High Points: It sure is quiet out there

Helloooo!!! Is anybody home???

It’s that time of year when we find ourselves all alone. Literally, once the lifts closed and the Monday of off-season arrived, just about everyone in this ski town skedaddled to where the sun is shining.

I hear that much of of Carbondale decamps for Nosara, the tiny surf town in Costa Rica that boasts more Coloradoans than Costa Ricans this time of year. Many Basaltines still head to the beach town of Sayulita, Mexico, where, as of this writing, it was 77 degrees and the surf was 3-foot and glassy. Sigh!

And Aspenites? Well, you’ll find them wherever there are private jet terminals. I hear the island of Karos in Greece is nice and the town of Hanalei on the north shore of the Hawaiian Island of Kauai is another place to see valley residents in droves most Aprils and Mays.

Of course, there are still some local residents in the area. Between the birds who sing their songs to the high heavens at each sunrise, the bears who have awoken more than a little early this spring, the bobcats who have been running near my home in Old Snowmass, the deer who travel the same paths through the field that the cats do, and the supposed wolf population that is in the neighborhood, I’m hardly by myself. But there are not many humans on top of my mesa.

Yes, it can get a little lonely here in the Roaring Fork Valley this time of year. However, as we all know, there are a few advantages to hanging around town when the hoards head out.

First of all, except at the long-term lot at the airport there, there are places to park just about everywhere you go. Drive down restaurant row or in front of the gondola or at the park-and-rides or the public parks and trailheads, and you’ll find a multitude of spaces for your car. Just pull in, and you’re good to go. Except in downtown Aspen where they are still charging folks to park on the near empty streets. Remember when there was off-season, free parking? Remember when there was free parking period?

Another advantage is that there are precious few lines at the supermarkets. Be it City Market or Clark’s or even Whole Foods. Just pull up, park in front, go in, and fill up your shopping cart, and there will be cashiers just waiting to greet you. Even if you use the self-check machines. Not only that, but you also won’t have to wait to get your shopping bags packed, as there are plenty of folks with, well frankly, not a lot to do.

But maybe the best part of off-season is that the folks who are still left in town are likely folks whom you already know. Sometimes the best way to stay in touch with old friends is simply to hang out in Aspen in the off-season. You never know who you might run into. I’m talking about you, Tony Vagneur.

For my money, off-seasons — not just here, but in any resort community — may be the best kept secrets in travel. Shoulder seasons, as they sometimes are called, can be the most beautiful time of year.

And you get to be alone. Enjoy the beach.