fall colors

 I'm sorry, but Utah cannot hold a candle to the northeast when it comes to foliage colors.  New England has it in the bag for vibrant reds and oranges.  That said, the west does yellow very well because of all the aspens.  We've got reds and oranges too but they are usually muted, softer shades.

Crispy

On a recent weekend in SLC, A double-sessioned on Sunday, heading up to Alta after a 3.2 mile walk with H and M.  It was 64F at 9:15 a.m., with clouds moving through.  I did the usual loop I like to do for exercise: park above Albion base area, walk up the summer road a little bit, continue up through the meadows to the Catherine's Pass trailhead, go up to Catherine's Pass, across the top of Catherine's Area and then back down through the campground.

Coming down on Rock N Roll

It is definitely fall up at Alta.  The wildflowers are brown and crispy and the hikers up there are looking for foliage now, not flowers.  I only saw a handful of people out on the trail, which was a welcome change from the summertime hordes.  The upper parking lots were all full, though, so I guess most everyone was hiking to Cecret Lake.  Aspens must not like to grow much above 9,000 feet because that's where the best colors were, a gorgeous variety of yellows and pale oranges.

Summer road

As I drove back down the canyon to the 90 F valley heat (that is far too hot for this time of year). I was astonished at all the traffic heading up the canyon.  Oktoberfest is still going on at Snowbird and I guess people were heading up there to enjoy the nice day.  There was a solid line of cars from Snowbird entry 2 all the way down to the mouth of the canyon and beyond, all along Wasatch Boulevard - almost as bad as on a powder day.

Not pictured: the four times it rained

on me on the way up

segue out of summer

 When we went to Moab for a long weekend towards the end of September, we definitely noticed an uptick in how many people were there.  Labor Day weekend was still quiet but three weeks later, there was lots more traffic, both vehicular and foot varieties.  This is good for local businesses, many of whom have said that this summer was really slow.  Well, it's busy season now and not slow anymore.

Last of the flowers

On Friday, while H did a four mile trail run, A and Milton did their now-patented Millcreek loop.  We didn't quite as early a start as we have been, mostly because the sun isn't coming up until after 7 a.m.  We were still early enough to be ahead of the heat - which wasn't all that hot, relatively speaking, only in the low 90s - and the people, and there's still a good amount of water for the dogs to splash and wade in.  After everyone's trail time, H and A did a 20.85 mile road ride from the house: out along the river and back, up to Arches National Park and back to the river, out along the river again and back home.  We noticed more traffic on the bike path too.

Oh, no, maybe this is the last of the flowers

When we had arrived Thursday evening, we popped over to our neighbor's house.  She mentioned that she wanted to do the Grandstaff canyon top-down hike and was getting a small group together for Saturday morning.  Did we want to go?  We did!  At least, A and M did as H had a twelve mile trail run planned.  So Saturday at 6:45, A and Milton piled into her truck with her dog and met the crew at the Grandstaff trailhead, after a quick stop at the Love Muffin Cafe (where A got a vegan apple/cinnamon muffin).  We arranged to shuttle vehicles and then drove up to Sand Flats where six people and five dogs commenced the hike.

Most of the crew

Funnily enough, for a group where five of the six are fulltime Moabites, A was the only one who'd done this hike before.  We opted to walk in the wash the whole way instead of the bench trail; this was because there's so much water for the dogs.  The canyon creek is spring-fed and everyone was amazed at how much water there was.  We were also amazed at how quickly the one golden retriever got completely covered in burrs.  There was a little bushwhacking and a little scrambling, and we found a little pool of quicksand and a little snake (non-rattling).  But everyone got out safely, aside from a few scratches and burrs, and it was a great hike with the canyon to ourselves until we rejoined the main Grandstaff/Morning Glory Arch trail.

Snek

On Sunday, Milton only got an extra long neighborhood walk so that H and A could do another road ride (duplicate of Friday's) before heading back to Salt Lake.  

csa summer: twelfth and thirteenth boxes

Box #12 had multiple kinds of peppers, apples, a cucumber, several varieties of peaches, pears, plums, some winter squahes and, not to be outdone, zucchini and summer squash.  If I'm honest, this box seemed a little light.  It's been so hot in Utah, I wonder if crops struggled more than usual.  I mean, we are in a desert.  I made up for it by buying fifty pounds of red Idaho potatoes, which at $22 seemed like a pretty good deal.

Four separate squashes in one photo

The thirteenth box had corn!  And also raspberries!  At the end of September!  We also got acorn squash, butternut squash, apples, onions, potatoes, carrots and tomatoes.  The carrot tops were looking both limp and crispy so I didn't bother to pesto-ize them this time.  The corn was, amazingly, really good - better than the last time we had corn - even though the ears were huge.

