royal

In addition to Real Salt Lake, we also have a women's professional soccer team, the Utah Royals.  Both teams play at the America First field (formerly Rio Tinto Stadium) which is located in Sandy, Utah, not all that far from our house.  It's been quite a while since we've been to see a game there - since the rugby game, I think - so when my work offered up some free tickets to a Friday night Royals game, we were all in.

First half seats on the west side of the stadium

We parked (for free) at the far northwest corner of the expo center's parking lot.  When we got out of the car, we immediately noticed that almost everyone else was carrying blankets of some sort.  That would have been a great idea: it was in the 40s, with a light but cold wind, and even though we were dressed in lots of layers (I managed to fit a pair of thin longjohns under my jeans) and winter parkas, blankets would have been welcome.

Our seats were pretty good and we had a great view of the action as the Royals took the field against the Chicago Stars.  I say "action" but in all honesty, it seemed pretty slow even though the ball was in front of the Chicago net for most of the first half.  Utah had a lot of corner kicks and a couple of shots but nothing that came close.

View from E&K's season seats

For the second half, we went down to the north end zone and sat with our friends E and K, who have season tickets.  They were smart enough to bring blankets.  And they also shared their beers with us - the pricing for which seemed outrageous ($16!) to us who haven't been to a professional sports game in years.  The second half was a little rougher, with some injury time that resulted in 9+ minutes of stoppage time.  Amazingly, the Royals scored on a penalty kick in the last minute of stoppage time, a much-needed 1-0 win.

We didn't stick around for the post-game drone show and had to put the seat-heaters on for the drive home.

eights

On Saturday, we were all back on the Pipe Dream trail.  We had briefly considered going out to the MOAB Brand trails for our hikes/runs but ultimately decided that we just didn't want to drive anywhere.  The plan was that A and M would start first, heading south on Pipe Dream.  H would follow, running, and scoop up M when he caught us.  H wanted to do eight miles total; A was aiming for around seven, figuring to do the return trip along the Pipeline 4x4 road, which is slightly shorter than sticking with Pipe Dream as it doesn't go in and out of all the drainages.

Grounsel (maybe)

Surprisingly, A and M got to the Hidden Valley trailhead before H caught us, so instead of dropping down to the 4x4 road, we just turned around and went back north on the trail.  H, heading south, caught us just about a quarter mile from our turnaround, and M immediately turned and followed him while A kept going north.  When they passed me again on their way north/home, I handed off M's leash to H.  All told, H ran eight miles (his longest run this year), A hiked eight miles and M probably did more like ten because of the doubling back and also chasing critters.

New shoes day 2

With that distance, H and A opted not to do a road ride, settling in to recover with reading and puzzles.  We did rally in the late afternoon to meet a friend at Woody's.  Gotta stay hydrated.

On Sunday, the three of us did an almost 4.5 mile town walk.  Moab is absolutely into high season now: the jeeps were rolling into town, the newly-revamped food truck park looked great and there were lots of tourists on Main Street.  

more signs of spring

 Another sign of spring is the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab.  We were down there for the opening weekend and, to be honest, it seemed to be starting slowly.  There really didn't seem to be any more jeeps around than on any other given weekend.  They were rolling into town, however, so things were definitely about to ramp up.

Fremont's barberry (maybe)

It's always nice to see the jeepers but that's not what we were there for.  It had been five weeks (!) since A had been down there and we were all ready for some desert time.  Friday we double-sessioned, with A and Milton doing a four mile walk and H doing a four mile run on Pipe Dream.  The wildflowers are just starting to come out although the flowering trees in town are past prime-bloom.  

Mid-morning, A and H got onto their road bikes and did a 16.5 ride on the bike path: from the house to the river, out and back along the river, up to the Arches National Park entrance and then home.  I'm afraid it's going to be a slow start for me on the bike: last winter I rode the stationery bike at the gym which at least got me a little bit in biking shape; this winter, I have been walking 3+ miles with the dog every day after work - good exercise but does nothing for bicycling readiness.  I also didn't plan my nutrition all that well and will have to recalibrate that going forward.

