city livin'

 I'm afraid that outdoors activity content is a little thin on the ground around here these days.  We've been up in SLC for the last few weeks and while we're making sure to get active outside, it has taken the form of 3-5 mile Dimple Dell walks with Milton for me and trail runs/road rides for H.  Plus lots of weeding, which is technically an outdoor activity and one that leaves my back absolutely wrecked.  With the super-mild winter we had, it never got cold enough to shut the weeds down for the season and they are absolutely rampant; I have managed to get the north side of the house somewhat under control but the backyard?  Yikes.

No truer words

Anyway.  A couple of weekends ago, R, H's friend from high school, and his youngest son, M, were back in Utah for a soccer tournament.  They were playing teams from all over the country at the Regional Athletic Complex near Rose Park, in SLC.  H and I drove up there and watched M's last game of the tournament with R.  They were catching a redeye flight back to North Carolina and had several hours before they had to go back to their rental to pack up, so R suggested we go somewhere M could get some food and we adult types could get a beer.  To be honest, H and I were stymied as to where to suggest - we always go to bars, and M, being fourteen, can't do that - but R said they'd been to a place in SLC called the Woodbine Food Hall and that there was something for everybody.  The two of them didn't mind going back so off we went.

Not the Woodbine Food Hall

The Woodbine Food Hall, located in the Granary district, is in a wonderful, old, restored warehouse and is awesome.  It's got all kinds of vendors (pizza, sandwiches, BBQ, burgers, ramen, sushi/Burmese, Venezuelan street food and more), plus a separate bar (not yet open at the time we were there).  A number of the vendors also sell beer/wine but as they are "restaurants," you have to buy food to get booze.  That was easy: M got a fantastic margherita pizza and the others of us got beers.  It was really fun to sit with them and catch up, plus be surrrounded by a diverse group of people - something we don't really get day-to-day living in the suburbs.  When we left, all sorts of folks dressed in bowties and sequins began arriving at Woodbine on their bicycles: the Bike Prom was just getting underway.

A better look at that bike rack

After seeing R and M off with hugs, H and I thought, well, we've come all the way in town, we might as well try to find the reputed best dive bar in SLC.  We were looking for Willie's Lounge (1716 S.  Main Street) and we found it, and it was a great dive bar with friendly bartenders and a custom bike rack out front.  We also found Manny's (1704 S. Main Street), which is also a great dive bar with friendly bartenders - and it actually felt dive-ier than Willie's, due to the old school decor.   We love us a dive bar and now we know two new (to us) ones, should we ever want to make the trip downtown.

Does that not look like a dive bar?

memorial day weekend

 How the heck is it June already?  How are we halfway through the year and well on our way to the longest day of that year?  There's a saying that the days are long but the years are short and wow, is that the truth.

It's starting to get warm, even first thing in the morning

Surprising absolutely no one whatsoever, we three went to Moab for the recent Memorial Day long weekend.  We took a bit of a risk, deciding to go down Friday afternoon (chancing traffic heading south) but then returning Tuesday afternoon (avoiding the horrific holiday Monday traffic heading north).  Although there is a fair amount of road construction happening along Route 6 in Spanish Fork Canyon, the drive down Friday afternoon was no problem at all.  Whew!

Skies for days

The good thing about being in Moab for a long holiday weekend is that you're in Moab for a long holiday weekend; the bad thing is everyone else.  Keeping this in mind, we didn't stray too far afield, even going so far as to avoid Millcreek Canyon which usually gets hammered by visitors over this weekend.  Indeed, when we drove down from Sandflats on Saturday, we could see the Millcreek Canyon overflow parking extending to the new housing development out along the road.  Yikes.

New neighbor (about 12 inches long)

So we did these things: 

• Saturday: H and M did a Pipe Dream trailrun; then A and M did a Pipe Dream hike; then H and A did a road ride (25 miles for H and 23 for A); then we three had lunch up at the Slickrock trailhead, where M got peanut butter pretzels from a MTBer; then we went to Woody's; then we caught up with our neighbor.
• Sunday: H and M trail run; A and M hike; H and A road ride (H 25; A 21); then we met our friend C at Woody's where there was an intense discussion about how to rid one's home of invading raccoons; then A and M did a neighborhood walk to check out the vulture tree; and we learned we have a cute little gopher snake (bull snake?) in the irises in our neighbor's front yard.
• Monday: A and M did a neighborhood walk; H and A did a road ride (H 25; A 23); and in the afternoon we three went to the Spitfire dog-friendly patio where we were THRILLED to learn that our favorite bartender is back in town - it's been like a year since we've seen her.
• Tuesday: H and M trail run; H and A road ride (H 25; A 21) and it was very windy.

Then we drove home in the early afternoon and were sad that the holiday weekend was over.  But glad that we'd had a good time of it. 

