Sunday, November 8, 2009
loyal customers
On Tuesday (11/3) we went to the Porcupine to celebrate our One Month in Utah anniversary. Plus it was $2/pints. When we got the tab, we were surprised and pleased to discover a “Loyal Customer” discount of $0.75. Only took us a month to become regulars – awesome!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
gainfully employed
Holy moly, I can hardly believe it: I got a job and my first day is this coming Monday. It's with a large-ish law firm right in downtown SLC and I'm going to be the paralegal for the estate planning/probate group - so uber-thanks to my beloved and former boss Betsey for saying all the right things about me when they called her. The days of wine and roses (i.e., hanging around the apartment eating bonbons in my soft pants) are over.
catching up
Y'all, I'm soooooooooooo sorry for the long delay in posting. It's not that we don't have stuff to share with you, it's that the computer was in the spa enduring an intensive (and expensive) cleanse to rid itself of all the viruses and spyware and crap that COMCAST [stupid jerky @#$%^&* Comcast] exposed us to. But we're back. And lots of upcoming posts to bring you up to speed.
In the meantime, you all should really go check out this blog here. She's a Utah girl who loves the outdoors and who has parlayed that plus her love of writing into an actual career. Plus, she totally commented on two of my posts (!!!!!) so she deserves all the love you can give her. She's in the sidebar of links too.
In the meantime, you all should really go check out this blog here. She's a Utah girl who loves the outdoors and who has parlayed that plus her love of writing into an actual career. Plus, she totally commented on two of my posts (!!!!!) so she deserves all the love you can give her. She's in the sidebar of links too.
Monday, November 2, 2009
bison and cowboys
We had a busy day Saturday (10/31/09) and none of it had anything to do with Halloween costumes. First we headed out to Antelope Island State Park for the first day of their annual Bison Round Up. The island is home to a herd of approximately 600 bison and every year volunteers drive them to the bison corrals at the north end of the island where they are inspected, ministered to and ear-tagged by a veterinarian. Some of the herd is culled and sold at auction so as to keep the herd at sustainable numbers for the size of the island; we were tempted to buy one but (1) don’t know if you’re allowed to drive your new bison straight to the butcher shop and (2) we didn’t want to have to pay our landlords extra for a second pet.
We got out there a little after 9:00 a.m. and, after a quick check of the bison corrals (empty), drove down towards the Fielding-Garr Ranch, stopping to admire pronghorn antelope, jackrabbits and a lone coyote on our way. The round up had started at 8:30 a.m. because we soon came across a sizable (although not nearly 600) herd of bison calmly walking north while a sizable number of volunteer cowboys ambled their horses alongside them. They weren’t driving the bison any faster than a walk and stopped occasionally to let the bison rest and graze; at the rate they were going it was truly going to take all day. Further south we found a smaller herd with just a few cowboys and these bison weren’t quite so biddable: one of them, I’m guessing a young male, decided that he wasn’t having any of this rounding up business and ran for the hills, gaining elevation quickly and soon disappearing from sight. One cowboy gave token chase but then returned to the rest of the herd; the escapee will only have gotten a short reprieve as the round up uses helicopters to spot stragglers and All Bison Will Be Rounded Up.
It wasn’t super-exciting but it was fun to see … which was also our experience at the Utah vs. Wyoming football game that evening. The Utes were playing the Cowboys at 6:00 p.m. so we tossed the dog in the car and drove up to the game, finding free parking at a lot halfway across the campus from the arena. Since it was a night game, we dressed the part: wool socks, long underwear, multiple layers, hats and gloves, and even stole a fleece blanket from B’s crate to sit on. Also, since it was Halloween, the game was a “Blackout” and so everyone wore black instead of red.
After a gyro (for me) and an Italian sausage (for H), and some sight-seeing at the base of the 2002 Olympic Torch, we took our seats and enjoyed the game. Although we’d hoped for big scoring and thrilling plays, it was really not to be until the fourth quarter when the Utes scored two touchdowns to win 22-10. The crowd was way into the game, however, which made it fun. It did take us a while to get out of the parking lot and back onto the beltway but even with the traffic jams, the roundtrip travel by car was shorter and cheaper than the trip on Trax last weekend.
