weekend report
Rainy Season
We’re a high desert, but we’re a desert nonetheless–so the August rains are always exciting after two months of dry heat. (They are especially exciting as you race the front back down the mountain and then drive home through a river on the streets.)
Check out that August light: clearer, whiter, more focused. We’re five weeks out from the equinox.
Taking It Easy
We’re nearing the end of high-altitude wildflower season, but Sunday morning early I was going downstairs for Advil (ha) when I tripped and ended up halfway down before I could stop myself. I have fallen down those stairs twice before so I always hold the bannister, but my hold on the bannister this time just managed to give my shoulder a good pull as I plummeted downward. So I did not feel up to carrying a pack for a real hike.
Instead, we went to IKEA and then stopped at Dimple Dell Park. Neither of us had been there before; turns out, it’s like walking around a nice horse pasture.
Hopefully we’ll get to the wildflowers next week.
Summertime
The weekend held sewing time, a beautiful cake a friend made for her birthday, yard work, and high summer. And the living is easy.
(Related: There are a million covers of that Gershwin song, but did you know Sam Cooke did one?)
That Explains It
We went camping over the weekend to Boulder Mountain, which is in between Capitol Reef National Park and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. I’d say it’s some of the most beautiful country in Utah, with changes from red rock in Capitol Reef to high alpine meadows and pine forests, with immense views down from the Aquarius Plateau.
We planned the trip to coincide with a visit from the Buddhist monks of the Drepung Loseling monastery that a hippie/fancy restaurant in the tiny town of Boulder was hosting. They created a sand mandala (dedicated to protecting Grand Staircase-Escalante in its entirety) and we were able to watch the dispersal ceremony.
So, to sum up: Beautiful scenery, Buddhism, time in the wild with my love? Sounds perfect. Then why did I spend most of the first day there thinking, “This should be more fun”? Why was hiking a flat wash so difficult? Why did the driving seem like it took so long?
Turns out I was getting sick. By the second night, right after the mandala ceremony, I had a full on head cold starting, which turned into aches and sinus pain and everything else a cold entails on the drive back.
That explains it.
Contrasts
Look For The Flowers
The upper part of Millcreek Canyon is finally open so we went there for our Sunday hike…along with every Tom, Dick, and Harry (emphasis on dick: people were parking illegally, blocking traffic, not picking up after their dogs, you name it).
But look at this Zen moment I found going through photos this morning: wild rose and columbine. There’s good stuff everywhere if you look for it.
July Hike
Doc got lucky and got the 4th of July off, so we headed out of the triple-digit heat to the Uinta range about 60 miles away. Above 10,000 feet it’s only 75 degrees, with big patches of snow and the most perfect mountain lakes you can imagine.
I already want to go back–with a pool float and a chair and a day’s worth of snacks. We did a four-mile loop but it’s only about a mile through a magical forest wonderland (last pic) to get to the first lake where we can set up for the day. Who wants to join me?
John Denver Day
We went up the Willow Heights trail Sunday straight into a John Denver paradise: blue skies, bluebells and lupins and forget-me-nots in bloom, crossing an aspen forest to a lake.
I’ve been discovering Rocky Mountain High after dismissing it for years as corny. But it’s about the perfect summation of being happy in the mountains that I’ve found:
“And oh, I love the life within me, I feel a part of everything I see.
And oh, I love the life around me, a part of everything is here in me.”