Mount Timpanogos

Last Sunday I hiked Mt. Timpanogos for the first time. Yeah it was on a Sunday, but I needed to get in one last training run before the 3 Mountain Challenge.

I went up with Bill and Brad from work (who, not so coincidentally, are also doing the 3 Mountain Challenge). We started in the cool of the morning at 7:30 a.m. It was awesome. I didn't know what to expect other than the hike was going to be long with a ton of vert.

When we got to the lake at the bottom of the glacier we saw two mommy goats with their babies. We were stoked...Then as we went over the first little knoll after the lake we saw the entire herd! In all there were probably about 40 goats total.



We pushed on to the summit and make it to the top in two hours and thirty minutes. We mostly power-hiked, only ran a little.



After 15 minutes up top we headed down. Brad and I lightly ran the steep summit section and the massive talus field. We opened it up a little more after the talus field. We kept a good pace. We made it from the summit to the car in an hour and forty minutes.



The 30 second feet & leg soak in the waterfall towards the bottom was a life saver. The ice cold water immediately took off some of the swelling.

It took us 4 hours and 22 minutes (including 15 minutes on the summit) to cover the approximate 14 miles and ~4500 feet of vertical gain and loss. Not the fastest time, but I still feel good about it for a first time up Timp.

Silent Auction

There's a silent auction going on over at Noggins Beanies to support Nie Nie Day.

You can get this beanie:



It's for a good cause, go check out the beanie and silent auction it up right nice. Check out the link for Nie Nie Day for other silent auctions that are happening.

New Bike

We finally sold the Taurus! Wah-hoo. A little while ago Jessica said to me "if you can sell the Taurus you can use the money to buy a new bike". I had been talking about getting a new bike for commuting and for trying out cyclocross this fall. It took about a month or so, but we finally sold the Taurus for $350. We knew that it had a few problems and thought that would be a fair price.



The next day I was cruising the KSL classifieds and came across an ad for exactly what I was looking for. A commuter/cross bike and it was in my price range. It was a Diamondback frame with good Shimano components, some cross wheels, and the original set of wheels.



I've commuted on it once. It was so much better of a commute than on the Britney. The hills are a lot better on gears. It's so much better of a ride. I've also taken Penelope for a ride in the bike trailer. That is also so much better with gears. All in all it's an awesome bike and I am uber-stoked to have it. I can't wait for cross season to start so I can give it a whirl.

Jupiter Steeplechase Recap

It's been a long time since the race, but I finally have the pics and the time to write about it.

So the Jupiter Steeplechase was Saturday, August 9. It's a 16 mile race with about 3000 feet of vertical gain and loss. It's essentially an out-an-back race. It's 8 miles and 3000 feet of vertical gain from the base of the Park City Mountain Resort, to the top of Jupiter Peak, and then 8 miles and 3000 feet of vertical loss back to the base.



The course was switched up a little this year. We started in a different place and instead of a short climb up a third peak after Jupiter, we ran around the third peak and back down. This change ended up extending the race to be a little longer than 16 miles (which we didn't know until afterwards).



My goal was to beat my time from last year. I knew that I needed to start out strong but not so strong that I burned myself out before the hardest climbing. I also knew 8 miles of downhill would be grueling.

I did end up pushing a little too hard on the uphill so I couldn't push the downhill as hard as I wanted. I did end up beating my time from last year by 49 seconds! I finished in 2:41:06. I was super stoked. I was even more stoked when I found out that the course was a little longer than last year.



It was a good race and I'll definitely be signing up for it again next year!

Heading to Louis Lake

We're off to Louis Lake, WY to go stay at Jessica's parent's place, Louis Lake Lodge for the rest of the week. My update on the Steeplechase will have to wait until after we get back.

Cool Bike Ideas

As many are aware I am becoming more and more of a bicycle advocate everyday. I've given up driving to the carpool and bike to it everyday. I ride the bike for most errands that are within two miles of our house. I like riding and the benefits it provides.

I read a number of bike blogs and every once in awhile I come across something that makes me think 'wow, that is awesome. I wonder how I can incorporate that somehow in my own life".