Oh, and Real Salt Lake won their first playoff game 1-0. They play multiple games in this round with the aggregate goal leader moving on, so I wish they’d scored a few more.
We got out there a little after 9:00 a.m. and, after a quick check of the bison corrals (empty), drove down towards the Fielding-Garr Ranch, stopping to admire pronghorn antelope, jackrabbits and a lone coyote on our way. The round up had started at 8:30 a.m. because we soon came across a sizable (although not nearly 600) herd of bison calmly walking north while a sizable number of volunteer cowboys ambled their horses alongside them. They weren’t driving the bison any faster than a walk and stopped occasionally to let the bison rest and graze; at the rate they were going it was truly going to take all day. Further south we found a smaller herd with just a few cowboys and these bison weren’t quite so biddable: one of them, I’m guessing a young male, decided that he wasn’t having any of this rounding up business and ran for the hills, gaining elevation quickly and soon disappearing from sight. One cowboy gave token chase but then returned to the rest of the herd; the escapee will only have gotten a short reprieve as the round up uses helicopters to spot stragglers and All Bison Will Be Rounded Up.
It wasn’t super-exciting but it was fun to see … which was also our experience at the Utah vs. Wyoming football game that evening. The Utes were playing the Cowboys at 6:00 p.m. so we tossed the dog in the car and drove up to the game, finding free parking at a lot halfway across the campus from the arena. Since it was a night game, we dressed the part: wool socks, long underwear, multiple layers, hats and gloves, and even stole a fleece blanket from B’s crate to sit on. Also, since it was Halloween, the game was a “Blackout” and so everyone wore black instead of red.
After a gyro (for me) and an Italian sausage (for H), and some sight-seeing at the base of the 2002 Olympic Torch, we took our seats and enjoyed the game. Although we’d hoped for big scoring and thrilling plays, it was really not to be until the fourth quarter when the Utes scored two touchdowns to win 22-10. The crowd was way into the game, however, which made it fun. It did take us a while to get out of the parking lot and back onto the beltway but even with the traffic jams, the roundtrip travel by car was shorter and cheaper than the trip on Trax last weekend.
Oh, and Real Salt Lake won their first playoff game 1-0. They play multiple games in this round with the aggregate goal leader moving on, so I wish they’d scored a few more.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
hog wallow
After a long day of [me not yet working and H having to be at] work, it was time for Date Night! We decided to try a new place, one that I’d read about in our trusty SLC guidebook and which had been recommended to us by some young Porcupine patrons: the Hog Wallow Pub (3200 E Big Cottonwood Canyon Rd.). Apparently it’s got a bit of history and used to be all notorious back in the day; perhaps it’s still notorious later in the evening – there’s live music Thursdays through Saturdays but Friday’s entertainment was still setting up his equipment when we left – but it was pretty mellow when we were there.
We sat at the bar and split a pitcher of Uinta Cutthroat Pale Ale and while our guidebook didn’t say anything about the food (“The staff is friendly, the atmosphere relaxed and the regulars are interesting.”), we figured we’d give it a shot. They have a small smoker and serve barbeque on the weekends, so I had a half-slab of pork spare ribs. The bartender warned me that it was a LOT of food, but as the ribs didn’t come with any sides, I was able to finish with no problem. The ribs were super-tender and moist, the meat falling off the bones, although I thought they could have been smokier and were served with thin, store-bought sauce. H had a 10-inch “house” pizza (pepperoni, olives, onions, no mushrooms and about a field’s worth of garlic ) which he demolished in short order. I quote: “They sure like their garlic here.”
The atmosphere was indeed mellow with several large-ish tables settling in for the evening and the bar full of locals. There was an NBA game on one of the bar’s televisions but upon request one of the waitresses switched over to the PBR Finals in Las Vegas. That’s got to be proof that we’re way out west – when the clientele prefers bull-riding to basketball.