Holy moly corn on the cob

What did we make of our bounty?  I snuck the summer squash into a chana masala (chickpea curry) and hid the zucchini in a tofu scramble (also put some jalepeno in there) and burrito bowls.  The burrito bowls also took care of more chilies, green pepper, onions and tomato.  I roasted a bunch of winter squash to put in the freezer for Milton; I also chopped up the carrots and the remaining onions with some celery, sauteed it and then froze it in icecube trays to use for soup starters when we don't have time to chop.  The apples all got turned into apple pie filling for the freezer (also quite tasty on oatmeal).  And I made a smoothie with the cucumber, lime juice and some frozen watermelon - surprisingly refreshing.

fifteen years

Happy moveiversary to us: we moved to Utah FIFTEEN YEARS AGO!!!!  On every moveiversary, I like to do a year-end summary post; like last year, this year has seemed a little diminished.  I didn't sprain my ankle this time, but it was very, very hot this summer, plus H was really focusing on developing his trail running, so we hardly did any hiking.  I only got a ten-pack pass for the 2023/2024 ski season so my ski days were far below the 40+ days I used to have when we first moved here.  Of course, our ski days are down because we are able to go to Moab whenever we want to, and there really shouldn't be any complaining about missing days at Alta because we're instead in Moab.  We are very lucky people.  And we are lucky to be able to continue to be active.  Here's what we did this past year, in broad strokes, for everyone who didn't read through the actual posts.  (Hi, Linda and Perry!  We know you read them!)

October - We had our fall break week (ten days, really) in Moab, with hiking and MTBing and A's first road ride on her "new" (1990s vintage) Cannondale; our CSA winds down (we learned that Milton likes squash so that's good); Dimple Dell walks.

November - An early first snow and then beautiful weather for the first part of the month, and then it got very November-y towards the end; Thanksgiving in Moab, with a T'giving morning hike with our neighbors and separate hike with other friends; Alta opens over T'giving weekend.

December - Skiing starts but not much snow to start; we sublet a ski locker in the Goldminer's Daughter basement and it is awesome; A starts cooking a lot and skis once; Christmas in Moab.

January - H takes the week between Christmas and New Year's off to ski; A actually makes a real loaf of bread, with yeast; MLK Jr. long weekend in Moab; H starts trail running; Alta gets 87" of snow in one storm cycle; skiing.

February - A does the ME/FL family thing and H and Milton go to Moab; Vertical Diner (so good) and RoHa Brewing with friends E and K; more snowstorms; it begins to get busier in Moab; skiing.

March - A goes to her first drag show (so good); more snowstorms; Alta hits 500 inches; H does an eight mile trail run (his longest); farewell to L and N (two of our Moab neighbors, heading off to new adventures); A plays hooky to ski midweek; H has some deep powder days.

April - We catch the last weekend of Jeep Safari in Moab and say safe travels to neighbor A (heading off to Alaska to fish for the summer); skiing, including gnarly canyon ski bus rides, A playing hooky again, gorgeous spring ski days, tailgating, closing weekend and 621 inches at closing.

May - We make our list of proposed hikes (hahahaha); spring break week in Moab (and snow in the yard in Sandy upon our return); shoulder season; backyard beers with E and K; Memorial Day weekend in Moab.

June - Slow start to hiking because of so much snow in the mountains; poppies growing in our Sandy yard; Gherkin at Josie Wyatt's; road riding in Moab; A goes to Maine for a week, and H and M go to Moab; backyard BBQ with E and K; MTB in Park City; A hikes Grandeur Peak; H does a 9 mile trail run (longest to date).

July - CSA starts; July 4 holiday in Moab; A hikes Elbow Fork/Terraces and her Alta "exercise loop" multiple times; H goes to NY; Moab flooding; road riding and creek hiking in Moab.

August - H does a 12 mile trail run (longest to date); wildflowers go off (Alta and Snowbird hikes); CSA; road riding and creek hiking in Moab; H does 13.1 mile trail run (longest to date); watermelon margaritas.

September - H does 15 mile trail run (longest to date); A hikes Alta; road riding and creek hiking in Moab; more flooding in Moab; A gets a tattoo; CSA; H does 20 mile trail run (!!!); something new to close the month: City of Rocks camping trip.

And here we go - the next year commences now!

twenty on trail

 We haven't been doing as much hiking this summer*, and H hasn't been doing as much road riding (Moab bike path rides with A notwithstanding), because H has been focusing on trail running.  He's been doing it for ten months now and is on his second pair of shoes.  And, mid-September, he did his highest mileage yet: twenty miles.  Twenty!  I'm so proud of him (and wondering how far he's fixing to go before this is over ...).

