February 8, 2002
Today is the big day. The official opening of the 2002 Winter Olympics. Opening Ceremonies are tonight, I hope you all get a chance to watch them. Weather is already playing its own games. Last night we had some high winds and snow move into the area. The first events of the Olympics that were scheduled for today did not happen. Ski jumping preliminary jumps were supposed to take place today, but because of the high winds and blowing snow they were canceled.
I got out and did a little exploring today. I went down to Park City to see about getting some tickets to events. I will be attending two events. One is cross country skiing at Soldier Hollow where I will be working, the other is the jumping part of the Nordic combined event which takes place at Utah Olympic Park. I’m excited about finally being able to get some tickets to the events.
I don’t think I’ve mentioned it before, but the elevation here is around 7,000 feet above sea level. We are even higher here than Denver is. The air is very thin up here and it becomes very apparent when you try walking up any kind of a hill. You find yourself breathing deep trying to get enough oxygen in your lungs. The residents here say they are used to it, but those of us from lower elevations like to actually get air in our lungs when we breathe.
Tomorrow is our first day of work. 2:15 A.M. Ugh! Still, we are looking forward to it. I know I will be in bed early tonight!
Here’s a couple of pics I took today.
Utah Olympic Park. You are looking at the ski jump hills. It looks a little grey because this is the day we had snow and blowing snow. I will have better pictures of this on the 21st when I go to the Nordic combined event.
Olympic Sunrise. Taken from the spectator parking lot. In the background, the Wasatch mountains.
Bye for now, Len
February 8, 2002
Hi all,
Yesterday was another day off for us. I finally had time to catch up on some of the things that I hadn't had time for yet. They offered us another trip yesterday. Anyone who wanted could take a bus to the casinos in Wendover, Nevada. The bus left at 4 PM this Thursday and didn't return until 6 AM this morning. I decided to save my money and my sleep and pass on this one.
The Torch arrived in Salt Lake City yesterday. There was a big celebration in Salt Lake last night including lighting the cauldron for the city. Tonight is the opening ceremonies when the torch will finally arrive and kick off the start of the games. Getting close folks, the excitement is building here. You can feel it in the air. Any tickets to events that were still available are selling out fast. I was checking on tickets this morning on the web and as I was looking at what was still available, two more events sold out.
I had wanted to work the morning shift and I got my wish. The only problem is their idea of a morning shift is a really early morning shift (even earlier than CATA's)! I report to the lobby at our motel at 2:15 A.M. We will then be taken to our venue where we will get our buses. We will actually start driving at 5:30 A.M. Guess I'll be in bed early tonight!!
Bye for now, Len
