Cultural Thrills

Just when I think Clint can't get any sweeter, look what he does.

A week and a half ago, we were planning summer activities for the upcoming week--such as having a campfire, playing tennis, and seeing "Kung-Fu Panda" at the drive-in--and Clint told me: "Wednesday is a surprise." (Just FYI here: I love surprises. I'll act like it's driving me crazy not knowing, but in reality I'm so thrilled that I milk the suspense for all its worth by pestering.) So, naturally, I spent all of Monday and Tuesday trying to guess what he was planning. "Does it start with an 'F' and end with an 'Amous Dave's'?" ...and... "Does it start with a 'Sh' and end with an 'Opping'?" Once all the typical Clint-like guesses (like Barbecue and nature walks) and all the completely ridiculous Sam-typical guesses (like painting, coloring, and spending precious dollars) were exhausted, Clint finally gave me one clue: the activity would be near the Institute Building at the U. But I was still clueless. Something having to do with football???

We parked at the Institute Building on Wednesday night, where Clint then directed me across the street toward the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. A huge poster displayed over the south-east facing wall of the building read: "MONET TO PICASSO." I turned to Clint with what I'm sure was the face of a 7-year-old getting a new red bike for Christmas and said, "Are we going THERE?" He just grinned, all teeth. It was opening night. The exhibition dazzled; it included such artists as Monet, Picasso, Manet, Rodin, Cezanne, and Van Gogh. The museum closed at 8:30 that night, but I could have spent hours strolling through the displays. The extensive exhibition wound from room to room with hardly a break between classics. Even Clint, who usually doesn't get into that sort of thing, said afterwards: "Yeah, I thought that was really cool." Um, yeah...REALLY COOL!!!

The exhibition lasts till September 21. You might still think of it as spending precious dollars, but...so worth it. (Thank you, Sweetie.)

BEAR LAKE 1ST TIMER

Even though we didn't do any boating due to the frigidity of the water, I was still impressed by the rustic scenery, the beautiful cerulean lake, and the Garden City natives who have yet to figure out how to use a GPS device. Woops! Allow me to explain: the reason for our escapade up to Bear Lake was to run a 10K. Well, suffice it to say that whoever measured the course forgot to run it themselves because all the racers for the so-called 6.2-mile run ended up running about 7.2 miles instead. WONDERFUL! Actually, I was not too put off to find out that the reason I felt so sluggish during the last mile or so of the race was not because I was merely morbidly out of shape but because my body knew it was time to stop before my brain had realized the discrepancy. Clint, on the other hand, was upset that he didn't get an accurate report on his pace and time for the 10K. A valid concern, I think. But after the race, the Garden City-ites realized the mistake (a bit late, I know) and are offering a $5 discount to any return runners for next year. I'm so there.

I don't have the pictures we took that morning right after running the race as they were taken with another camera...but I do have some pictures we took that afternoon at the pool in a sort of cabin neighborhood where Jessica's parents own a cabin and where we slept the night before the race. It was a beautiful day and a much-needed getaway. And I am proud to be able to say that I have now been to Bear Lake! :)

Clint had fun making bubbles in the hot tub. Ha ha.

The fantastic view from the cabin's balcony. Hm...the lake's not bad either.

I CONQUERED!

I figure I have bragging rights since every time Clint hikes Mt. Olympus he says he’s wasted for the rest of the day and his legs are sore and etc. FYI, Clint is a hardcore hiker. So for him to be wasted by a hike is a pretty big deal. Of course, he is crazy—he barrels up the mountain as fast he can for the fun of seeing how quickly he can wear himself out. When he takes me along on hikes, I’m like, “slow down, man, whoa.” He even lets me hike in front of him so I can set the pace. Thus, we didn’t exactly make record timing up the legendary Mt. Olympus, but Clint insists that we made pretty good time. And I must say that I haven’t really been sore either. So, HA, take that Olympus! I win!

"A NOTCH ABOVE THE REST"

I'm about to be long-winded and picture-happy, just so you know. There's your official warning.


Last weekend, Clint & I went on a short camping trip to Notch Peak with 2 of Clint's best buddies and their wives: John and Ashley, and Eddy and Krisi. We had a really great time; those guys were really fun to hang out with. It was fun for me to sit around the campfire and hear Clint reminiscing with his friends about the past--when they were scouts, when they were in high school, and when they last came to Notch Peak. Apparently, the last time they came to Notch Peak together was about 7 years ago, right after graduating from high school. They were a bunch of guys about to go their separate ways to college and various mission fields. That night when they sat around the campfire, they made bets on who would get married first, and who second, and third. I guess Clint and I owe them dinner since Clint betted on himself being last but ended up being first! Ha ha.


