Liz and Fred's Utah Blog

Red Hats

2008-02-26T06:20:00.000-08:00

When I was in Vegas, the Red Hat Society was having a convention!

Lake Mead

2008-02-23T16:12:00.000-08:00

I took this photo flying in to Vegas. Fred and I jet skied there in April of 2002.

You can't see it but on the very right hand edge is Hoover Dam.

Eskimo Treats

2008-02-22T17:05:00.000-08:00

I know its winter and maybe too cold to think of frozen confections but we really don't care!
The Yogurt Stop is so cute. Its on the corner by our house and has all sorts of fun things to sprinkle on their 8 flavors of frozen yogurt like Fruity Pebbles, Capn Crunch, candy bars, cookies and fresh fruit. Very tempting.

In the summer there are shaved ice kiosks in almost every grocery parking lot. We'd never seen this in Illinois. Someone told us they are snowcone kiosks but that's not really true. The snowcones we're used to had hard icy balls with your usual choice of grape, cherry and maybe lime syrup and a paper cup. Not Snowies! Soft as snow, 50+ flavors available, and for 25 cents more you can have half n half poured over it. Very decadent. I stopped eating these after the first summer, just too many calories. But if you are here over the summer you just have to try one!

Earthquake

2008-02-21T07:53:00.000-08:00

At 7:16 this morning there was an 6.3 earthquake across the border in Wells Nevada. Many, many people were calling in to the Salt Lake news stations saying they felt it right here in the valley. I don't talk much about this for fear of causing a panic amongst my kinfolk, but we live about 2 miles from the fault line running at the base of the Wasatch Mountains. There hasn't been an earthquake here in hundreds of years but the scientists all agree it will happen some day. It could be soon or it could be in hundreds of years. For multiple reasons, the Mormons who settled this area, urge their members to store up food and water and other supplies that would get them through a disaster. So in our neighborhood and throughout the valley there are distaster preparedness classes, organized block captains and multiple business who offer different types of kits and supplies to get you through an event. I'm sure Californians have this same type of preparedness but being a midwesterner, I'm more attuned to the possibility of tornado destruction; this is all sort of foreign to me.

When we first moved here, I had a couple conversatios with neighbors about all this. I started storing up water and some food supplies. Fred kinda thought I was silly but a few weeks ago one of our neighbors came by and asked Fred if he would be willing to volunteer as the organizer of the Emergency Preparedness block captains in our neighborhood. I had to laugh because that was the last job I thought Fred would be interested in. I also had to laugh this morning; our neighbors, most of whom don't have pets (they have too many kids to have time for pets!), asked if we would call them right away if our dogs ever started acting funny. Supposedly animals can sense a quake coming and will pace, act nervous, pant, drool, cry etc. Uh, well, my two failed the test as early alert systems this morning. Both were snoozing away at 7:16.

This map shows the multiple earthquakes going on everyday in the west, most of them very small. But that big blue block, that's this morning's!

Gotta Moose, Gotta Moose, Can you do the Fandango?

2008-02-16T11:22:00.000-08:00

We were in Millcreek Canyon cross country skiing last weekend when we spotted this guy. See him? I didn't either at first. Just to the left of this view were a dozen people and dogs who had congregated. I asked one woman what everyone was looking at. She nodded her head in this guy's direction and said, 'uh, the moose'. OH! Wow. We put Story on leash because we knew she wouldn't leave it alone. Since he's apparently a youngster, there's a good chance the mama would be close by and they aren't very nice if you get too close to their babies.

He was just a leanin' on the truck.

Cute, huh? Click on the picture to see larger.

You can see how much snow we've had lately.

2008-01-22T16:15:00.000-08:00

Its been too long. Holidays, skiing, work - they all get in the way of updating my blog.

What's new with us? Well, we had a big storm yesterday that dumped over a foot at our home. Sandy was the hardest hit suburb in the whole valley. This picture was last night when I got home from work.

Poor Sydney doesn't know where to go to the bathroom. We had to shovel a path for her out through the snow.

Here's a little video of me shoveling before work. Most of the snow fell between 3 and 7 am.

They Say It's Your Birthday

2007-12-16T08:23:00.000-08:00

Ha ha, this pretty much sums it up.
I was looking around online to see who else might be joining the ranks this year. This list should make some of you feel old!