We sat at the bar and split a pitcher of Uinta Cutthroat Pale Ale and while our guidebook didn’t say anything about the food (“The staff is friendly, the atmosphere relaxed and the regulars are interesting.”), we figured we’d give it a shot. They have a small smoker and serve barbeque on the weekends, so I had a half-slab of pork spare ribs. The bartender warned me that it was a LOT of food, but as the ribs didn’t come with any sides, I was able to finish with no problem. The ribs were super-tender and moist, the meat falling off the bones, although I thought they could have been smokier and were served with thin, store-bought sauce. H had a 10-inch “house” pizza (pepperoni, olives, onions, no mushrooms and about a field’s worth of garlic ) which he demolished in short order. I quote: “They sure like their garlic here.”
The atmosphere was indeed mellow with several large-ish tables settling in for the evening and the bar full of locals. There was an NBA game on one of the bar’s televisions but upon request one of the waitresses switched over to the PBR Finals in Las Vegas. That’s got to be proof that we’re way out west – when the clientele prefers bull-riding to basketball.
Friday, October 30, 2009
it's tough being the princess
Poor little Becky has had a challenging time with this move. First, she was worried for an entire month as we packed all our belongings into hundreds of boxes. Then she was really worried when all the boxes and all the furniture disappeared, leaving the Maine house empty and echoing. Once we got into the truck she crashed and was practically unconscious for the whole road trip, which was good because I don't think she slept at all in the motel rooms what with the fretting at the new and different environments.
Then, when we first got to Utah, there was that terrifying thunder-, lightning- and hail storm which scared her so badly that I thought she'd shake out of her skin. Now that we're in the apartment she's settling down a bit, but she doesn't like all the new dog-smells when she's trying to, ahem, squirt, and she gets scolded a lot because she growls or woofs whenever she hears a car door slam or voices outside. Luckily this apartment complex is pretty quiet but still, there are many more noises than she's been used to in her life with us.
This all is why when we went to the self-storage units last time we picked up the over-stuffed armchair. Because despite having her dog bed, her crate, our bed and all of the remarkably cushy carpeted floor to sleep on, B prefers her throne.
Then, when we first got to Utah, there was that terrifying thunder-, lightning- and hail storm which scared her so badly that I thought she'd shake out of her skin. Now that we're in the apartment she's settling down a bit, but she doesn't like all the new dog-smells when she's trying to, ahem, squirt, and she gets scolded a lot because she growls or woofs whenever she hears a car door slam or voices outside. Luckily this apartment complex is pretty quiet but still, there are many more noises than she's been used to in her life with us.
This all is why when we went to the self-storage units last time we picked up the over-stuffed armchair. Because despite having her dog bed, her crate, our bed and all of the remarkably cushy carpeted floor to sleep on, B prefers her throne.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
how do you say that?
Do you all know how to say these Utah place names like the locals? Give it your best shot phonetically in the comments and I'll post again later with the actual pronunciations.
Hurricane
Duchesne
Monticello
Alta
Panguitch
Salina
Weber
Tooele
Uinta
Oquirrh
Hurricane
Duchesne
Monticello
Alta
Panguitch
Salina
Weber
Tooele
Uinta
Oquirrh
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
our first utah snowstorm
It snowed yesterday! Pretty much on and off all day too, going from white-out conditions to glimpses of blue sky; we couldn't see the Wasatch Mountains behind us and definitely couldn't see west across the valley to the Oquirrh Mountains. Snowfall totals weren't that impressive: in the valley, a couple of inches that didn't stick; up on the benches a couple of inches that did; and around 10" up at Alta. Still, the rooftops are all white and there's more snow in the immediate forecast. Guess winter's coming early this year.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
hiking in the mining district
October 25, 2009, Sunday. On Sunday we confirmed that any expedition with Captain Mike requires (a) an initial, dramatic, uphill ascent, (b) sturdy shoes, (c) provisions for a noontime snack, (d) at least four hours and (e) time for a beer afterwards. You know, I can totally live with all of that – although I may grumble a little for part (a).