Eaton's penstemon (possibly)

The afternoon was spent weeding and reading - and H has a diabolical new jigsaw puzzle - and then we strolled over to Josie Wyatt's for an evening beer.  It was pretty frickin' pleasant: they had the windows wide open and everyone just seemed happy to be there.  We had a nice conversation with Paul, a local guy we recognized but hadn't talked with before.

After cashing out, we swung by Back of Beyond Books so I could pick up a desert wildflower reference book (even with which I still haven't been able to identify most of the flowers I photographed along Pipe Dream).  And then we popped into Woody's for one drink and a quick hello to our favorite bartenders.

no this time I think it's spring

Spring is probably my least favorite season, harkening back to growing up in Maine where spring really isn't a thing (late winter, more late winter, mud season, blackflies).  Even out here, where it is an actual season, it is so variable and seems to pass so quickly, jumping from 50s to 90 in the span of a week.  This year it is not rushing to get to summer, which is nice, although we did go from mid-70s to snowing (again) within the span of a week.  

Still, the sun is coming out more, neighbors are already watering their lawns (grrrrr...) and the flowering trees are truly in full flower.  Just ask everyone's allergies.  Here's a sampling from the last week throughout our neighborhood. 

two days in a row

 We in northern Utah have seen the sun two days in a row.  It's very exciting and is getting all of our hopes up.  All around our neighborhood, people were in working their yards all weekend (not us), including mowing their lawns (not us), unless they are of the LDS faith, in which case they were inside watching the semi-annual General Conference (not us) (also, look it up if you want to but I'm not linking it here).  The flowering trees are flowering; spring bulbs are in full bloom; and there's lots of birds busy with their bird business all over the place.  It's enough to give one hope that spring might be here.

But in case it's not, I put flannel back on the bed when I changed the sheets.

H had another decent spring skiing day up at Alta.  It was a tiny bit warmer and maybe slightly less crowded, which is always welcome.  He slammed his way through lap after groomer lap, skiing back onto the lift nearly each time. His last lap, before catching the 1:09 p.m. bus, was through the ungroomed Ballroom, however, and he said that he rather regretted that.

Look at that sky!  Look at those skiers trekking

up to the top of Baldy! (H not included, this time)

There weren't as many people out during A and M's 8:00 a.m. five mile walk, but Milton still managed to score treats from two different new friends.  When we got home, we immediately did a Costco run (door to door: one hour, which is pretty good, I guess), and then Milton went out to the driveway on his tie-out.  He was out there from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., when we made him come in to eat something; we then each took him on a neighborhood walk; and then there was 5 o'clock tailgating which meant that the dog managed to spend nearly the whole day outside.

Do these look like poops? Yes.  Are

they actually fairly tasty chocolate cookies

made from black beans? Also yes.

While M was basking in the sun, A did a load of laundry, meal-prepped baked tofu, made surprisingly good dark chocolate black bean (!!) cookies and made another focaccia (it's easy and I think I may be addicted to making it).  Dinner was also easy: InstantPot navy beans with lemon and thyme, plus oven-roasted broccoli and that homemade focaccia.  Pretty nice weekend.

Overproved and deflated in the oven

because I tampered with the recipe

wait, is that ... the sun?

After a week of rain and snow in the valley - and over two feet of snow in the mountains - the sun finally came out for us on Saturday.  This made for a decent late-season ski day for H.  It was a cool start but blue bird skies meant the sun came through nicely as the morning wore on.  Pretty much everything was open and it wasn't that busy, plus the fact that it had been cold and snowy all week meant that the conditions stayed decent - it didn't go into the freeze/thaw cycle that is prevalent in spring.

Ooooo blue!

Milton and A decided to continue to ignore any yardwork (it's still too early for that, I think, seeing how it was only 36F when the sun came up) and did the Dimple Dell loop.  We got to see all our usual early morning dog-walk friends (Betty, Loki, Red and Molly) and Milt cadged dog cookies from three different people.  When we got home, it was still cool but the sun was strong, so Milton was able to take up his neighborhood watch position in the driveway.  Indoors, A made another apricot crumble and some chai spice cupcakes, vacuumed and - perhaps prematurely - started switching the closets over from winter to summer wear.  It really probably is too soon but the SLC forecast is going to be in the 70s in the coming week and it's hard to not get excited about that.

when the sky and the ground are the same color

 Saturday's rain scoured the air so that things were back to "healthy" by Sunday morning.  Milton and A were able to do their whole five mile Dimple Dell loop, which took a while because we had to stop to chat with his old dog buddies (Betty, Loki, Molly and Aya) and a new dog buddy (Red).  The sun kept trying to come out but never really broke through.  Milton insisted on some driveway hang time when we got home but did not ultimately last that long: he prefers those days when he can bake himself in the sunshine.  Back home, things got a little domestic meal-prepping InstantPot black beans, lentil soup and a vegan bolognese, as well as attempting a new focaccia recipe.