The most recent example is people only using bikes for their business. I'm not talking about people who are professional bike racers or bike messangers, but individuals with jobs that would be 'easier' with a car.

The most recent example was on the Bike Portland blog about a gardener who only bikes to and from jobs. He has a trailer that he hauls all of his tools and supplies on. His co-worker also rides her bike to and from all jobs.

I love seeing stuff like this! It goes to show that you can be successful with your bike. I haven't been able to figure out how I can do this yet, but it makes me realize that I could use a bike for pretty much everything I do.

What are some cool examples that you've seen? What are some things you'd like to do by bike?

Jupiter Steeplechase Results Coming Soon

I am currently waiting on some photos so I am going to wait on writing about the race. In the meantime you can get the 'unofficial' story from Jessica here.

A Day at Bear Lake

Yesterday we went to Bear Lake for the day. We got the idea from Adam, but then unfortunately they couldn't go...thanks for the idea.

We got up there about lunch time. We pitched the sunshade, made sandwiches, and ate underneath it. Once lunch was gone we went for the water. It was surprisingly warm for Bear Lake.



Penelope loved walking in the water. She was unstable on the washboard sand and would get knocked over by the small waves so we held her hand a lot. She kept wanting to walk straight out. She'd even want to keep going when it'd get so deep that the waves would splash her face. She also loved splashing.



We, of course, stopped to get a raspberry shake on our way home. On our way back through Logan we stopped and walked around our alma mater's campus. I loved going to school at Utah State. We also drove through the neighborhoods we said we'd want to live in if we ever moved back to Logan.

We capped the day with eating dinner at Firehouse Pizzeria (mmmm, Cordon Bleu pasta and FFzookie) with my mom and her husband.

Good Move...

This morning I rode the bike to the carpool, went to work, and worked. When the van dropped me off at my bike I walked up to put my bag in the milkcrate, looked inside and noticed my lock. I stepped back, looked at the bike, looked at the the lock and realized I didn't lock my bike today. Ummmm, yeah, good move. I thought back to this morning and I got the van meeting spot, was super hot and sweaty so I unloaded my stuff, started flapping my shirt so help cool off, then changed my shirt, and drank a bunch of water. Didn't even think about locking the bike. I was so concerned about trying to cool off.

Thanks Salt Lake City for not stealing my bike.

Quote of the Day

As Jessica is doing dishes, Penelope (whom I am watching) decides to pull a chair up and help rinse. Seeing that she is occupied I leave the kitchen to do other things. To this Jessica says: "What happened here?"

I reply "she decided to help out". I then walk back into kitchen and Jessica says "How did I get suckered into this." I say "Suckered into what?" "Doing dishes and watching Penelope." I laugh. "I feel like you."

Funnier said than written but she has a valid point. :)

Signs of a Good Nap

Signs of a Good Run

What are some signs of a good run?



Yeah, those aren't farmer's tan lines folks. Grubbiness is one fine indicator of how a run went. (Oh yeah, don't pay attention to the toys or clothes in the background). This morning I ran in Big Cottonwood Canyon. I ran up Mill D to Desolation Lake, up to the spine of the Crest Trail, then down into Millcreek Canyon, over to Dog Lake, and back down to Mill D and the car. All told it was roughly 13 miles and 3500 ft of vertical gain and loss. I pounded it out in 2 hours and 26 minutes (that includes rests). I was surprised I got through it that fast. It was awesome. Nothing like hitting a trail early before most people get on it.

Here's a close-up of the ankles:

The Value of Being Outside

Being outside is a topic that I've spent a lot of time thinking about this summer. I've always been extremely fond of being outside but I think having a small child, who is at a very impressionable age, is what has spurred my recent string of thoughts on the matter.