We had thought to stay close to home on Sunday, maybe do a short hike up one of the Cottonwood Canyons, but when Captain Mike said he’d hoped to take us on a tour of some of the Park City area mines, we were all for it. We picked him up at his house and then drove into Park City proper, up through the Old Town portion (lovely, older, fantastically-painted and $1M price-tagged mining shacks) to the trailhead. We started off going UP immediately, following a recently improved dirt road, then moved off the road onto a heavily overgrown singletrack. Despite the sunshine overhead it was chilly down out of the light in the canyon, with remnants of the previous day’s hail crunching underfoot. As we ascended, we passed small “prospects” – where folks had thought there might be stuff worth mining – and the waste-rock dumps from these digs.
When we emerged from the depths of the canyon, we were at the base of the Silver King Mine, an expansive, complicated operation that had its heyday at the turn of the century. Located under the upper terminus of the Town Lift for the Park City Mountain Resort, the mine ruins consist of a massive mill derelict, the building containing the mine proper, several smaller (and by “smaller” I mean medium-warehouse-sized) buildings, wooden watertowers, tram towers, explosives sheds and the mine dump. Captain Mike had a book* with him with historical pictures of the mine - the complex was massive. It’s still massive – it’s just falling apart now.
Captain Mike took us into the mill building where we entered at the ground floor and went up at least five stories, coming out at on the top floor where the ore carts had rolled in on their rails from the mine. Although the mill building is clearly on its last legs, it was also clearly built to last, with metal stairs between the floors, huge steel beams and concrete floors – all necessary to support the enormous metal machinery and the tons and tons of rock it had to chew up. These impressive industrial ruins were just incredible and H took picture after picture after picture.
Next was the mine building which contains the mine shaft** (descending some 1400+ feet straight down into the earth), the giant steel hoist which held the elevators that went up and down the shaft, bringing men and ore to and from the surface, as well as the electrical switch room, a machine-shop and a smithy. We peeked over the edge of the shaft: it goes a long way down. Captain Mike said he’s dropped little stones down there before and he’s never heard them hit bottom.
After checking out the Silver King mine building, we inspected the other area outbuildings and then continued our hike, back down the other side of the canyon. On the way to the next mine we were duly impressed by some serious hand-made mountain biking elements that some local kids had constructed in the woods. Let me just say right now that I will never, ever, ever ride on bridges like those.
We saw the remains of the Massachusetts mine (just a concrete footer for the hoist, the rock dump and a few abandoned ore samples) on our way down to the Alliance mine. All that is left here is the old mine manager’s office – a wooden building filled with broken core samples – and the power plant. We also saw the terminus of the Judge Mining & Smelting Co.: the building is completely sealed off (and is a Federal Offense to trespass here) because they still use the old tunnel to channel water down to Park City.
After we finished the day’s hike – a four-hour loop, of course – we took a quick tour of the Deer Valley ski resort (which is Captain Mike’s ski area of preference, based out of the Silver Lakes Lodge), and then took him home. He’s determined to take us up his favorite Wasatch trail near the Brighton ski resort before the snow gets too deep, however, so we may have more hiking to report on for next weekend!
* Treasure Mountain Home: Park City Revisited, by George A. Thompson and Fraser Buck (1981).
** We learned this terminology: the shaft is the vertical hole that runs from the surface to however far down the mine goes; any level horizontal hole into the earth is called an “adit;” an adit that angles down is a “decline;” an adit that angels upwards is an “incline;” and an adit that goes all the way through to come out the other side is a “tunnel.”
