We Only Go Up From Here!

     Snow crunches under the shoes of thousands of passersby, making a euphonious melody of an every day pattern.  Trees are lit brightly with their twinkling lights.  Buses crank their angry tune and everyone huddles for warmth, releasing puffs of hot air like dragons.  Olympians talk with volunteers and Slamdance rockers tell mellow stories to those just arriving.  This is Sundance.  The atmosphere is incredible and everything reeks of opportunity and excitement.  From the outside observer, things may appear hectic but it is only the hustle and bustle of anticipation for the never-ending line of activities, including movies, panels, writing and music workshops, concerts, and a whole lotta' fun.
     Nestled just inside the Wasatch and Oquirrh mountain ranges, Park City, Utah runs parallel to Salt Lake City, using the wide mountain pass as the favorite and only go-between.  Although fellow Nashvillians may have been privy to a good snow-fall in the past few years, there is nothing as breathtaking as the fresh powder that seems to simply sit atop every peak, ski run, building, and sidewalk.  It is deep but not dangerous.  Even my group of bandits was able to walk the short mile from the grocery store to our condo without a single snafu.  As we hunkered down between the warm sheets, we slept restlessly, awaiting the new morning of the first day of movies and first set of work shifts.  We can only go up from here and never has Sundance seen excitement like ours before!