Tonight I was asking myself "what is it about being outside that is so great?". I think this one picture gives all the reasons:



There's nothing quite like watching a small child run carefree, full of excitement, and having the best time of their life. It's really made me sit back and ponder how it is that people (including myself) spend way too much time hanging out indoors. We have become complacent and willing to just sit inside our climate-controlled homes, buildings, cars, etc. instead of getting outside and enjoying what this world has to offer. As I sat on our front lawn playing with Penelope for probably 2 hours tonight I stopped to look at what was around, just outside our door. The most striking view is Mt. Olympus (not to mention the small nursery across the street that is always abloom with flowers):



Then looking north up our street our neighbors have some big trees and more views of the Wasatch Mountains:



I feel that people sometimes forget it can be as simple as stepping out your front (or back) door. The power of being outside enables you to run free. You aren't confined by the size of your room or the size of your house. The only things that confine you are your will and imagination. You can interact with nature face-to-face, you get the real effect and as a result it effects you. You can't get that through a TV or a computer screen.

If Penelope and I would have played inside tonight we would have played with some toys, maybe would have read some books, or just sat around. Being outside Penelope was able to explore, she was able to run, unconfined. I enjoyed the beautiful evening, just sat and relaxed, undistracted. We made up a game where we ran around in circles screaming and then we'd suddenly fall down. There's no room inside to run in circles (especially for me) and screaming inside is way too loud. Here's a short, shaky video (Penelope made me run too) of our game:



Tonight was just another experience that helps to solidify my beliefs and opinions on being outside. Think back to some of most fun, most memorable experiences as a child, I bet you were outside.

Old Friends

I went climbing tonight with an old friend/co-worker/ski buddy from Logan. I haven't seen him in a few years. It was awesome to catch up and see how things are going for each other. Also climbing was fun, it's the first time out since Colorado.

It's always a good time to catch up with people you haven't seen in a while.

That is all.

Summer Concerts in the Park

Maybe I just didn't pay enough attention but it seems to me like there are more and more free community activities, like concerts, going on this summer. We just got home from the city of Holladay's "Summer concerts in the park". We found out about them because we randomly drove down a street two weeks ago and say the banner.

The concert was actually inside city hall tonight because they thought it might rain. The band was okay but it was nice to be out of the house, listening to music, and participating in a community activity.

We actually met a couple of people who chances are we wouldn't have ever seen. One conversation started around a pannier a guy had on his bike. It's nice to get out and do something that we typically don't do and meet people we typically wouldn't ever meet.

What kind of summer activities do your communities do?

Feeling Sheepish

You know how every once in a while you do something thoughtless and it's completely ridiculous? Well I had one of those experiences tonight.

Jessica left today for girls camp and won't be back until Friday afternoon (yes I'm lonely already). This evening my dad called and asked if Penelope and I wanted to come over and swim at the pool at his fiances townhome. Of course I said yes. Penelope and I put on our swimsuits before heading over. As I was going out the door I put my keys and my cellphone in the pockets of my boardshorts (if you don't see what's coming by now you must be slow).

When we got to the pool I was wicked excited to get in with Penelope that I took of my shirt and our shoes and hopped in with her. We were playing around having a good time when I start getting this weird vibration from my pocket. Yup, it was my cellphone, fully submerged for a few minutes. Needless to say I think it's fully fried. The screen was solid white and it just vibrated. I took the back cover and battery off and let it dry. When I got home I pried the phone apart to let the insides fully dry. Fortunately it dried quickly and seemed to turn on (but the screen was white). I could push buttons and it would make noises, but that was all.

So now I am on my backup phone, which hopefully will work for a few more months. Fortunately Sprint did away with their activation fees.

I feel completely silly and thought everyone would enjoy reading about my thoughtless experience!

4th of July Festivities

Today was a great day. You might be saying to yourself "Eric it's early". True, but we're tired.

We wanted to go swimming today because it was ho-ot, but that didn't work out. So we ended up at the Target getting some things for an evening canyon bbq. We grubbed on a Domino's pizza for lunch and then hung out at the house while Penelope napped.

Once she woke up we headed up Millcreek with the Buchanans for some bbq action.



We hauled our little grill up the canyon (we weren't sure if there was going to be fire restrictions) and spent the evening hanging out. We dined on shishkabobs, chips, baked beans, and sodas. It was delicious!