We had thought to stay close to home on Sunday, maybe do a short hike up one of the Cottonwood Canyons, but when Captain Mike said he’d hoped to take us on a tour of some of the Park City area mines, we were all for it. We picked him up at his house and then drove into Park City proper, up through the Old Town portion (lovely, older, fantastically-painted and $1M price-tagged mining shacks) to the trailhead. We started off going UP immediately, following a recently improved dirt road, then moved off the road onto a heavily overgrown singletrack. Despite the sunshine overhead it was chilly down out of the light in the canyon, with remnants of the previous day’s hail crunching underfoot. As we ascended, we passed small “prospects” – where folks had thought there might be stuff worth mining – and the waste-rock dumps from these digs.
When we emerged from the depths of the canyon, we were at the base of the Silver King Mine, an expansive, complicated operation that had its heyday at the turn of the century. Located under the upper terminus of the Town Lift for the Park City Mountain Resort, the mine ruins consist of a massive mill derelict, the building containing the mine proper, several smaller (and by “smaller” I mean medium-warehouse-sized) buildings, wooden watertowers, tram towers, explosives sheds and the mine dump. Captain Mike had a book* with him with historical pictures of the mine - the complex was massive. It’s still massive – it’s just falling apart now.
Captain Mike took us into the mill building where we entered at the ground floor and went up at least five stories, coming out at on the top floor where the ore carts had rolled in on their rails from the mine. Although the mill building is clearly on its last legs, it was also clearly built to last, with metal stairs between the floors, huge steel beams and concrete floors – all necessary to support the enormous metal machinery and the tons and tons of rock it had to chew up. These impressive industrial ruins were just incredible and H took picture after picture after picture.
Next was the mine building which contains the mine shaft** (descending some 1400+ feet straight down into the earth), the giant steel hoist which held the elevators that went up and down the shaft, bringing men and ore to and from the surface, as well as the electrical switch room, a machine-shop and a smithy. We peeked over the edge of the shaft: it goes a long way down. Captain Mike said he’s dropped little stones down there before and he’s never heard them hit bottom.
After checking out the Silver King mine building, we inspected the other area outbuildings and then continued our hike, back down the other side of the canyon. On the way to the next mine we were duly impressed by some serious hand-made mountain biking elements that some local kids had constructed in the woods. Let me just say right now that I will never, ever, ever ride on bridges like those.
We saw the remains of the Massachusetts mine (just a concrete footer for the hoist, the rock dump and a few abandoned ore samples) on our way down to the Alliance mine. All that is left here is the old mine manager’s office – a wooden building filled with broken core samples – and the power plant. We also saw the terminus of the Judge Mining & Smelting Co.: the building is completely sealed off (and is a Federal Offense to trespass here) because they still use the old tunnel to channel water down to Park City.
After we finished the day’s hike – a four-hour loop, of course – we took a quick tour of the Deer Valley ski resort (which is Captain Mike’s ski area of preference, based out of the Silver Lakes Lodge), and then took him home. He’s determined to take us up his favorite Wasatch trail near the Brighton ski resort before the snow gets too deep, however, so we may have more hiking to report on for next weekend!
* Treasure Mountain Home: Park City Revisited, by George A. Thompson and Fraser Buck (1981).
** We learned this terminology: the shaft is the vertical hole that runs from the surface to however far down the mine goes; any level horizontal hole into the earth is called an “adit;” an adit that angles down is a “decline;” an adit that angels upwards is an “incline;” and an adit that goes all the way through to come out the other side is a “tunnel.”
Monday, October 26, 2009
back to work
Retro-post from October 13, 2009, Tuesday: Poor H went back to work today. Becky and I sat around and WAITED for Comcast to finally come and hook us up to cable and thus reinsert us into the wired and televised world. I sent some résumés out for some administrative positions up at the U, went to the bank, the post office (thanks for all the cards, H’s family!) and grocery store, and generally puttered around.
For the record, although the Porcupine has Cheap Beer Night on Tuesdays … we did not go [- that Tuesday, anyway.]
For the record, although the Porcupine has Cheap Beer Night on Tuesdays … we did not go [- that Tuesday, anyway.]
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