just a chest of drawers, communal showers, and coffee in a 1980s lobby.

November 25, 2019

I woke up to silence.

Thanksgiving week is quiet in Aspen.

19th century Victorian homes had 12-inch toupees made of snow.

I had my eye on a Red Mountain lodge. I saw it in the Wall Street Journal. Asking price: $35,000,000. I drove up the driveway, pretending I was lost. I saw several deer poking around. No one was there – just an asset on a family office balance sheet – lots of these in Aspen.

Dogs nap on sidewalks.

Locals smile and treat you like a neighbor.

Shops are decorated to the nines, but they’re empty.

Throughout the day I’d head back to my room to nap. I enjoyed listening to the wooden stairs creak as I walked up them, the sound of logs crackling in the fireplace, and the smell of cheap coffee brewing. I appreciated not having a television.

The sun began to set.

Old SUVs line snowy streets.

Firemen decorated their station with strings of Christmas lights.

I went to The St. Regis to read fireside. It didn’t take long before I put my book down to people watch. Ladies sashayed in wearing fur hats and speaking foreign languages. They looked beautiful. Everyone looked beautiful. Even the servers were tens.

I was alone.

I was content.

I was in Aspen.