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Parks and Saints

Jason and I just had a super crazy week. You know, one of those weeks where you don’t bother unpacking your suitcase from one trip because you will just be leaving again on another excursion a few days later and your house somehow becomes a shrine to clutter even though you’ve been home so scarcely that it doesn’t seem possible that you could’ve had any effect at all on your living space.

We stayed in cottage #7 this year. It was right on the green so Jason got a kick out of watching golfers throw tantrums when their shots went awry.

We spent the beginning of our week in Park City for the Society of Cosmetic Chemists’ annual scientific seminar and golf outing. This event followed its usual format: lectures and dinner the first afternoon and golfing the morning after. Jason typically tags along when I head up to this gathering. He doesn’t golf and he doesn’t get to eat with me and the other scientists at Ruth’s Chris so why is he so eager to go? I know that boy loves me but I think his enthusiasm for escorting me to this function has more to do with the lavish cottage suite at the Hotel Park City that he gets to lounge in while I am off with my fellow chemists than my entertaining personality. These cottage suites are spacious and swanky and go for well over a $1000 a night during Park City’s peak season. With a private patio sporting a gas fireplace and Jacuzzi, it’s easy to see why people are willing to shell out the dough for these accommodations. Luckily, we got a great deal through the SCC’s group rate so we got to enjoy the hotel’s splendor for relative pocket change.

Our suite had its own private patio equipped with a fireplace and Jacuzzi. We sat out there sipping sparkling lemonade from fancy glasses while the brilliant night sky captivated us.
My golf team had the misfortune of being stuck with me. I pity the fool!
Jason decided to go mountain biking at Park City Resort while I was out golfing. Without my voice of reason he got exceptionally lost and ended up on some pretty treacherous terrain. What's pictured here is not that treacherous terrain but a lovely meadow he came across somewhere in the middle of it all.

A few days later we were off to St. George to attempt to see The Little Mermaid again at Tuacahn with Jason’s parents. Those of you that regularly follow my blog may recall that we got rained out when we tried to watch this show in July. We had decided to make a special trip to St. George just to give seeing this production one more chance because we had heard so many impressive things about it. As fate would have it, however, another thunderstorm was right on cue to ruin our fun again. Geez Luis! I would have been majorly disgruntled if we had driven 4 hours solely for the purpose of seeing this show but once more hadn’t been able to finish it. Fortunately, although the weather was constantly on the brink of causing havoc during the performance, the lightening that endlessly illuminating the sky to our northwest never moved in on us. It wasn’t until we were walking back to our car after the show that the heavens let it all loose. Disaster narrowly averted! And the musical was great, with some pretty creative special effects, so it was worthy of our second try.

Scuttle, the bird-brained seagull, was dressed in a full flock of feathers. What a great costume!
Heidi Anderson, who played Ursula, did a fantastic job. She was just the right combination of wicked and witty.
King Triton was a tall fellow; lengthy Jason appeared shrimpy next to him.

Although our retreat to St. George was quick, and we spent more of it driving than anything else, all that car time did allow us to chat with Sue and Keith quite a bit. And since we not only got to watch all of The Little Mermaid but also grab breakfast at The Bear Paw I’d say that it was a trip well spent. (The Bear Paw serves terrific French toast stuffed with brulee cream; I’d highly recommend gorging yourself on it.)

What a busy week spent traveling all over tarnation! But hey, between the green slopes of Park City’s summits and the red cliffs of Tuacahn we got a whirlwind tour of some of the best scenery in Utah not to mention the delight of great company and the pleasure of cultural enlightenment.

Rachel August 31, 2011 No Comments

What a Wonderful Wendy

My good friend Wendy just reached the mournful age of 50 but we, her pals, were in no way going to let her mope about this milestone when we had some serious celebrating to do.

That's a whole lot of ladies, which means Jason had to tolerate a whole lot of girlyness. What a good sport.

For the first portion of the partying, a group of us girls, and Jason, ate at Red Rock Brewing Company in Salt Lake City, which is always an excellent spot for some pub grub. I had the wild mushroom polenta and I did not regret it. Yum!

Our group wasn't very big but what we lacked in quantity we made up for in loudness.
A mouthful of food has the tendency to make one look like they're eating...sorry Robyn, this is the only picture I got of you.
Blabbing is a particular talent of mine. I could talk the ears off an elephant or the hair off a mole. Don't believe me? Just give me a chance to open my mouth.
I guess a toasty bun and wiener are what everyman looks for in a hotdog because Jas and Chuong were determined to figure out a way to make their whole meal crispy.
Mission accomplished: the birthday girl got a laugh.

A week later another assembly of my friends headed up American Fork Canyon to roast hotdogs and marshmallows by the campfire in honor of Wendy. I think it is nearly impossible not to have a good time when relaxing with your buddies around a cozy flame while majestic pines form the only barrier between you and a glittering sky. We chomped and chatted the evening away and only closed our mouths finally when we realized that we had lingered way past the time when picnickers are supposed to remove themselves for the night.

Chuong stretched himself out on what Jason calls "the princess chair." Doesn't he look femininely regal?
Who knew one Rachel-I mean marshmallow-could make such a mess? I had so much goo in untoward places that I couldn't keep myself from laughing until I cried. This only made getting that marshmallow down even harder and I nearly choked.

Happy birthday Wendy! May all your 50ths be just as festive.

 

Rachel August 25, 2011 No Comments

Ascending Sundance

A week or so ago Jason and I went hiking at Sundance Resort. We have biked and snowboarded Sundance many times but had never experience the extremeness of unextremely using our feet to travel its slopes…until now.

What a magnificent vista! The hills were a lush green and even Utah Lake, tinted by its algae bloom, added to the emerald hue.
The picnic tables at the top of Arrowhead Summit were a great place to eat a snack and enjoy the visual splendor of the surroundings.
That's Heber Valley sprawled out below Jason as he stands on Arrowhead Summit.

We accessed Sundance’s hiking areas by way of the lift and then spent the afternoon traversing some lovely terrain. Our first climb was to the top of Arrowhead Summit. This is the most challenging hike at Sundance. It ascends to the highest point at the resort, which is over 8,000 feet. The path to the summit, unfortunately, is along a gravel access road instead of a traditional hiking trail but the beauty of the peak definitely makes up for what the route lacks. The path terminates on Arrowhead’s ridge, which overlooks Utah Valley on one side and Heber Valley on the other. Gorgeous! These valleys were still very green (quite an anomaly for this time of year) making the view uncommonly pretty. What added most to the perfection of this hike however was the fact that we saw exactly no one the whole way. We got to savor the windswept glades and rugged pines without even a hint of humanity. There was certainly no shortage of people exiting the lift but they all headed straight for one of the downhill hikes. Ah the laziness of human beings, ever my vexation but still always my ally.

This vibrant meadow was too picturesque to pass through without taking a few photos.
We came across this giant mushroom on our way to Stewart Falls. I think it's probably the biggest toadstool I've ever seen.
Due to water flowing this year in areas it normally does not, the trail to Stewart Falls passed under an impromptu stream that tumbled from an unanticipated waterfall. We had to cross this steep creek using ropes.
Stewart Falls is actually a series of 4 dramatic drops but you can only see the two lower ones here.

After climbing Arrowhead Summit we traveled back down the mountain by way of Stewart Falls. It was a nice easy return trip and the falls are always beautiful. Although I couldn’t help but think from time to time as we trekked along that the trail in front of me would be amazing on a bike, I must admit that moving at a slower pace was a relaxing change.

Rachel August 17, 2011 1 Comment
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