There's a "wiggle" in the foreground, believe it or not

Because the sun never really broke through, H had another day at Alta with more of the same, although slightly colder and with slightly less snowfall.  The light was still very flat and the conditions still very mixed.  H reported definite grumbling in the locker room about the difficult visibility.  Out of his 29 ski days so far, he thinks only seven have had blue sky/sunshine.  And this was not one of those.  He called it quits early and took the 12:39 bus down canyon.

ETA: fairly successful focaccia

the vagaries of spring weather

 The light at the end of the ski season tunnel is evident (Alta closing day April 20) but still H persists.  The bus was not crowded on Saturday.  And for good reason: the light was flat and it was snowing a wet, heavy snow all day.  He lasted until the 12:39 p.m. bus - when the snow started edging more towards rain - and then headed home.  With spring season comes the overnight freeze/thaw cycle and the overcast day kept the conditions from fully thawing by the time he left.  And since he hasn't bothered to get his skis sharpened for about four years, that makes for some pulse-pounding moments when you get to a more frozen bit.

Below the Ballroom, looking towards Superior

Down in the valley, Milton and A did their walk, but only did 3.5 miles instead of the usual five since the air quality index in the Salt Lake valley was still "unhealthy" due to all the dust that had been blowing in.  After the walk came laundry, and after the laundry came chocolate chip cookies and an apricot crumble.  Milt wanted to spend time hanging out on his tie-out in the driveway but the clouds kept building and then it started to rain.  At least that cleared out the bad air.

We also got a little social for a change, meeting our friends E and K out for beers/food at Piper Down late afternoon.  Piper Down is an Irish pub on State Street in SLC.  Amazingly, it has a huge plant-based menu and their plant-based "meat" is made by a local company, Vegan Daddy Meats.  H had a vegan reuben and I had the vegan "Galway grilled cheese" with corned beaf, carmelized onions, cheddar and Swiss cheeze and Guinness mustard.  It wasn't at all healthy but it was delicious.  And it was also really, really good to spend time catching up with E and K whom we hadn't seen since Friendsgiving.

springy

This isn't a real post, but I was travelling and am a little light on content at present.  It happens.  I mean, we've been doing this for over fifteen years now.

I guess that March in northern Utah is going out like a lamb.  Earlier this week, it was sunny and nearly 80 F.  Then the winds picked up, blowing in enough dust to make the air unhealthy, and droppnig the temperatures down into the 40s.  But we've gotten a taste of spring and when we walk around the neighborhood, the hopeful little crocuses and grape hyacinth and daffodils and narcissi are making their presence known.  

Forsythia and cloudy skies

remember this day in august

The storm system seemed to be moving out on Sunday, as evidenced by the fact that it was so windy.  A and M did their Dimple Dell loop under overcast skies, mid-high 30s and blustery.  The temperature was decent - not so cold as to get cold, but cool enough not to get hot - but I'm just not a fan of the wind.  We chatted briefly with another dog walker whom we recognize, commiserating about the chill of the wind and she said, "we should remember this day in August," when we're sweltering and begging for a cloud.  Wise words.

There were naps

After our walk, we vacuumed the whole house and cleaned the kitchen, finally remembered to water the plants, caught up with friends via text, did more laundry and made chocolate chip scones.  And finished another library book.  Perhaps not quite as productive as some of our days but hey, we did vacuum.

Backside open for business

Up at Alta, with another six inches bringing the storm total to 42-43", H had another pretty good day.  Not quite as good as Saturday, but still.  It was windy and the light was totally flat but ski patrol got the Backside open.  The snow there was thigh-deep and when he skied it, it puffed up over his head on the turns.  It wasn't blower pow, so it was a bit of a workout, but for those who like to ski it deep, it was skiing deep.