Finally broke out the hammock. We don't spend enough time in that thing. It is so comfortable. Penelope loved climbing in and sitting with us. She did lean too far over the edge once and fell out. I did catch the back of her pants before she hit the ground.

The girls had a great time running around, playing in the dirt, and scooping dirt into the empty yogurt containers that we brought. Penelope loved it so much that she ate a rock! Well we think she did. We turned away for 2 seconds, she starts coughing, and we turn around and she's spitting some dirt out of her mouth. I figure we'll make sure she drinks a lot of water for the next day or so.



There's the ladies of the evening. You can't fully tell but the two little ones are grubby. Ryan is sporting her signature scowl. The camera (or cameraman) was a little too slow to get the full scowl.

The canyon rocked hardcore. Now we're going to watch a movie. Once it's dark we might step outside to see if we can see any of the fireworks from around the city.

Mt. Olympus Update

My legs are killing me, especially my quads.

Mt. Olympus Assault

Just got home about 40 minutes ago from laying down a solid assault on Mt. Olympus. I headed up with Jamon from work. The guidebook said it is 6 miles round trip and 4050 feet of vertical gain (one website said 6.4 miles and 4200 feet of vert). The guide book said 3 hours 35 minutes one way, the website said 6 hours round trip. Well we beat those estimates by a bit.

We made it from the parking lot to the summit is 1 hour 55 minutes. We spent about 15 minutes or so on top and headed down. We made it down in about an 1 hour and 10 minutes. All told we made it up and down in about 3 hours and 25 minutes. No idea if that is fast or not, however, we felt good about it.

The way down was crushing, I fell twice. Once when I went to grab a tree to help me make a tight turn but my hand slipped off it. The second time when I caught my toe on a fin of rock sticking up in the trail. I caught myself but ramming my palms into two other fins. By the end my legs were jello and felt like they were going to give at any second.

It ruled. At the end Jamon said "it's been a long time since I've done something that 'stupid' during the week. I said "it's been a long time since I've done something that 'stupid'".

Wasatch Back

I know I am super slow getting this post up but I was waiting on pictures for a few days. Here's the rundown: it was awesome!

This year I was in van 2 so no 4:30 am meeting times to get to the start of the race. Our van rocked 100% this year. Of course this year we ran with gear again and we stepped it up a notch too. Jim, our CEO, ran in a pair of skis. Literally had skis on his feet while running! It was awesome.

Since we were running with gear we were the last of teams to come through the first exchange (we had four teams from work). We knew we needed to make up time so we motored the best we could.

My first leg looked like this:



Yes it was only 3.1 miles, but it was uphill the whole way, it was like 4:30 in the afternoon, it was blazing hot (at the time it was the hottest day of the year on record, close to 100 I think) and I ran in this:



Yup, I ran in a tent. It was a one man tent to Jamon rigged up with sticks and duct tape so it would hold it shape while I ran. Running it looked like this:



It was pretty hot. One good thing was the tent was almost solid mesh so a little breeze would blow through it. On one corner as I was coming around I got hit with a short headwind and it blew the tent like a sail. I did manage to put down something like 8:30 miles running uphill in a tent. It was awesome.

Our second legs were night legs. Coming into third exchange we were now in third place but were a long ways behind the other teams. Our team put the hammer down and ran a set of killer legs. We were starting around 10 pm so the sun had gone down and the temperatures were nice and cool. Highlights were Cathy put down her 7 mile leg with sub-7 minute miles. Jamon put down his 6+ mile leg with sub-7 minute miles. They were booking. I started my leg about 2:00 am. I had 5.5 miles of general flatness heading into Rockport that looked like this:



It was about 40 degrees and it felt great! I was a little chilled starting out but that lasted about 2 minutes. I was running in a backpack. Starting out I could see two people a ways ahead of me and my goal was to run fast and pass them. I got the first guy after about 3 miles and it took me close to 5 to get the second guy. Side benefit of passing two other people. One guy ran with a red bike blinkie on his back for better visibility. The crappy thing was the one mile left markers had red blinkies on them so I kept thinking he was the one mile left marker. I realized I was getting closer to him and had to pass him just because. As I came around the final corner there was probably 300 yards or so to the exchange and the place was lit up with generator lights and cop car lights. I put the hammer down and ran as fast as I could. I came flying into the exchange and the next runner wasn't there. Apparently they overslept. My van-mates had called them at the start of my leg and let them know I'd be about 45 minutes. Yup, they went back to sleep. After giving it my all and after running my entire leg in about 7:45 minute miles I had to run more. I ran a little over a mile more before my van caught up and Jamon got out to give me a break. 30 seconds later the other van showed up. Oh well, it was still fun.