Anyway, we'd been planning this hike for weeks, and had to postpone due to inclement weather, but finally decided that the first weekend in June should be a pretty safe bet. Friday night when we camped it was indeed beautiful. The skies were clear and starry; Clint and I stayed up by the campfire counting shooting stars and pointing out constellations like Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, the Summer Triangle, Cignus the Swan, the Pleiades, and Cassiopeia. (My parents have a great constellation book with glow-in-the-dark dots that I used to love to use on summer nights.) But anyway, so, we were feeling pretty confident about the weather until the next morning when we woke up to rain and HEAVY fog. It was thick and incredible. I, personally, wouldn't have minded hiking in it; it made me feel like I was in the Wilderness in the Clouds. But our group was on the verge of deciding to turn back without doing the peak! I thought, "You've got to be kidding me; the only reason I ate all that junk food last night was because I thought I was going to hike it off today." You can imagine how camping goes with a husband who loves to pack along junk food. But...we decided to at least hike up a couple miles and see what would happen (the total distance to the peak is somewhere around 4.5-5 miles.)


Here are some pix.
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When we woke up on Saturday morning and weren't sure if we would hike or not, we decided to check out the infamous, old, abandoned mine shaft and the creepy, haunted mining cabin across the road (below). Apparently, Jeff (Clint's dad) has an interesting and QUITE historical account about these exciting landmarks, but none of the boys was brave enough to recount it for me amid the ghostly, lowering mist.
Once we were started hiking, the fog began to lift and expose these magnificent cliffs (below). The hike was enchanting and mystical for those first couple of miles. I felt like I had wandered into a long-forgotten canyon right out of some ancient fairytale.





A little ways into the hike, the weather cleared up just enough that we decided it was worth it to continue to the top. And I'm SO glad. Wow, this hike was COOL! The terrain was completely different than any other setting I've hiked in. First, you're in this barren desert, then you get into the canyons and you hike up this rocky, rugged, dried stream bed with green trees and bushes growing right out of the mountainside. COOL!!! P.S. That huge log we're standing on must have been ANCIENT (above).

Here's the top (above and below). And just FYI, all the fog behind us is covering nothing more than a 2,500 foot, straight drop. Aaah!

Again, nothing behind us here.

Here's John (below) looking over the edge at the top. He also kept hucking rocks over the edge. He was creeping me out, seriously. It wasn't funny how steep that drop-off was. His wife, Ashley, poor girl, kept saying in her sweetly persuasive, meek way: "Um, John? Don't get so close to the edge, okay?" I feel you, girl!

Here's a good view of what the drop behind Clint looks like minus all the fog...

These are my feet dangling over the edge, just so you know... (hee hee hee!)

PLEASE NO.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a hater. And in fact, Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series got me seriously excited and inspired about the possibilities of my own writing career. She graduated from BYU in English, I graduated from BYU in English, she's got this overactive imagination, I'm a freakazoid when it comes to trying to reach me in my own little fantasy world, and etc. But THIS. THIS is almost as bad as when I heard that Ann Hathaway was going to play Ella in the movie made after the charming young adult fiction book, "Ella Enchanted." It was one of my favorite books, particularly in high school. And I never saw the movie, first of all: because I heard it was awful, and second of all: because of Ann Hathaway. Besides all my other objections to her as an actress, she just wasn't right for the part. So what makes the producers of "Twilight: The Movie" think that this gimpy gomery pansey-boy can play the Ultra-Studley and Superheroic vampire, Edward Cullen? No can do, people. I'm not seeing it unless it gets some pretty outstanding reviews. Cause I liked "Twilight" and I liked the images created in my own head, thank you. Sorry if I'm being typical English book-worm snob, but that's the way it goes. I'm sick of people trying to make money off the teeney-bopper girls who will flock to the movies for some "cute" face. Actually, isn't this whole vampire series raking in some unsuspected fans in moms and other adult women who are seduced by this image of a ultra-handsome, protective, darkly mysterious, centuries-wise vampire man who for no logical reason chooses an insecure girl who thinks she's anything but deserving of his immortal attention? So how about appealing to the older audience a little bit more? Sorry, but I don't get overly excited over a face that looks like something I might see hanging out with my kid brother on any old day.