Day drinking is exhausting

spring break (back half)

 Wednesday:  Some weather actually moved in and it was cold and rainy in the morning.  Still, H and Milton did their short trail run, managing to get back before it really started raining, although they did get caught in it coming back from Dave's.  When it had dried up. A and M went out for a six-miler on Pipe Dream, while H did a solo road ride.  50s is too cold for me for biking but just fine for hiking.  After an chill afternoon of reading, A and H walked over to our friends C and F's house for some yard beers and good conversation.  The fact that they are dealing with an infestation of attic raccoons made for a lively discussion.

Desert days

Thursday: After H and M did another short trail run, A and M headed over to Millcreek for a hike that was not along Pipe Dream.  We were the first ones in the parking lot but there were several vehicles there by the time we got back.  There is water in the creek but, due to the record-low snow levels, it is way under where it should be this time of year.  Still, Milton enjoyed himself quite a lot, splashing and wading in the creek.  From there, H and A did their road ride - it was a gorgeous day and NO wind.  We took Milton out for patio beers at the Spitfire in the afternoon and he scored a piece of bacon from another customer who had been saving it for her own dog, but who just couldn't resist giving it to ours.  That evening, we made sheet pan gnocchi and roasted veggies and took it over to our neighbor for dinner together.

Prickly pear (or just prickly?)

Friday:  The weather had been quite nice all week, rainy Wednesday notwithstanding, but now it was starting to get quite a bit warmer, pushing up into the middle 80s.  H and Milton did a trail run on Pipe Dream; then A and Milton did a hike on Pipe Dream; then H and A did their road ride.  We did go out to Woody's for a quick beer, but swung by the first Arts & Ag market of the summer over at shady Swanny Park.  

Serious thorns

Saturday:  By Saturday, Milton was definitely showing some cumulative fatigue.  Still, he did a short trail run with H and a town walk with A.  He didn't even complain that much when H and A set out for their road ride.  The afternoon was spent weeding, changing smoke detector batteries, and one last beer at Woody's - where another patron left $20 in the jukebox for us to play.  

In his happy place, on a trail

Sunday:  And then it was done.  We did a shorter (16 mile) road ride, moped around, cleaned the house, moped around, packed the truck, moped around, and drove back to SLC.  Vacation over.

Now that's a view

interlude

 We interrupt the recap of 2026 spring break to share with you the following:

How does this even work

Did you know that you can make scones out of [nearly equal parts] hummus and flour?  Plus baking powder and spices.  It's ridiculous and it works.  It's super-easy and tasty and fast and I found the recipe on IG from @brionymaybakes, who was a contestant on the Great British Bake Off some years ago.  

Since I had to do all the work of converting it, I'm sure she won't mind if I share (seriously so easy)

• Just over a 1/2 cup (160 g) hummus
• 1/2 cup (65 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. chives (fresh or dry or substitute whatever)
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp. salt 

Preheat oven to 435 F (225 C for conventional / 200 C for convection).  Mix everything up.  This will make a soft but not sticky dough.  Form into disk, cut into four pieces.  Brush top with alt-milk and sprinkle with mixed seeds (I had chia seeds and hemp hearts; looks like Briony used sesame, poppy and sunflower).  Bake for about 12 minutes (10 minutes convection).

spring break (front half)

As I mentioned, we didn't go too hard during this year's spring week in Moab, and we didn't do anything new.  We did exercise at least once each day, though; and we did not go to the bar every day.  #adulting

I just love that sky so much

Saturday:  We drove down Friday afternoon and spent the evening with our neighbor and her dog.  She is often gone to Alaska by now but this year will be in Moab for the summer.  She may not be all that psyched about it but we are.  On Saturday, H did a trail run on Pipe Dream.  When he got back, A and Milton did a 4.6 mile hike, also on Pipe Dream.  (Sure appreciate a trailhead walking distance from the house).  After that, H and A did a road ride on the bike path, from our house to Lions Park, up/back along the river, up/back to the Arches National Park entrance (plus H went up further and caught up to A on the home stretch), then up/back on the river section, then home.  That afternoon, we watched the Kentucky Derby at Woody's (the bartender said she knew we'd be in since the race was one) and my horse freaked out whilst loading and didn't even run.  And that evening, our neighbor and her dog joined us for beers around the firepit.

Trail dog

Sunday:  H and Milton did a Pipe Dream trail run and then, while they went to Dave's for coffee/dog biscuit, A headed out for her long hike of the week.  I walked from our house to Pipe Dream, south on Pipe Dream to Hidden Valley, up and over Hidden Valley, and then down the Moab Rim trail.  It was a gorgeous day - definitely cooler than the last time I'd done that hike, which is 10.3 miles.  H and M met me in the Moab Rim parking lot, bringing snacks and beers.  I will confess to an afternoon nap, but I rallied and was up late enough for a firepit.

