Do you periscope?

I picked up an important skill during our drive detour to Jackson, WY. It is called "periscoping."

After a day of hiking in the Tetons, picnicking and people watching in the park, and dreaming of Moose Drool, Harmony and I debated where we wanted our night to take us. We settled on grabbing a beer at The Cadillac Lounge, the place to meet a friendly mixture of travelers and many of the colorful locals. 

Moose Drool wasn't on top, so we settled with its Big Sky brother, Trout Slayer. It was delicious! As the clock hit 10 and 2 for 1, the crowd poured in, including Harmony's friend's older brother who came to meet us for a drink(s). He lives in Wilson, WY working as a rafting guide during the summers and in the ski shop during the winters. Lots of his ski bum friends (randomly the older brother of one of my guy friends from college) were also hitting up the best late night happy hour in town.

Tristan was sitting on the outside of the table, his back toward the crowd. I started noticing how he would subtly turn around and pan the room, to see and be seen. I found the solution to my staring problem! I enjoy people watching, but tend to be a little too obvious about it. Tristan advised that "periscoping" would be a less obvious and awkward way of checking out what's happening. Instead of looking at individual people for a prolonged moment, its a more broad quick scan. He suggested I practice. So, I stood up a little in the booth and panned the room as if I were looking for someone, not staring too long at any one person. He said the next step is perfecting a lip lick during the periscope. That step I failed. No "sexy periscoping" for me. I will stick with safe and simple.

I am still working on perfecting my periscoping skills in Aspen, scanning versus staring. I think it will be a great skill for less obvious people watching. So, for those of you who love to look at people, pick up the periscope.