We got a couple hours worth of sleep before our next exchange. When we woke up we were about 30 minutes behind our first team. We figured we wouldn't be able to make up the difference but still ran our hearts out. As we came into the start of the second to last leg we were about 8 minutes behind the first team and about 2 minutes behind the second team! Ben rocked the second to last leg and coming into my leg we were two minutes up on both teams. My last leg was at about 10:45 am and it was just starting to get hot. It looked a little something like this:



I knew I had no chance of keeping us in the lead. After the previous two runs and about an hour of sleep I knew I'd be running about 8 minute miles and guy I'd be running against would be putting down about 6:30 minute miles. I held him off for about the first mile or so. I completed my run wearing a backpack and a helmet with cardboard goat horns taped to it.

We finished in second place, about 5 minutes behind the first team, and about 5 minutes ahead of the team that were 30 minutes behind at the start of the day. I don't have any pictures from the night leg or from my last leg.

It was an awesome time this year and I'll definitely sign up again next year. I'd recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Woah, It's My Birthday

It's true, today is my birthday. I'm a big, fat 27 years old today. Today was pretty killer. I woke up and went to work. After work I met Jessica, Penelope, and Adam at the Korean restaurant E Jo for dinner.

Yes I am talking on the phone in the picture. My dad had called to say happy birthday.

It was awesome. We downed some sushi, Korean bbq, and some soup. Adam asked the waitress what they do in Korea for when it's somebody's birthday "like that guy right there". She said when get over 20 they don't really do anything. When she brought out our Vegas roll it came like this except the liquid in the martini glass was on fire:



After dinner we came back to our apartment for cake and ice cream with my mom and brother. Jessica made me a killer birthday cake that was delicious.



It was an awesome day. Thank Adam for the first two pictures and thanks to Jessica for all the awesome stuff you did!

WBR here I come....

The Wasatch Back Relay starts tomorrow morning! Wahoo! This year I am the last runner in the second van so I'll be running all the legs previous to the ones I ran last year (well except the first leg since that actually starts the race).

The good news is tomorrow and Saturday are supposed to be hottest days of the year so far so there'll be plenty of sweat to go around for everyone. Be prepared to see some shenanigans similar to what we did last year in the gear department. I'll post the full gamit of pictures after I get them all.

Good times lay ahead...

Happy Father's Day!

It's been awhile since my last post. I'm not really a slacker, we were in Colorado all last week. I'll have a post about our trip in the next few days.

So Jessica thought that Father's Day was next Sunday and hadn't bought the present she was planning on getting me for this past Sunday so today she picked it up and had it waiting for me when got home from work. What did she get me? The Poang chair from Ikea!

I've wanted one of these chairs since the first time I saw one about 6 years ago. She got it for me for a combined Father's Day and birthday present. I was completely surprised and blown away that she got it for me. We had talked previously about getting one but decided to wait.

My favorite part was Penelope helped me put it together. She grabbed one of the little hex wrenches that came with all the bolts and went around to all of the bolts "tightening" them as we went. She was adorable. Jessica made some quick work with the camera and got these great shots:




The chair is wicked comfortable! I absolutely love it. Let me know if you want to come over and take it for a test drive.