Caroline Kennedy (Nov 27)
Donny Osmond (Dec 9)
Ellen DeGeneres (Jan 26)
Sharon Stone (Mar 10)
Michelle Pfeiffer (Apr 29)
Prince (June 7)
Madonna (Aug 16)

Romancing the Stones

2007-12-10T15:57:00.000-08:00

Eh dere! Our Friday night date was at the Olympic Oval in Kearns, Utah.
Yep, that's me delivering the stone (that's what they call it when you send the rock down the ice).

A couple weeks ago the chairman of Norwest asked if I would look into Curling as a social event for our annual shareholder meeting in February. Even though Curling is an Olympic event, its not very popular in Utah. But I was able to find a local group, the Wasatch Curling Club, that meets on Friday night. They just happened to be holding a clinic last Friday so Fred and I went out to see if this is our next great love in recreation.

Its harder than it looks! Your slider foot is placed on a teflon slipper so the only thing that is balancing you as you push off the hack, and deliver the stone down the ice, is your broom . Your team mates head down the ice to sweep like mad to keep the stone moving as far as it will go. Sweeping is also harder than it looks because you really have to move quickly without falling on your face. Sweeping also makes you very warm! Its a little like Bocce on ice; your intent is to get your stone closest to the center of the target at the other end of the ice. Our instructor and a lot of the club members are from the Midwest (she lived in Canada, Minnesota and Wisconsin). She's been curling for twenty years and had a wee bit of that Fargo accent. She was lamenting that the sport in Utah isn't quite the same; back in Wisconsin they hit the pub before and after their game. Although I can't imagine trying to do this after a couple beers!

(Click on any picture to see it larger, see the banners on the wall?)

Its really amazing to live where Olympic games took place. We can skate on the same ice where Apollo Ono won silver (he practices at this rink still), we can take a bobsled ride at the Olympic Park in Park City and we can ski on the same slopes where Bode Miller lost his chance at gold. If you ever need a sweatshirt or a baseball cap that says 'Olympic Curling Team', I know just where to get one!

Powder Day

2007-12-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

Three feet of new snow. It was a beautiful day.

Videos to Rev Up the Riders

2007-12-05T12:02:00.000-08:00

I saw this ad in SLUG (Salt Lake Under Ground) newspaper. Creative, eh? I get a kick out of the local ads. I've gathered a few more that I will post another time. (check back often and feel free to leave comments!)

BTW, we're getting dumped on as I write. Brighton received 18" in the past 24 hrs with 12 to 18' more tonight. Woo hoo. You know where I will be tomorrow? I have my Snowbird buyone/getone coupon right here!

Well, what can I say. Brighton is a little bit rowdy and their ads reflect it.

Below are some videos that I found on YouTube that are kinda fun to watch. The first one shows how quiet and beautiful the resorts can be.

Enjoy the ride!! and the videos...

Pineapple Anyone??

2007-12-04T18:12:00.000-08:00

I'm becoming a snow fanatic. I watch the weather forecasts drooling over the next big storm. I'm so excited. The Pineapple Express??!! Awesome. Oh yeah, Fred was at the bank again today. His favorite Bank Teller had ridden (her snowboard) three times over the weekend at Brighton. Fred and I made it to Snowbird on Sunday. I have improved much over last year. (Lacy and Jeff would be so proud.) The first time we went with them I was a big whiney, baby. Kristin and Jeff: Getting excited yet??

Its Here!

2007-12-02T08:48:00.000-08:00

Winter!! Yes!!

Winter in Salt Lake City is welcomed with open arms. The newscasters are absolutely giddy when a storm hits the city. One of our favorite stories: Fred was at the bank and mentioned to the teller how much he loved all the fall colors. Her reply was 'Screw the colors, I want snow!'

We had our first big storm during the wee hours of Saturday and woke to 7 inches on the ground. The mountains received 15. Some years the resorts have opened as early as late September.

This year most resorts pushed their opening back to November 30 because of the miserable accumulation so far. They opened with very few runs open, and most of the snow was man made. But one day after opening, WHAM! We were hit! Soooo.......

More later - Gone Skiing!

By the way, we are supposed to get another big storm next weekend. Awesome.

back·packing

2007-08-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

intransitive verb: to hike, carrying (food or equipment) on the back; also to spend sleepless nights worrying about bears, wake to gale force winds, then pretend to enjoy really bad coffee while your spouse takes your smiling photo.

