4th of July Road Trip - Part 1

Sarah and I decided to go visit her brother Matt in Durango, Colorado for the fourth of July weekend. Since a good road trip always includes going out of your way to visit fun spots we decided to take the long way and head down to Mystic Hot Springs in Monroe, Utah.
Mystic is a funky little hot spring. It's old, run down, and a bit of a hippie sort of place that's totally cool. The owner did artwork for the Greatful Dead, and being a music fan has concerts there sometimes. He's also a lampworker, and has/had other lampworkers living there. Kinda of a hippie lampworking commune... how cool!
I'd been there once before, but it was Sarah's first time. She must have her moms hippie wanna be gene, as she thought the place was totally cool, especially soaking in the tubs up on hill.
and how can you not like soaking in the hillside tubs? The scenery is spectacular!

We got there after dinner and were able to enjoy the setting sun. Sarah had fun taking some arsty pictures while the sun was setting. I especially like the ones of her feet in the tub.


Matt wanted us to bring Daisy to visit, so she happily joined us on our road trip. She was thrilled to sit by the tubs and keep us company.

Summer aromatherapy!

It's that time of year again. The Linden trees are in bloom. I love this time of year because the Lindens, which are fairly common around here, are addictively fragrant. There are some outside my building at work, and many in the park in my neighborhood. I like to walk through the park with Daisy just to drink in the air. It is such a wonderful smell.

It's good day when you wear out the dog...

Daisy and went hiking today. We headed up Millcreek canyon, and decided to hike Porter Fork. The first mile and a half or so is a narrow paved road that's dotted with quaint summer homes. A paved trail doesn't exactly sound rugged, but it is pretty steep and a nice workout. Perhaps that makes it a wussy trail and that's why I never hear about anyone hiking it? It's a favorite spot of mine for an evening hike, because I know if I should end up coming down in the dark it's easily navigable.

At the end of the paved road you enter the Mt. Olympus wilderness area. I've hiked into the wilderness area a little ways, but never very far, as I usually hike this trail after work and have limited time before the sun sets. My first picture was taken at my normal turn around spot.

Today was my day to get further up the trail. As you can tell by my third picture, the trail goes quite a ways higher, up to a nice meadow surrounded by a cirque of mountain ridges. I hiked up through the meadow and a little further. Eventually the trail should head up over the ridge, but the meadow seemed like good turn around as Daisy, who's almost 9 years old, was getting pretty tired. She never really understands the point of hiking where there isn't a creek, and we'd left the creek behind a while back. One thing about these steep trails, they give you quite a workout going both up and down. Ask my quads. And my dog!

My requisite weird close up flower shot for the day. The sun light shining through this sticky geranium was so pretty... so why not take a picture from the underside of the flower?

Raindrops on roses...

...and primrose and lilies. I'm not sure we've ever had such a waterlogged June. I checked the NOAA weather site and found a page that said the month to date had 2.4 inches of rain while the average for the month of June is 0.6 inches. I bet those measurements were out at the airport, I'm sure up along the mountains where I live we've had much more. I'm sure I've dumped at least 4 inches of water out my wheelbarrow, which has been sitting in the yard awaiting my planting my deck planters. I've had a flat of plants waiting at least two weeks for a dry night to do do some planting.


Tonight was that night. The second day in a row without rain, I figured the soil in my pots was dry enough to work with, so tonight was planting night. Clearly I should have dumped the water out the wheelbarrow more frequently, because my back yard was teaming with mosquitoes. Or were they from my pond or my fire pit or somewhere else where water could pool? Regardless, I've never had so many squeeters in my yard - it actually made for an unpleasant planting night.

A grand night out!

Sunset over the Great Salt Lake (...this picture's not from todays adventure, but one I had about 2 weeks ago)

Yeah, not what you think at all. We have had the rainiest June I have ever seen. Evening rainstorms nearly every night for what seems like weeks. Very weird weather for Utah. But tonight we had a reprieve from the rain, so I thought I'd make the best of it by tying on my running shoes and taking Daisy for a jog and walk down in the gully.

It was a wonderful night for the gully. When I got to the first bridge there was guy sitting playing guitar. A really interestingly shaped classical guitar, the shape was similar to a zuni bear fetish if that makes sense. He said it was old, passes down through the family. A little accoustic music in the gully is a nice thing.

A little further down the trail I ran into a drummer. Unfortunately he was leaving, so I missed that concert... I kind of like this getting back to nature with music thing.

It was a really nice night, cool and delightful. The air, cleansed by all the rain I guess, was cool and damp and downright intoxicating. I reached the end of the gully and turned back along the creek, walking west. By then the setting sun was filtering through trees, illuminating bits of floating cottonwood fluff. I was serenaded by the moving water in the creek and all sorts of birds. Clearly it was music time for them as well. I wish I knew their songs. There was one particularily loud bird with a lovely song that had to be in a shrub right next to the trail, but try as I might I could not find him. I'd love to know what kind of bird he was. It was getting dark as I headed up the wooded section of trail that winds towards my home. I really enjoy heading through the tunnel of trees in the dark. It's so peaceful and quiet.

Hows that for a grand night out?

I love Biggie Smalls

OK I admit it, I don't really know Biggie Smalls, I know he was also known as The Notorious B.I.G, I know he was a rap artist, I know he was murdered. I don't really know his music, as, with the exception of my "boyfriend" Grieves, I don't know much about rap music at all.

So why do I love Biggie? Yesterday I came home from work and walked into a spotless home. Dusted, vacuumed, garbage emptied, kitchen spotless. The cat's litter box had even been cleaned. I about fell over dead. Sarah must have spent the whole day cleaning. I don't think she's ever cleaned the cat box without me having to give her at least three stern reminders. What a delightful surprise to come home to.

I asked her what had come over her. Her answer? "Biggie Smalls". She turned on some Biggie Smalls music in the morning, and it gave her all this "energy", so she started cleaning, and he music kept her motivated, so she kept cleaning. So you go, Biggie Smalls! I love you! I may actually have to listen to one of his CD's someday

More from last weeks family adventure...

My cousins introduced me to a cool new website, Local Harvest, where you can look up farmers markets, businesses and restaurants that support local agriculture and organic food. They had a hit list of places they wanted to try as they travelled. Squatters Brewery here in SLC made their list, so we went for lunch after our visit to Antelope Island. I hadn't been there in a long time, so I wasn't aware of their buy local and organic effort, I mostly know of their beer. Cousin Ed decided to try the beer sampler, which, with a fun local touch, was brought out in a rack made from skis... a real "Brewski" you could say!
After lunch we stopped home and grabbed Sarah, who'd been at school, and headed up into the mountains for hike up to Donut Falls. It was too cold and the water to high to climb up through the creek to get the close up view of the falls, but it was still a lovely hike.