That note is what he left for me so I would know how long he thought he might be gone - and at what point I should start worrying about him.  I didn't even get the chance to think about worrying as he finished ten minutes ahead of his best-case scenario time.  The route was a mix of surfaces: wood chips in Dimple Dell, a little bit of asphalt along Wasatch Boulevard and then hard pack dirt up on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.  And the morning temperatures were nice and cool in the shade along the base of the mountains.

* Gosh, I feel like I say that a lot the last few years.  First, we cut back when we got Milton because a lot of the hiking along the Wasatch Front is not dog-friendly and we didn't want to always leave him alone on the weekends.  Then, the trails just got SO crowded because so many people have moved to SLC (yes, I know we're part of that problem).  And last summer, I was recovering from my ankle sprain which was a slow recovery.  And then now, this.  Maybe next summer we'll get out there more.

csa summer: eleventh box

 Summer is winding down - we're already at CSA box #11.  This one wasn't the most vibrantly colored but still had the good stuff: green beans; plums, nectarines, peaches, apples and a pear; spaghetti squash and a white acorn squash (so Milton-the-squash-eating-dog is stoked); kale; a couple of cucumbers; green bell peppers and a couple of pasilla peppers.  

Two kinds of squash!

We ate the green beans on the first night (long past their prime, I'm afraid).  All the peppers went into a gochujang noodle dish that we're fans of.  The kale went to a tofu scramble that is in our regular rotation.  The peaches I cooked down into a peach-ginger jam that I'll freeze for mid-winter oatmeal topping and the rest of the fruit got eaten as-is.  H is a big apple fan but I think my favorite fruits are stone fruits, like plums, peaches and nectarines.  They're just so summery.

reruns but the desert so it's okay

We were back in Moab for Labor Day weekend, and delighted that it was slightly cooler, as in highs only in the mid 90s.  The fact that we were "delighted" by those temperatures means we have truly given up our east coast cards.  Truly, though, the weather was great with mostly clear skies, which allowed it to cool off overnight.  Good stuff.

A Millcreek morning

Also good stuff: our neighbor is home from her summer commercial fishing in Alaska!  She bought a new boat this year, so it was a bit of a learning curve with the engine and mechanics and new fishing gear.  But she learned a lot, is set up for next spring, and both she and her sweet dog made it all safely.  We spent several hours over the course of the weekend in her shady backyard, drinking beers and hearing her stories while Milton and Moscow did dog stuff.

This is where Millcreek flooded by the Youth Garden Project

Outdoors/exercise-wise, our activities looked a lot like they have all summer.  On Friday morning, while H did a five mile trail run, A and M went to Millcreek.  The monsoonal floods have made a mess from the confluence on down, dropping lots of sand and actually making the lower creekside trail pretty flat to walk on.  Later that morning, A and H did a sixteen mile bike path road ride - H was on his MTB because we hadn't brought his road bike with us, planning for him to use his cruiser for bike path rids, but his cruiser had a flat tire so MTB it was.  Unfortunately, the flooding has completely taken out the part of the path by the vet's office - and if I were the owner of the house next door, I would be getting very, very nervous.

Circle O morning

Saturday H had planned for a longer trail run, so we all piled into the car and drove out to Moab Brand Trails.  H and M did eight+ miles while A did her Circle O loop (across the parking lot cutover to Bar M, to Circle O (counterclockwise), back to Bar M, back to the cutover).  A then did a solo bike path ride (21 miles) because H didn't feel like lugging his heavy MTB all that way.  Can't blame him.

Nervous but festive

For Sunday, while H recovered with a 4.7 mile trail run on Pipe Dream, A and M went up to Sandflats Recreation Area for a quick practice loop walk.  We met a couple of nice dogs and found a very interesting (if you find scat interesting haha) poop out on the rocks.  It was full of prickly pear fruits and too big to be coyote ... could it have been a bear?!!?  There are definitely bears in the La Sal mountains so it's not out of the realm of possibility that a bear wandered down towards town.  Later, A did another 21 mile solo road ride.  Sure do like that little Cannondale - super glad that I bought it.

Moody Sandflats morning

Finally, on Monday, H did a short three miler while A and M went back for the Millcreek loop.  Then, after much debate about avoiding traffic (leaving before noon on Monday or leaving at 4 a.m. on Tuesday so H didn't miss an early meeting), we opted to leave early to hopefully get ahead of the holiday traffic.  We got held up less than half an hour coming down into Spanish Fork, so I guess we did get ahead of most of it, and were back in Sandy with enough time for a long holiday weekend beer perched on the tailgate of the truck.  As one does.

