Triskel Life

The final post from our vacation…

There was no explanation in Park City about this Shoe Tree. Any ideas?

After a few days covered in the red sands of beautiful Zion, we decided to venture to Park City, home to the Sundance Film Festival and many of the 2002 Winter Olympic Game events. What we found was a city that could be the dictionary definition of Boom Town, but strangely quiet in its off-off season. The holy land of skiers, Park City appears to have more freshly painted vacation condos and kitschy gift shops than real, local residents. We showed up one week after the main ski area closed for the season, but before the snow has melted away for summer mountain biking. Lucky for us, this meant a very nice hotel room (hot showers and down duvets included) for next to nothing, and our pick of empty restaurants. The real find was Olympic Park, home of the luge, bobsleigh, skeleton and Nordic jumping events for the Salt Lake City games, and now Olympic training center and Museum. The Museum exhibits were ripe with the emotion of the games, from triumphs and defeats to national pride. It was much more than we expected (and free!).

After the proper amount of clean, fun tourism, we turned for our trek back home, driving through gale-force winds from Utah to Nevada, landing at Rye Patch Recreation Area where we hunkered down in our camper out of the winds. But the winds had a surprise for us. They brought clouds that released around 5 inches of snow on us throughout the evening. Despite little insulation from our canvas pop-up, we made it through the night with wool mittens, knit caps and down vests. We awoke to a sparkling white landscape for our last day of vacation. But it is these unexpected surprises that make our journeys so very special and stick in our memory long after vacation ends.

I am a bad granddaughter this year. I cannot for the life of me seem to be on time for family birthdays! But better late than never, right?

In honor of Sharon, the ideal Gram (trust me you wish she was YOUR grandma!), I present what she loves most–pictures!

Laura Hanging in Camp at Zion

Dad Says “Cheers!” to You

The Girls and I Celebrating My Birthday on the Russian River

Deborah and I at the Film Fest Kick-Off Party

Happy Birthday Sharon! I hope it was a fabulous day!

One of Utah’s many wonders is the number of amazing National Parks all within a short driving distance of one another. Taking advantage of our <2 hour proximity to Bryce Canyon we ventured on a day trip to see the Martian Hoodoos I’ve heard so much about. We hiked down between the spires, cooled by the extreme winds that are primarily responsible for these odd formations. Even the trees appear to grow like twisted rope from the wind’s force.

Tired from two days of hiking, hubby and I parted for our next day’s adventure, him for another strenuous scramble to Zion’s Hidden Canyon, and me for a dusty 3.5 hour horseback ride through the Zion Valley. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any pictures of the horse, but I can tell you her name was Ms. Ed.

Now we’re breaking camp while my dad makes us a batch of pre-road pancakes. Then we’re off to Park City for our final days of vacation. Where does the time go?

This post finds us sitting along the banks of the Virgin River in Springdale, Utah tiptoeing the border of Zion National Park. Readers of this blog likely recall our Wander the West road trip in May 2007 where hubby and I discovered this undeniably magical place. We fancied it so much that we thought it deserved more time than we gave it amidst many states last year and scheduled a well-timed meet up here with my father and step-mom.

Today we made the hike that no one forgets, Angels Landing. The relatively short distance (5 miles) rises quickly to 1488 feet and comes with the fierce warning “Strenuous. Long drop-offs and narrow trail. Not for anyone fearful of heights.” Fortunately we possess both the naïveté of youth and rock-climbing experience to assuage the fears that kept my family from joining us.

Once we conquered the several miles of steep switchbacks, we scrambled up the vertical rocks, aided in places by thoughtfully placed chains. We were rewarded with not only a Birdseye view of Zion valley, but also an above-Birdseye view of some birds themselves as they coasted the winds below us.

Happily sore, we’re ready for a relaxed evening before we take on tomorrow’s adventure. The only question is which one to do next.

PS As I was typing this an old rancher, rope in hand, walked into our campsite and asked Mike if he’d seen a calf come by. I love small towns!

On our 2007 Road Trip Hubby brought along Michael Pollan’s dictionary-sized book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” which shattered the illusion that grocery stores carry food–they carry processed food-like items that are mostly just corn fillers. Now hitting the best seller list is Pollan’s new, very practical “In Defense of Food” which answers the question “So if everything is full of corn, what should I eat?” The answer, for Pollan, is simple: “Eat food, mostly plants, not too much.”

But you already eat food, right? And you already know that you should eat fruits and veggies. Food, Pollan explains, would be something your great (or even great great) grandmother would recognize. So food is a baked potato, not Betty Crocker Creamy Butter Mashed Potatoes, food is bread made from salt, flour, yeast and water, not Sara Lee Whole Grain White Bread (talk about illogical). This book finally shines a light on the question I have long been asking: if the American public is eating less fat and less calories than ever before, why are our lovehandles getting much much bigger and diabetes becoming the norm, rather than a rarity?

Based on Pollan’s commercially-void research and my own personal experience that a calorie is not just a calorie, we’ve made the switch. What remained in our home of products like Sweet N Low, Diet Sodas, non-fat yogurt and milk have all been replaced with unrefined sugar, water or tea, and whole fat milk and yogurt (from grass fed cows whenever possible). 

And while we moved to all organic veggies some time ago, we’re sharing a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box of locally grown organic vegetables each week and I’m happily growing the tomatoes (see my previous post), Swiss chard and mixed lettuce right on our deck.

What ways can you think of to eat more food?