Lil teeny purple flower

Monday:  H was back to a solo trail run Monday, and A and Milton did a 4.5 mile hike on Pipe Dream.  A still had some fatigue from her big hike the day before, however, so H did a solo road ride.  When he got back, we all packed up lunch things and binoculars and beers and went to our favorite picnic spot above the bike path along the Colorado River.  After getting cleaned up back at the house, H and A strolled to Woody's for a quick visit, then returned for backyard beers with our neighbor.

Heading to the Moab Rim trail

Tuesday:  By Tuesday, Milton (who we think is around ten years old at this point) was showing a little bit of cumulative fatigue.  He did a shorter trail run with H, but A opted for walking across town and back for errands rather than doing a hike so he could rest.  A and H did their road ride and then it was time for another picnic, this time up at the Slickrock trailhead parking lot.  It is our opinion that Tuesdays are the least-busy of the weekdays and true to form, things were pretty quiet up there, relatively speaking.  We even spent a fair amount of time watching a bunch of ants carry a peanut from the covered picnic table to their nest.  (There were also MTBers and dirt bikers to watch and side-by-sides to bitch about.)  The afternoon and evening were spent at home, reading.

by the numbers

With much delay (due to super-busy getting caught up back at work, plus laundry, plus other stuff), I'm finally getting around to doing some little posts about our spring week in Moab.  We always do this, to celebrate the transition from ski season to summer.  If I'm honest, it was a pretty chill week - we didn't really go balls to the wall on anything (lol do we ever?), and even though we TALKED about it a lot, we didn't get around to MTBing.  It was mostly trail running, hiking and road riding.  

Trail running: Daily runs totaling 12 miles for H, who is getting back into it after some time off, and 8 miles for Milton, who accompanied him on all but two runs.

Hiking: 33 miles for A (this mileage does not count town walks) and 23 miles for Milton, who accompanied her on all but the longest (10.3 miles) hike.

Road riding: 217 miles for H (daily rides) and around 160 miles for A, who didn't ride two days, plus did about three miles less on each ride.

Most posts with more details (such as they are) to follow.

Here's a tiny little desert lupine,

about six inches tall

in-betweens

 Snowbird is still open for a couple more weekends, and Brighton is hanging in there too, but for us (H), skiing is over.  There's still enough snow to keep us out of the mountains hiking-wise, however, so we're stuck in the valley, walking and running and road riding; the Round Valley MTB trails in Park City are dry and smooth too, so I hear.

Chilly boy

As has been tradition for the last several years, H and I sit on the tailgate of the truck in our driveway on Alta's closing day, drinking beers and gazing at the mountains.  This latest closing day, even though H didn't ski, and even though it was low 50s/high 40s and pouring rain, I insisted that we continue the tradition.  We bundled up - including putting Milton in his sweater - and proceeded to toast the subpar season, with an eye towards better days.

Maybe we'll do a couple this year

We also came up with a potential hike list for any spring/summer/fall weekend days we're up in SLC.  We've done this for a few years now too (we've got a bucket of poker chips with hikes written on them and take turns pulling them), and the funny part is that we just hardly get around to doing any of them.  We don't hike as much in the Wasatch since we've gotten Milton (no dogs in the watershed) and this year will be even worse, as upper Millcreek Canyon is closed for road widening.  Still, we listed 35 (!!) potential hikes.  Maybe we'll even do some, once the trails dry up.  Shouldn't take long.

fizzle

 And with that, the 2025/2026 ski season is over.  As of 2 p.m., Sunday, April 26, Alta was claiming 311" inches (more on that later), which is a terrible, horrible, very bad season of snowfall.  Statewide the Utah snowpack is the lowest on record and peaked three weeks early, with statewide stream runoff anticipated to be 50% of normal.  So when I say seeing my neighbors watering their lawns already, day after day, makes me crazy, there's at least some science behind it.

Ahem.

On Saturday, the penultimate day of Alta's season, H drove up and skied for about 3.5 hours.  It wasn't busy.  It wasn't crowded.  He didn't stand in line.  The snow wasn't that good.  It was partly sunny, which was nice for the folks on the patio, and the clouds helped to preserve the snow, slowed the melt somewhat.  In the valley, Milton and A did their Dimple Dell walk, then weeded the backyard for a couple hours until A's back started yelling.  There were chores and laundry, and M got to do another Dimple Dell walk with H in the afternoon.  It was pretty mellow.