Food Co-op II

We got our food co-op order and I must say it was a big success. This month we paid about $26 and here is everything we got:



In the order we got:

• 2 lbs chicken thighs


• 2 lbs pork spare ribs


• 2 top sirloin steaks


• 1 lb ground beef


• 5 lb bag of potatoes


• 1 bag of rice (about a pound)


• 1 bag mini carrots


• 3 Fuji apples


• 3 pears


• 4 Navel oranges


• 1 bunch of broccoli


• 1 bunch of green onions


• 1 head of Romaine lettuce


• 1 loaf of Stone Ground's Wheat Bread


• 1 loaf of Stone Ground's Sourdough Bread


• 1 box of Organic, Fair-Trade Rooibos Herbal Red Tea

I was amazed by how much food there actually was in the order. We will definitely be participating in the co-op again next month too.

The Community Food Co-op of Utah is set up so anyone can participate. There are no restrictions on who can participate, there aren't any hurdles. You can order as many shares as you'd like and you'll get what you pay for. The more people that participate the better prices they can negotiate and the more food we'll get each month. While we don't necessary 'have' to participate I am more than happy to do so. I like to know that because I am participating each month there is at least one person, one family, who is in need that will benefit by the increased participation. I do also enjoy saving money on food. I would encourage everyone to participate in your local food co-op as well. You'll most likely save money and support your local economy.

The Food Co-op

From time to time I've read about communities that have a food co-op. I've often wondered if Salt Lake would be fortunate enough to have a food co-op. We have a killer Farmers Market but I hadn't ever heard of any food co-ops.

Fortunately I saw a news story on rising food prices about a month ago that highlighted a local food co-op. The Community Food Co-op of Utah is a non-profit committed to bringing members of the community food at reasonable prices. You place an order once a month to get monthly deliveries. Yes it isn't necessarily enough food to cover all we'll need for a month but it's a good start and will definitely save us some coin. We get our first delivery this Saturday so I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Adam Just Freaked Out

So it's Sunday night about 12:30 am and Adam is asleep on our couch. They came over so Jessica and Lisa could have a sewing party (things are getting crazy at the Miller household).

Adam fell asleep and his neck was cricked. He woke up, realized his neck hurt, and growled in a way that almost sounded like a sick bear. It was a good time so now I am blogging about it.

Okay so he didn't quite freak out but it was pretty close. We all had a good laugh.

"Ow, my neck hurts..."

Good Friday Night

Tonight was awesome. It started with leaving work early and a great bike ride home. Jessica and Penelope were outside waiting for me, which is always great. Then I got to spend to some time just me and Penelope while Jessica loaded a couple of new hats to her website.

We decided to go out and get some fish tacos from Rubios, who, by the way, make the best fish tacos. Since we were in Sugarhouse we decided to walk around a bit.

First we were going to go to the library and pick up some books for Penelope but it was closed. What, a public library open later than 6 on a Friday? What was I thinking? Instead we walked over to Barnes & Noble for a few minutes.

While in B&N I was checking out the latest issue of Home Power. There was a really good article on potable rainwater collection systems. Yeah I don't have a house, but I love reading about stuff like that anyway.

Then we made a quick walk around to Downeast Outfitters and then over to Old Navy to get Penelope a new hoody. Yeah I'm not a super big fan about walking around shopping, but the weather today and this evening was so nice it was great to be walking around.

We finished the night off visiting Whole Foods to get some killer Stonyfield Farms Creme Caramel Ice Cream. We also picked up a few cookies from the bakery. While we were at the checkstand we saw these killer bags:





They are 80% made out of recycled soda bottles and pretty well made. I asked the cashier how much they were (out of curiosity) thinking that it's Whole Foods so they've got to be at least $5. Nope, only $.99! So we picked one up. They feel really similar to the lunch tote I made Jessica a few months ago out of used plastic grocery bags. The best part is they have a killer warranty. "If at anytime the bag wears out from normal use, bring it into a Whole Foods store and we'll replace it for free.". That's a pretty good warranty on a reusable grocery bag.

We came home, gave Penelope a bath (which she was extra cute during, we got some awesome video one of us might post), played a bit, and then put her to bed. Once she was in bed we indulged ourselves to the cookies and ice cream we bought while we watched the Office from last night (which was absolutely hilarious!). We also had this wicked good drink Jess made with ginger ale and a syrup made with sugar, lemon juice, mint, and rosemary. Very refreshing!