Earlier this summer, while Fred was away on business, I set up my 3-man tent on our hill, bought a cushy foam pad and slept out to see how it felt. I've only been camping a few times in my life and most of those, I ended up retreating to the car after a few miserable hours. Except for the really cool temps and the mole that was tunneling under the tent in the middle of the night, it was really very enjoyable. I decided I like sleeping in the fresh air and watching the sun come up. So two weeks ago after our beautiful hike in the Uinta lakes region, (and passing a father and his two sons who were packing in to get a good, dark night to view the Perseid's meteor shower), I started bugging Fred about camping out somewhere dark where we could do some stargazing. I didn't really want to go to a campground (too many, lights, noise and idiots) so we decided to backpack to the top of Alta Ski Resort where we'd seen the perfect spot on a previous hike. I asked Fred if we had to worry about bears up there. Nah! Nobody's ever seen bears in that area of the canyon. Moose, yes, bears, no. Hmmm.

We started putting together a list of what we'd need, to actually camp away from it all, without carrying the entire house to the top of Catherine Pass trail. I bought a fairly cheap sleeping bag since the weather's been in the middle 90's, plus a really light, inflatable mattress. We did a dry run, setting up Fred's 2-man tent in our front yard, figured out what size footprint tarp we'd need to go underneath, added the rain tarp (telling each other we probably wouldn't need it), and listed out other necessities like a stove, pot for boiling water, lightweight cups, sandwiches, breakfast bars, coffee brewer, and a bear bag to hang our food stuff from a tree. Of course, he'd already told me bears weren't an issue in that area but better safe than sorry. Actually, moose are the most sighted large animal up there. I'd only have to worry about running into a moose while stumbling around in the pitch black relieving my bladder.

Our plan was to leave Saturday around 5pm so we could be sure to grab the spot, set up camp and get a few hours to eat and hang out before dark. As it ended up, we didn't leave the house until 6:00 and finally started our hike at 7:00. As we set out on the trail, I noticed a laminated flyer on the trail post. 'WARNING: Bears have been spotted in this area. Please put all food waste in dumpsters and keep food far from your campsite.' Geez, I knew it. Fred assured me that as long as we hung our food far from our tent, we'd be fine. So, off we went, into the wild.

See my smiling face? See that gravel area behind me? That's where we were supposed to camp. I'd already been carrying the 25 lb pack for 20 minutes, and now that perfect camping spot didn't look so perfect to Fred anymore. The smile was fake. I was getting really grouchy, but hey, gotta look good for the camera!

At 8:15, after much bitching and profuse sweating on my part, Fred left the very rocky trail, walked 600 feet and found a gorgeous spot with a view of the canyon. It was flat and still, with beautiful pines soaring above us. The PERFECT spot, thanks to Fred!

Our light was fading fast, so we quickly set up the tent, slung the 'probably won't need it' rain tarp on top, ate our dinner, washed our hands, brushed teeth, threw our stuff in the tent and snapped a few pictures before the sun disappeared at 8:45, careful to hang the food bag in a tree far from the tent.

At about 9:30 the stars began to appear, first sighting Ursa Major (Big Dipper) then Cassiopeia, Vega, Bootes and Antares. By 9:45 we realized that the show would soon be over. The full moon was rising over the pines to our left. By 10:00 it was as if a floodlight had turned on. It was so still it was spooky; no breeze at all. I don't think I've ever heard that much silence. We called it a night, looking forward to sunrise and coffee.

At midnight the winds started and the temps dropped. We'd anchored the rain tarp on the back of the tent, but the wind was blowing so hard on my side, it was flapping wildly and cold air was swirling inside the tent. Both of us ignored it for a few hours but eventually it became too much. Fred, shivering in his windbreaker, got up and anchored the tarp on all four sides. The now 'useful' tarp made a very warm cocoon! The moon had moved so it was peering directly into the small window at the front of the tent, blinding us. The wind whipped around us all night. I lay awake, imagining animal noises, sure something was taking swipes at the back of the tent. I somehow managed to sleep from 3:00 to 7:00, waking to milder winds but, still, very annoying. Fred's pad was so minimal, he really had a lousy night's sleep. We both were sore and stiff, cold and pretty tired. We looked at each other and agreed this might be the last time.

Fred retrieved the food bag and after fighting the wind, got the stove set up, boiling water. The coffee gizmo we bought didn't work very well, but though weak, it was hot! We gulped down two cups each, ate our breakfast bars and decided we might as well break camp since it was really no fun sitting in the cold wind. Amazingly, as soon as the sun appeared, the wind died. Soon we were sweating. We finished packing up and started down the trail close to 8:30.
As we passed a few uphill hikers, we stopped to answer questions about our night, bragging and perpetuating the myth that backpacking is fun. In the safety of the light, walking through the coolness of the woods, our night didn't seem so awful. We might just have to give this another try. Maybe.

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