Quiet day for closing weekend

But the big question was: will H go skiing on closing day?  Because a late spring storm system moved in, with Alta's forecasted snow totals all over the place, ranging from 4 to 13".  Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but the ski bus isn't running anymore.  And because it's closing day, H wasn't able to get a parking reservation (despite being a regular season passholder grumble grumble).  So in order to ski, H would have to get the 7 a.m. commuter bus up and then, instead of waiting for the 5 p.m. commuter bus down, A would have to drive up the canyon to fetch him home.  But the little Subaru doesn't have 4WD and if there's lots of snow on the road ...

A wanted to bake but didn't want to

eat, so dog cookies it is.  Also, this

cookie cutter is the only one we have.

In the end, H opted out of skiing on closing day, what with the driving issues, plus the fact that Frank had been canceled this year, plus the fact that cold, wet, stormy conditions make for soggy skiing and less than ideal tailgating.  So the ski season just sort of fizzled out - not that it ever really got going.  And while the new snow is certainly needed, it's a case of closing the barn door after the horse gets out.  Ah, well, on to the next thing.

301 (is it though?)

Alta says that the midweek storm that made temperatures plummet in northern Utah (wreaking real havoc on local farmers' fruit trees) brought them up to 301" snowfall on the year.  I have to say I'm a little skeptical that they may be rounding up: when you're 200 inches below the "average" you may be tempted to fudge the numbers for marketing purposes.

High, thin clouds keeping it cool

The ski bus is done for the year so H didn't have to get up at the crack of early to catch it, with his book and his thermos of coffee.  Pluswhich, on Saturday it was still cold and when he did drive into the Wildcat base parking lot, it was only 19F.  That makes for challenging spring skiing as you gotta wait for things to warm up and soften up.  There was plenty of parking when H pulled in around 9 but the lot was full when he left at 12:30; apparently Alta is offering $50 off a day ticket if you have a season pass from another local mountain.  Most of which have already closed.

Yet another bluebird day at Alta

Sunday was a better day, starting out warmer and thus softer.  It was definitely less busy, though, as H mostly rode the chairlift alone and never once had a full (four people) chair.  There's one more week to go, with closing next weekend.  Alta will be lucky to make it.

Down in the valley: A and M did their five mile Dimple Dell walks; A weeded for two hours each of Saturday and Sunday (barely making a dent ugh); there were errands to Ocean Mart and Costco; baking margarita cupcakes (lime and tequila); and trying new recipes (tacos with Urban Pepper Project taco seasoning, Indonesian tofu scramble and Singaporean flat rice noodle stirfry).

this hike is why we drove the subaru to moab this time

Neither of our cars are young: my Crosstrek will be ten years old in August and H's Chevy Silverado is downright elderly.  To save wear and tear, we alternate which vehicle we drive from SLC to Moab when we go, although the truck always gets the spring and fall vacation trips.  This last time, we drove the Subaru, even though it was technically the truck's turn (H had taken the Subaru in March when I was back east with family).  The reason: I wanted to do a specific slot canyon/creek hike [not named here because while it used to be a "hidden gem," due to Instagram it is no longer in any way "hidden"].  

Iconic landscape

Moab doesn't have many slot canyons but it does have this one.  It usually has water year round - the end of the out-and-back hike is a waterfall - as the creek flows out of the La Sal mountains.  In the past, we've gone later in the year, since the water is good for dog hikes; this year, given the all-time low snowpack, I'm not sure the creek will actually be year-round and wanted to get Milton out there while there was still water.

So frickin' scenic

The dirt road in to this hike is long and washboarded and rough.  When we have taken the elderly truck down it, I cling to the passenger side door, hoping to keep it from rattling off the frame.  This time, when Milton and I loaded up to go (H wasn't interested in an 8.5 mile round trip with very rocky footing), we promised to drive slowly and carefully on that dirt road.

You will get your feet wet. At 

least while the creek is still flowing.

We didn't get as early a start as we had intended but even with it being Saturday, there were only four other vehicles in the trailhead lot when we pulled in.  It was cool and clear and we made good time, passing two sets of hikers on the way in and catching a third at the waterfall.  (The fourth must have been on another trail since we never saw them).  

Getting narrow

As we were heading to the waterfall, I noted a couple of side canyons that we've never checked out.  I'm sure they don't go far but told the dog that we should investigate on our way out.  However, about a mile into our return, the temperature dropped, it got windy and started raining.  I wasn't nervous about the rain since this "slot" canyon is pretty wide (we were out of the narrowest part) but I was nervous about the dirt road getting sloppy and slippery.

Mr. I'm-nervous-about-the-loud-waterfall

We cruised on out of there, stopping briefly, of course, to chat with other hikers and their dogs who were still heading in, undeterred by the rain, but not checking out those side canyons.  It never really rained hard but it was enough to get us wet and chilled.  The little Crosstrek?  She did great and, over a week later, is still sporting the red dust and mud from that darn dirt road.