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.
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.
When we were in San Diego a couple weeks ago we were startled to find ourselves in the middle of a sudden zombie invasion. Hundreds of walking dead began ambling down the crowded sidewalks of 5th Avenue one day as we were heading back to our hotel. It was unsettling and amusing all at once. (For a clip of the footage we took refer to my Comic-Khan post.)
Jason's brother Matt and Matt's friend Tabatha were our zombie compadres. And no, I am not normally that pale though it it's probably debatable whether painting myself various shades of grey made a significant difference in my skin tone.
Upon our return home we were surprised to hear that a similar event would be taking place in Salt Lake City just a couple weeks after the one we witnessed in San Diego. Since we are dorks extraordinaire we couldn’t miss this unique opportunity to get our undead stumble on.
I had never dabbled in latex before so I was pretty proud of my initial attempt with this arm wound. Not too shoddy for a first timer.
Jason’s brother Matt and a couple of his friends joined us, and the roughly 2,000 other zombie walkers, for a mile and a half lurch around downtown Salt Lake City last Sunday. What a fun and crazy activity! This horde of corpses, which overflowed the sidewalks for blocks, closely resembled your worst nightmare. We came across many astonished bystanders whose apparent anxiousness only encouraged chasings by rouge zombies. Being among the army of monsters, in contrast to being on the menu, may seem like it would have been a relatively untroubled experience but it wasn’t as carefree as you might think.
The undead horde was waiting here to be released from Pioneer Park.
First of all, I wasn’t anticipating a little decomposing flesh and some oozing wounds turning me into a celebrity. Disgusting must be “in” because there were cameras everywhere. The vacant sneers of us maggot magnets were always met with flashes and glaring lenses…and sometimes screams. Man, if I had known the paparazzi were going to be swarming I would have worn my more fashionable tattered shirt and styled my rotting hair.
Looks like something you'd see in a post-apocalypse city; a chilling reminder of humanity's violent end.My favorite detail of Matt's costume was his hair accessories: dead leaves adorned his ratty crown. Just what you'd expect to find on the head of someone fresh from the grave.
Secondly, shuffling through post-life may seem like an almost relaxing pursuit, I know we flesh-gnawers make shambling slowly look so easy, but let me assure that dragging one of your limbs behind you in an unnatural fashion and hanging your atrophied arms like limp fish as you stagger over the ground at a maddeningly sluggish pace is anything but comfortable. I’m certain this is why many of the undead gave up on maintaining their swagger as we neared the end of the course. I never relinquished my grotesque authenticity and I had the backache afterward to prove it.
Jason was an eager brain-seeker. He liked to spook those we passed with a lively chase or a menacing groan. The streets of downtown were literally dripping with blood after our masses staggered through.
Besides the clumsiness and awkward notoriety, being a zombie was also frustrating because your terrified quarry often jumped into trees or over fences as easy as nibbling a toe. How are you supposed to get some brains if holding your rigid arms out in a useless fashion is the most offensive move in your arsenal? What’s a poor hungry zombie to do?
Tennis shoes, a race t-shirt, sweatbands, and a Walkman: how ironic that a runner couldn't escape the clutches of a lumbering zombie. Why didn't someone warn me that it's not a good idea to wear headphones when running in traffic or when the world is teeming with the undead?This little girl was freaky with a leash around her waist and a brain in her mouth.
So before you start feeling sorry for yourself, and all of those other tasty humans, consider the zombies’ plight. If you tried hobbling a mile and a half in their putrid shoes you might have a little sympathy for those ghouls. After all, most of them probably have a permanently kinked neck and a rumbly tummy. No wonder they’re grouchy; we all know how low blood sugar can affect your outlook on life.
Recent Comments