It's been a long time since we've had a night like this and it was a great change!

Oh yeah, happy end of bike to work day.

Bike Trailer, Finally!

We finally got a bike trailer! After about two years of wanting one we picked one up. We got it from my mom's sister-in-law (true story). It's a Burley d'lite that is about 3 years old. The two best parts are it was only used a couple of times and has been hanging in their garage ever since and we picked it up for only a hundred clams!

Here's the full rig.

We took it for a couple of small test rides yesterday, once around the neighborhood and once to the park. Tonight was the real test. Penelope and I went to the store to do our grocery shopping for the week. It went extremely well. I will admit that in my excitement to finally ride to the store and take Penelope with I left my wallet home and Jessica had to bring it to me (rookie mistake).

Happy after the ride.

Using the trailer for groceries was awesome! I fit almost the full load into the small storage space in the back of the trailer. I had to put one bag in the trusty milk crate.

The evidence.

The bike is currently my single-speed commuter. I do have plans for turning it into a utility bike (very soon). The extra gears will be especially helpful on the uphills. Once I have the bike converted over to be utility bike I'll post new pictures and a description of what I've done.

After we got home and ate dinner Penelope decided she wanted to play with my bike helmet. To that I say "what better toy then a bike helmet!".

Cheesing it up for the camera.

My Redneck Saturday

Today was great. Jessica had a class to go to at 8:00 this morning (don't know when the last time was she needed an alarm to get up) so I got to spend the morning with Penelope, it was great. We hung out and cleaned the house. She likes to help me vacuum. :)

Then we went to a diaper party for a couple in our ward who are having a baby in about two weeks, that was also a good time.

Then we went to Cache Valley to visit my mom for Mother's Day. This is where the redneck shenanigans begin. My mom has picked up some new hobbies since she got married this past December. About a month or two ago when I was talking to her on the phone she said "guess what? I got a BB gun". Then about two weeks ago when I was talking to her she said "you'll have to come check out my new 20 gauge shotgun". That's right folks, my mom is the proud owner of a 20 gauge shotgun. You might be saying to yourself "Eric, there's plenty of people who own shotguns that aren't rednecks". But then I say to you "she sits on the front porch of their house, which is on a small farm, to shoot it."



There's the evidence of the shenanigans. I've got the shotgun, my mom (to the left) has the BB gun. I took a few shots at some buckets that were hanging on the fence across the driveway. It was the first time I shot gun in probably 13 or 14 years. It was a good time. Now I'm set for another 13-14 years before I need to shoot a gun again.

New Blog: Cellphone Fstop

My friend Adam started a blog that he named Cellphone Fstop. The blog is exclusively pictures that are taken with cell phone cameras. A while ago he asked me to contribute to the Cellphone Fstop blog. Please check it out. We have an eclectic collection of pictures that range from the strange to the funny to whatever strikes our fancy at the time. We add a few new pictures every week. Check it out and check back often. You'll be able to find the link in the "blogs I contribute to" section off to the side.

Need Book Recommendations

I am in need of some good book recommendations. I've gone from having a laundry list of books to read (and actually not having read many of them) to not being able to think of any books that I want to read. My latest reads have been Deep Economy by Bill McKibben, Mastery by George Leonard, and right now I can't remember the one before that.

I'm pretty much up for anything. Mystery, novel, just fun reading, what have you. What are some good books that you've read lately that you'd recommend for me to read?

Who Are You?

Woah! Who are you and what happened to your hair? That's right I got a hair cut. Well I should say I pretty much shaved my head. It was that time. The hair had gotten very long and very unruly. I figured once the small mammals moved in it was time to cut it. While we were buzzing my head we stopped a couple of times to pay tribute to some of my past haircuts.

To little Eric from about the 1st to 3rd grade this one is for you:



For the Eric from 4th to about 9th grade, this is for you little buddy:


That's right folks, that is a rat tail.

Here's the remnants of what I had on my head yesterday afternoon:


Woah, is that a sink full of hair? Why yes it is. That was a lot of hair that came off.

