Heard on the First Grade Field Trip Today . . .

While standing at Wheeler Farm in the pouring rain, a little guy asked his teacher why she decided to go to that farm instead of the regular one . . . You know, the one we see in the pictures where the sun is shining.

Spoken like a true city kid.

The Rest of the Story

My laptop and wi-fi functioned well, but my photo software was having issues . . . It's always something. Here's what I had hoped to post 2 days ago.

My day started with a hike to Fishhook Creek. I chose it because the distance and elevation gain seemed unlikely to require any Search and Rescue efforts. I hoped that whatever was at the end of the trail would be worth the walk.





This is what I imagine the forest in The Magician’s Nephew (of the Narnia series) looked like, only with more pools of water.


If a tree falls across a path in the forest, and nobody sees it fall, does it still block the path?


The payoff!



After a Sunday nap, I ventured out for a Sunday drive on the Ponderosa Pines Scenic Byway. I passed a bunch of campers sitting by their campfires on the way and was kicking myself for opting to use indoor lodging . . . Until the sudden onset of one of those pounding rainstorms that seem to accompany my trips to national parks.




The rain continued throughout the night and most of the day on Monday. I tried to go several places but kept running into flooded roads so I spent most of the day porchsitting and reading a good book. The one place I was able to get to was Stanley Lake.


I'm back home now . . . safe, sound, and well rested. Only 7 days of school left to go before my next time off. :D

Getting Out of Dodge

I planned this trip with the intention of finding solitude and communing with nature. I succeeded. The road from Pocatello to Craters of the Moon was very lightly traveled. In 2 hours I didn’t see more cars than I could count on my fingers. Craters of the Moon, although desolate, has a beauty of its own. It reminded me of the landscape in the Galapagos Islands . . . Both are made from volcanic lava flows.




From Craters of the Moon, I traveled to Stanley via the Salmon River Scenic Byway. It was obvious why this area was designated a scenic byway.



Stanley is a small town in western Idaho with a population of 100, 1 grocery store, 2 liquor stores, several motels and lodges, and a fabulous view of the Sawtooth Mountains. This is the view from the deck at my motel.


I diligently checked Trip Advisor while planning this trip and found mixed reviews about the management here at the Riverside. All the reviews said it was clean and well kept, and they were right. The debate was over whether the owner was a grumpy @#$*% or whether she was reasonably easy to get along with. So far, I am happy to report that she is quite pleasant. She seems to think it a bit odd that I am traveling alone, but she gave me a good mystery to read, offered the usual kudos for my chosen profession when she saw the apple on my Visa card, pointed me toward some good local food, and invited me to wear my galoshes and tromp through the still soggy grass over to the common patio area should spring make an appearance during my stay.

I had dinner at the Redfish Lake Lodge. The scenery was beautiful.


More to come tomorrow (assuming the wi-fi holds out) . . .

Heard Over the PA System at School Yesterday . . .

"Students, you did a great job on our lockdown today while there was a high speed chase outside the school. You were very brave. Everything is okay now and the police say it is safe for you to go home. Please remember to take home the blue notes telling your parents about why we were in lockdown. And remember to read at least 20 minutes tonight!"

Just another day in the "hood" . . .

Total Money Makeover

I did it. I finally saw Dave Ramsey in person. He is everything I expected . . . Lots of energy, lots of wise Dave-isms, lots of good advice I learned from my grandmother. I arrived early thinking I would get a good seat . . . Everybody else thought so too. I got a decent seat and spent and hour listening to excerpts from his show and pep rally moments. "Upper bowl say 570 as loud as you can! Now the lower bowl say KNRS as loud as you can! Again! I'm not sure who won . . . Again! One more time! That's more like it!"

Then the big moment . . . Dave himself stepped out on the stage and spent the next 5 hours describing his 7 baby steps to financial freedom. We laughed . . . a lot. He explained where the "Gazelle intensity" came from, complete with photos of a gazelle being chased by a cheetah. We related the baby steps to "What About Bob." We heard about how he LOVES Salt Lake City (hopefully that means he will be back soon!) We even got to meet the whole family. Of course, we had plenty of time to peruse the sale tables and buy his merchandise. I left empty-handed except for my registration materials (because buying his materials wasn't in my budget) :), but more importantly, with renewed motivation to "Live like no-one else so that someday I will have the opportunity to live like no-one else!"

