unsacred and other things

I tried a new* Utah beer today: the Unfaithful IPA from new Utah brewery, Unsacred Brewing (which, I believe, is a subsidiary of Epic Brewing, doing nothing but Utah-friendly, lower alcohol beer as a complement to Epic's higher ABV brews).  My dad had bought a bottle (1 pt. 6 oz., 4% ABV) when we went shopping for the Powell trip.  But we forgot to take it with us on the houseboat and then we forgot to drink it when we got back and the poor thing had just been languishing in the fridge for weeks.  So today, after an after-work 3.2 mile walk in 91 degree heat, I thought I should drink it.  I love hoppy beers and this IPA is definitely hoppy, but on the lighter side with no lingering bitter aftertaste.  The color is slightly paler than I tend to prefer and it has less carbonation than I expected.  But the beer on a whole is pretty nice - and a decent choice for hot weather IPA drinking.

Being Unfaithful and Unsacred

In other news, during last Sunday's Round Valley MTB ride, we had to stop for a while and wait while a sandhill crane family took its time moving off the trail.  There were two adults and one juvenile; the parents were nearly five feet tall while the youngster was shorter and more slender.  Although we got fairly close to them, we didn't get any pictures because the parents were squawking and stalking about and we weren't entirely sure they wouldn't come after us - they have really long and sharp-looking beaks, and did I mention that they were nearly five feet tall?!

July 24th was Pioneer Day - or "pie and beer day" for the non-LDS folks who take advantage of the state holiday - which is the statewide celebration of the arrival of the Mormon pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley back in 1847.  Most places shut down and there's a rodeo, re-enactments and a huge parade.  We did not go to the parade (seriously, people camped out overnight on the sidewalks of downtown SLC for prime parade-watching spots - for a parade!) or any of it.  The mountains were clouded over and I played spoiled and opted out of doing a hike without clear skies, instead hitting the gym and then taking myself to a matinee.  The clouds had broken up by the time the movie was over, of course.  The holiday also means another round of neighborhood fireworks displays; they'll be allowed to shoot them off through Saturday, much to the dog's dismay.  Never fear: I've stocked up on Benadryl and we'll get through it just fine.

* New to me