You know the feeling of the first couple of steps after you take off your heavy backpack that you've been carrying for the past couple of hours when you are backpacking? The feeling like you feel so light and have an extra spring in your step? That's how my head felt this morning. I felt ultra-sleek and aerodynamic. It was a good time.

Ski Tour on Mt. Aire

A week ago from this past Thursday I went on a dawn patrol ski tour of Mt. Aire. I was invited by my friend Kendall to join him and a couple of his friends for the patrol. For those of you who don't know, Mt. Aire is the peak that you can't miss when driving east on I-80 from Park City to Salt Lake City. As you roll over Parley's Summit you can help but see Mt. Aire staring you in the face.

We started about 6:00 am and after 3100 feet of vertical ascent and 90 minutes of hiking we crested onto the summit just after the sun came up. Here's the pics of the surrounding area:


Looking down our skin track.




Looking at the sun.


Looking towards East Canyon.


The obligatory self-portrait.

It was great to look down at the highway every once in awhile and see all the people droning along on their way to work while I was breating the crisp mountain air and getting in some turns.

Backpacking Grand Gulch

This past weekend we went backpacking down in the Grand Gulch Primitive Area of Southern Utah. It was both Jessica and I's first backpacking trip in Southern Utah. It was amazing. First off we were able to drop Penelope off at Jessica's sister's house in Blanding for the weekend, second the weather the beautiful, third it's been a few years since we went backpacking together, and fourth the group we went with was awesome.

Grand Gulch is this huge canyon that was home to many Native Americans. The place is scattered with old ruins that you can walk up and check out (although there is only one that you can actually enter the buildings).

The trip was planned by my friend at work Walt and he invited us along. All I can say is it was awesome and I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Here are some of my favorites followed by all the pictures we took.

Jess coming out of Perfect Kiva.

The group hiking through the valley.

One of the drops into the valley.


The rest of the pictures.

And the Winner is...

A winner has finally been chosen for the mystery substance contest. While I did say I'd pick a winner after a week there were only two entries so I let it run longer. It paid off and I got a third entry!

Here's the deal, no one got 100% of the ingredients, but the closest was Mrs. Olsen (Rachel) with her guess of banana, strawberry, kiwi, and avocado. Congratulations on winning one gallon of the 'mystery substance'. Let me know the next time you're in the Salt Lake City area and I'll serve it up.

The winner of the grossest guess would be Ghost Rider with blenderized red potato salad. You win one red potato salad smoothie. To redeem your prize go to the grocery store deli, get one pound of red potato salad, return home, put in blender with about one cup of milk and blend until almost smooth (there's gotta be some chunks).


The recipe for the smoothie looked a little something like this: pineapple juice, orange juice, orange, banana, red delicious apple, and blueberry gogurt. It was actually pretty delicious.

The Power of Being Honest

There's a lot to be said about companies and businesses actually being honest about their practices and the reasons why do they stuff. Most of the time I think the most accurate portrayal of what's going on comes from satirical writers and cartoonists. I found this short piece from NPR. I was going to post it last summer but it got buried and I just found it. It's about the horrid airline travel season many customers experienced this past summer. You can find the original and listen to the audio (the audio is much better) over at NPR.

"Hi. Welcome to our airline you poor fool. I'm going to ask you a series of questions, just to keep you occupied, shouting into the phone. But I'm a recording. I can't understand a thing you say.

"After you've been on hold longer than the Russians have been in Chechnya, I'll turn you over to someone on the other side of the world who also won't understand you, and thinks that Pittsburgh is Plattsburgh.

"Talk loudly and repeat everything six times. We find that hilarious.

"Plan on getting to the airport four hours early, spending five hours on the runway, and landing seven hours late. If you don't like that, maybe you should try walking to your destination on your hands.

"If you miss your connection: tough.

"If you're calling because we lost your luggage, join the club. Give us a full description of the contents of your bag so that we can distract you while we let it rot unattended in Yuma, Arizona for a week.

"Give us your credit card information. We'll add on several fees, taxes, and penalties to drive up the cost.

"Don't I sound friendly? Actually, I'm hugely indifferent to everything you say."

I found it to be quite enjoyable.