"Debt is dumb, cash is king, and the paid-off home morgtage is replacing the BMW as the status symbol of choice!"

Top Ten Friday: Culture and Coke

Every May, the Salt Lake City Arts Council holds the Living Traditions Festival at the City and County Building. I look forward to it every year and last year decided to make it a habit to volunteer . . . Partly to support the cause but mostly to make sure I was committed to attending so I didn't miss it. This year, my volunteer shift was in the beverage tent selling soda. Here are the top 10 moments of the evening.

10. Being there without the 90 kids I had in tow last year.

9. Listening to the people on Trax debate whether or not the Jazz would win tonight's playoff game.

8. The dancers from El Salvador.

7. Monlo, the lightning streak disguised as my co-volunteer. If you have ever been annoyed with slow service, he is your guy. He had those drinks in front of the customers before they could blink.

6. People-watching

5. The rocker boys right out of 1985, complete with mullets and black Guns & Roses T-shirts that bought sodas at our booth. If one of them had had a blond Brillo hairdo, I would have thought I had travelled back to my early teenage years.

4. The beautiful weather. . . Wow!

3. Seeing the amazing collection of world cultures that are here in SLC.

2. Being a part of something that makes my city a better place.

1. Watching Monlo deliver sodas not only to our side of the table, but quite often, to the other side as well. It became quite competitive . . . I had to be creative in finding ways to take the customers' money while not getting between him and the table. It took two guys from the other line to keep up with him, and he still beat them as often as not.


And the bonus moment of the day . . . Realizing that Dave Ramsey is quite likely right here in my hometown right this very minute.

Top Ten Saturday: Farmington Creek Volkswalk

I love to walk. I love to be out in nature. I also love to go to places where I have never been before. That is why I started attending Volkssport events several years ago. Volkssport is an international walking club (The name is German for People's Walk, or something like that.) Local chapters organize walking events as well as sponsoring "anytime" walks. I have seen many places I did not know existed both locally and out of town. Today's event was at Farmington Creek. Who knew Farmington had a creek? Here are some of the highlights (in chronological order) . . .

10. Taking the Front Runner train to Farmington.


9. The Red Hat Society was having "High Tea" at the Ogden Front Runner station today so they were waiting for the train too. Their members came from as far as Cedar City for the event. I think I even heard one say she was from Texas. There had to be at least 100 of them. Many of them were all decked out in red and purple formal-wear including boas, feathers, tulle, and jewels. One lady offered to lend me her hat so I wouldn't feel out of place. (She had 2 of them!) If you have never seen this group gather, you must put it on your life list. It was quite a sight.


8. Looking down on the freeway from above as I crossed the I-15 pedestrian walkway. That is a freeway perspective I have never had before.


7. Never underappreciate the power of a well-marked path to those who are directionally challenged like myself.


6. Walking along the path behind Lagoon and seeing the Rattlesnake Rapids ride in action. Many fun memories of the Deli-Subs, the Steele's and the CPR's there.


5. Someone went to the trouble to plant tulip bulbs along the creek.


4. Wildflowers.



3. The sign that warns visitors in English of thin ice, and in Spanish of the rules about drinking and cleaning up after their pets. It reminded me of the signs at the entrance at school. The English sign welcomes parents to the school while the Spanish sign thanks them for leaving. Two very clear examples of the need for proofreading. (One of my favorite compulsions that is misunderstood by far too many people. Are you with me on this DRH and KR?)


2. Getting past the easily accessible part of the trail and seeing that while the bottom section of Farmington Creek is in need of a community clean-up project, the upper part is quite beautiful.



1. The view from the top of the mountain I didn't know I would be climbing. (I'm a little sore tonight.)



DRH, CPR, any other local readers . . . While I do enjoy listening to my very expensive radio (a/k/a MP3 player that I don't know how to use for anything but radio), I would love to have some company at some of these events if you're interested. :)

I would like to dedicate this post to the makers of Claritin and Flonase, without whom this day would have been very different. Ah . . . choo!!!