Park City Shenanigans

Last week I got to go to Park City for a NEPA short course. The course itself was wickedly boring (however, according to some classmates, watching me struggle/fail to stay awake was quite entertaining). Anyways, one of my classmates suggesting camping while we were there because it would be so expensive to drive back and forth for three days. I'm super excited I did camp, because I got a new tent out of the deal (and a new sleeping bag, my dad is pretty generous).

I also got to see most of Park City, which I'd never really been interested in viewing. Seeing the gorgeous views and insanely expensive homes brought out the hippie in me again, why should these wonderful viewsheds be affordable only to the rich? I also find it quite a conundrum that the outlet malls should be located at the north end of such a display of disposable income. Wednesday night Adrian and I wandered around historic main street (we tried to go to a free concert, but couldn't locate the amphitheater). I think its a shame there isn't more randomly located art in other towns (specifically Clinton), because it sure is fun to pose with silly statues.

Thursday night we went to the Olympic Park for some zip line shenanigans. We ordered tickets for the Xtreme Zipline, but ended up taking the Ultra Zipline (someone please tell me the quantitative difference between extreme and ultra). It was a bummer until the annoyed ticket booth guy just printed us tickets for the zip line again. That's right, two zipline experiences for the price of one! Then we wandered around the park free from supervision. First we ran around the bobsled track,

then we checked out the huge ski jumps. Turns out the green stuff on the track is the plastic coating that is found around speaker wire (as near as I can tell), and there's a staircase down the entire length of the jump, should you want to walk rather than ski down it (not for those with weak calves, mine were shaking by the bottom). It was really cool to be able to touch and jump and play on all the stuff there. And I now know that as good as I am at the Wii ski jump, I don't have the guts to actually do the jump.

I also got some shopping in, not as fun without the rest of my outlet mall shopping posse, but still a good opportunity to drop some dough on Kimbal Junction.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

It's official. I'm tired of all of this rain. I realize that it's good for our water supply and lawns in general, but it's June, it should be sunny and hot. If everything was as it should be I would currently be ranting about how I wish it would cool off just a bit. But no, it just keeps raining, and currently my apartment is at a chilly 60 degrees Fahrenheit. That's just not right, I have to sleep with my sleeping bag on my bed. It used to be just a silly thing I've done since I was young, now it's necessary because I thought it would be okay to put my space heater away after labor day.
To make things worse, there are brief, tantalyzing moments of sun, I took this picture just the other day, when it was warm enough to wear a tank top.
Don't I look lucky, happy, and free (the lyrics of a Bright Eyes song, I recommend everyone go look it up immediately). Now I'm wearing a sweater and a coat. Ridiculous!!! I've not heard much about El Nino this year, so I'm blaming this on global warming. There are a few bright spots around though. There's a nifty tree outside my front door with red leaves and when the sun shines through it, it makes rose colored light shine into my living room. While I'm not quite an optimist, I still enjoy the symbolism.

I also got to spend time with my friends and family this weekend. Saturday night I went up to Bear Lake to celebrate my friends graduation. It was rainy, but after the sun went down the rain stopped. Whatever the weather, I enjoy Rendezvous Beach. I hate the drive through the summer homes, my inner-hippie objects to situating such generic homes in the middle of such a beautiful landscape. Why make an effort to situate your summer home somewhere scenic and then isolate yourself from it so much? Ah well, the lake itself is gorgeous, and rising a bit with all this rain. And it's such a unique feature. Some fun facts about Bear Lake, which rumor has it is sometimes called the Caribbean of the Rockies (I flew over the Caribbean once, and it was awesome):

• it lies at an elevation of 5,923 feet above sea level and it 20 miles long and 8 miles wide
• the first white resident near the lake was Thomas Pegleg Smith, a crusty one-legged mountain man
• the turquoise color of the water is caused by the reflection of limestone deposits suspended in the water; this unique feature has also led to the production of a trophy cutthroat trout fishery and the evolution of several endemic fish species
• a guy named Joseph C. Rich started the story about the Bear Lake monster, then he admitted that he made it up, the story persists today (by the time I heard about it the story tellers said that there was an underground passage way that connected Bear Lake the Loch Ness)

While it was chilly, we did have some fun times, and next month I get to go down with my family for a few days, which should be awesome!
Me and my Nessa, 'chillin' in at the lake

Frary Peak Adventure

Last week I got to go on a pretty awesome hike to Frary Peak on Antelope Island (the highest point on the island, at 6,595 ft above sea level) with my dad and Scott. We spent most of the time posing for pictures, which was as much fun as hiking. I for one can't resist a good pose with a juniper or bristle cone pine tree (I just think they're cool, and need to be hugged). We also had a good deal of fun doing 'conquer' poses.
I also learned some fun facts about the Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island. For example, the sand on the beaches is actually pretty special, its oolitic, and is formed when mineral grains or brine shrimp fecal pellets are coated by concentric layers of aragonite (a form of calcium carbonate), similar to the way pearls are form. So the sand is actually brine shrimp poo pearls. Also, the rocks found on Antelope Island are some of the oldest on the earth, that's pretty amazing (also amazing, that they can age rocks). From the right angle, I think the lake almost looks tropical (you have to look toward the west though, looking at the Wasatch Front is not as inspiring).

I didn't see too much wildlife there, we were hoping to see some bighorn sheep, but alas, it was a no go. However, I did run into a gopher snake, which I've never seen before.
We spent much of the time on the way up and down quoting from Lord of the Rings after another hiker told us the way to the top was like passing through the Gates of Mordor. At the top we found a big pole and pretended it was like Galdalf's staff, which meant we spent too much time yelling "You shall not pass!!!" It doesn't get much better than that.
All in all, it was a pretty wonderous hike, and not too long, in case anyone wants to give it a shot. Now is probably the best time to hike the island, later in the summer giant mutant spiders (probably all 'roided out on brine shrimp fecal pellets) take over all the picnic tables.