Scat photo below.  Apologies for those who think it's gross - just keep scrolling.

csa summer: ninth and tenth boxes

 The ninth CSA box was 8/28 and contained peaches, a solitary nectarine, tomatoes, a solitary green bell pepper, anaheim peppers, jalapenos, three cucumbers, a couple ears of corn, green beans, tomatillos and lacinato (a/k/a dinosaur) kale.  We ate the corn and green beans immediately, of course, but then had to store most of the rest of it - other than the tomatoes and peaches, which made the drive to Moab with us.

Well this photo is kind of dull

Box #10 was pretty awesome: yellow watermelon, green beans, plums, nectarines, apples, onions, jalapenos, a zucchini, a summer squash, a spaghetti squash (that I think was supposed to be another kind of melon, actually), a solitary pear, a few tomatillos, lots of shishito peppers, a tomato and three other peppers (anaheim and poblano, maybe?).  The kale, half the summer squash and a jalapeno went straight into a tofu scramble; all the peppers (except for the jalapenos) and all the tomatillos went into a chile verde starter for the freezer (i.e., this winter, when we want a green chile stew, I just have to pull that out for a head start); and I candied all the jalapenos - delicious and so spicy!  The watermelon got cubed and frozen for smoothies and margaritas; the yellow variety is not nearly as flavorful as the regular ones though.  And I roasted the spaghetti squash in the hopes that Milton will like it as well as he does butternut - it's not nearly as sweet, however, so we'll see.

Ooh that's fun

Finally, I also used a bunch of those darn beets making two jars of pickled beets and a batch of beet hummus.  The hummus is very tasty and that color is amazing!  Beets are such a lot of work, though,  and so messy what with the scrubbing and the cooking (I steamed them) and the taking off of the skins.  They don't really seem worth it, even if you like them (which I don't).

The color is even better in person

printed

I did a thing.  A permanent thing: my first (and likely only) tattoo.  I've kind of wanted a tattoo for decades, but really couldn't figure out what I wanted - something meaningful to me.  In 2018, when we went to Great Basin National Park, we met a woman out hiking who had a paw print tattoo on her calf.  We asked her about it and she said it was from her dog, now gone, but she'd gotten it done while he was still alive because it was a good memory for her, remembering getting him to step on the inkpad and all that.  We thought that was a really cool idea.

Since Milton is The Best Dog Ever, I decided that I would finally get that tattoo: his actual paw print of his right front (spotted) foot.  H had to help me get the print because Milt didn't like to step on the inkpad or walk on the paper we'd taped to the mudroom floor.  We finally got a number of prints - and I was glad I'd gone with washable ink because we ended up with paw prints all over the mudroom and garage floors.

Right afterwards, so it's a little swollen

I dropped the print off at Tiger Claw Tattoo in SLC for artist Charity, who is a good friend of some good friends of ours.  The studio specializes in Asian-style tattoos (her hand-drawn chrysanthemums are amazing) but they are willing to branch out.  On August 6, I went in for my appointment.  She made a stencil which we moved a couple of times for placement.  I was at Tiger Claw for just under two hours, including prep, installation and chatting afterwards about care.  The needle wasn't particularly pleasant but it only really hurt a couple of time when she must have hit a nerve.

"Stylish"

For two weeks I had to moisturize the tattoo several times a day and keep it out of the sun as much as possible (hence the do-it-yourself leg sleeve I made for hiking and biking).  It healed really well and I love it (thanks again, Charity!!).  And just this morning, while I was walking M, another dog walker complimented me on it - and then proudly showed me his tattoo of his dog.  I'm part of the tribe, y'all.

typical summer weekend: southern utah edition

 When we went to Moab mid-August, we were sort of in between giant storms/floods: two had already happened and the third was yet to come.  There had been some rains, though, which caused some smaller washouts along the bike path again.  And the weeds in the yard were definitely enjoying the additional moisture.

Total goober

We got down there Thursday night and squeezed in a fifty minute walk before stopping at Woody's for a beer (karaoke night, fwiw).  On both Friday and Saturday, A and M headed off to Millcreek for the usual loop: out along the rim trail, drop down about halfway up and follow the creek back down.  It was still cool in the morning shade and Milton made sure to get some crazy on, splashing through the creek.

Also a total goober

In addition, on Friday, H did a six mile trail run and A did the 21-ish mile road ride on the bike path.  There were several instances of having to get off the bike due to deep sand, including some new spots on the upper part of the path, heading out towards Arches National Park.  On Saturday, both H and A did that ride.  The sand was still there. 

Result of recent rains

Sunday meant chores.  H went above and beyond too, scraping, priming and painting all the doorways where the original paint was peeling from rain backsplash.  That was sweaty, as the day wore on, but it looks so much better now.