Friends, Family, and Woodpeckers

Camille stayed with us from Tuesday, October 15, 2013 at midnight, till Thursday, October 17, at 9 a.m.  She was on a blitzkrieg trip to choose a house and make an offer, so the Eberts will have a home to move into when they arrive in SLC the week before Christmas.  Gretta went house-hunting with Camille on Wednesday morning, and then Dave and Michael joined them for dinner that night at the new Indian restaurant in the Avenues, Saffron Valley East India Café.

We love getting together with Michael, either for dinner cooked by me at our home, breakfast cooked by Michael at his home, or together trying out restaurants.  One favorite restaurant we tried with Michael was Aristo's.  My favorite specialty is the chicken cutlet stuffed with spinach, which I try to duplicate with no success.

 

We also love hearing from Jonny and Jenny in North Carolina.  This weekend they drove the Blue Ridge Parkway and emailed photos of the magnificent fall scenery and of their equally magnificent creation, Samuel.  Samuel wears stripes--an endless array of them--and they flatter him.

 

 

On Saturday, October 19, our old college friends, the Wildes, Emmers, and Joneses joined us for dinner.  Two of the four couples are already retired, and the talk was about missions (our own), temple work, grandchildren, and travel.  What a change it was from the days we served each other tuna fish casseroles and talked about college and babies!  We also told stories and laughed.  Old friends are the best!

 

 

 

While the love fests with friends and family continued, Dave waged war on the woodpeckers.  A perserverant bird (or two) has pecked holes in the eaves.  I admit to sympathy for the woodpeckers after asking Michael what bird reminds him most of me.  I assumed he'd say a commanding eagle or a cheery robin.  No.  With my dogged determination, I remind him of a woodpecker.

 

Dave nailed metal covers over the holes, but the woodpeckers have started new holes.  Dave has packed a BB-gun, but thought better of using it after he learned that it is illegal to shoot woodpeckers.  He collected an array of plastic animals that he hoped would scare off the woodpeckers--spiders, crocodiles--and nailed them near the holes.  No luck.  The next offensive is constructing mobiles of tin pie plates, mirrors, and irridescent streamers, which Dave learned online are terrifying to woodpeckers.  The fight goes on.

 

Three Movies and a Zipline

When Camille heard how Dave and I spent the October 11, 2013 weekend, she said, "You definitely need grandchildren in SLC.  If you can watch three movies in two days, you've got a lot of time on your hands."  She was right, of course, but we had a great time checking out the latest flicks and spending an afternoon at the Utah Olympic Park, as well.

We have long wanted to visit the Olympic Park, to see what the state has preserved from the 2002 Olympics.  We got our chance with a two-for-one Groupon discount that gave us tickets to the Park's zipline, Alpine slide, and drop tower, as well as unlimited chairlift rides!  It was a beautiful, crisp fall day, with a blue Utah sky and bright leaves on the mountains.  The visitors center housed memorabilia from the Olympics and there were statues of Utah's skiing pioneers, including Alf Engen.

 

 

We rode the chairlift to the zipline.  The aspens were beautiful against the blue sky, and we could see over the whole Park City valley.

 

 

 

 

As we rode the chairlift, we watched ski jumpers careen down the jump, which was covered with water for the summer season.

At the top of the chairlift, we enjoyed the view over the valley and the view of zipliners getting strapped into the hanging slings on which they would zip down the mountain. 

Finally, it was our turn and down we went, for an exciting minute or two and then an abrupt stop.

 

 

 

The zipline was fun because it was new and different.  The Alpine Slide was fun because it was old and familiar and brought back memories of riding down the Alpine Slide in Park City itself, when Jonny and Michael were little (and maybe when Camille and Lisa were little, as well).

On our trek back to the Visitors Center, we passed a ski jump that emptied into a huge swimming pool.  Jumpers were practicing aerial gymnastics.  We saw one skier do a double somersault before diving into the pool.  Signs encouraged would-be jumpers to sign up for lessons.  Maybe next year.

 

 

 

 

 

We checked out the drop tower and ropes courses, but the long wait times made us save those for another day, as well.  We plan to be back, with or without the grandkids.

 

 

We loved all three movies we watched this weekend.  Two were blockbusters--"Captain Philips" and "Gravity," and the third was an excellent Mormon film, "The Saratov Approach."  I identified with "Captain Philips," about the takeover of a cargo ship by Somali pirates.  Captain Philips was kidnapped into a lifeboat and was rescued by US Navy SEALs.  Somalia is right next to Ethiopia, and I have been there.  I did root for Captain Philips, though, rather than the pirates!

 

"Gravity" was the tale of an accident during the repair of the Hubble telescope, and one astronaut's return to earth.  It was an allegory as well as an adventure film, with meditations on the nearness of heaven, the choice to live or die, and the sweetness of Earth.

 

 

"The Saratov Approach" recounted the true story of two LDS missionaries who were kidnapped in Russia and ultimately released.  The film did a good job of making the characters believable--neither too good nor too bad.  Dave and I see every Mormon film we can, to support a growing industry that we believe in.  It wasn't painful at all to support this film.

 

Finally, leaves...

Utah had a hot summer with little water.  This fall, the colored leaves have been drab and late.

Dave and I drove to the cabin Friday night, October 4, 2013, to hole up with the ironing and TV for LDS Conference weekend.  It was too dark to see anything but stars when we arrived.  When we awoke Saturday morning, the aspens were vibrantly golden, against the white snow, dark green pines, and blue sky.  I walked around Pine Mountain, amazed at the beauty.   

 

 

 

 

 

I usually take the same walk around Pine Mountain, but I always see new things, through my eyes and through my camera.  When I looked at these photos on the computer, I was amazed at how blue they were.  With the snow and cold, came a blue cast to the whole mountain world.  I was also charmed by these cattle, trucked in to the Pine Mountain meadow with a supply of hay for the winter.  I noted how much I like photographing roads and fences.  I like the clear definition of a fence and the mystery of a road winding away into the trees.

 

 

As I made the last uphill climb from the East Pine Mountain gate to Targhee Drive, where our cabin is located, I spotted these glowing aspen against the pines--essence of fall.

 

Dave and I watched both sessions of Conference at the cabin, as well as Conference specials about Mormon film makers and about President Monson's 50 years of Church service.  I finished the ironing and Dave particularly enjoyed the talk of Jeffrey R. Holland, which recognized the burdens and value of people with mental problems.  As a psychologist and father, that message touched him deeply. 

 

 

 

While we were at the cabin, we also watched the video, "Ephraim's Rescue." It was the story of Ephraim Hanks, the Mormon scout who found the Martin handcart company in the snows of Wyoming.  We are thankful that a Mormon film industry is developing, however slowly, to tell stories from and about our culture.

 

 

 

After the Saturday sessions of Conference, Dave decided he'd like to return to SLC, so he could fit in a Sunday morning run with his buddies.  On our way home, we stopped at Tarahumara Restaurant, in Midway, which serves innovative Mexican specialties.  I was tempted by the avocado enchiladas and shark tacos, but settled for shrimp with orange and cilantro, served with Mexican rice, green beans, and fresh flour tortillas.  We loved the salsa bar, with 20 varieties to choose from, and the powdered sugar-covered Mexican wedding cakes, just like my mother used to make.

 

 

 

We also stopped at the new Heber Valley Milk and Artisan Cheese store.  It is operated by Utah State University and markets ice cream, sold in cups, cones, or boxes, under the "Aggie" label.  I thought of my dad, as I savored my chocolate almond ice cream.  Dad took a class in ice cream making at Utah State, to help him run the Calder creamery. He also made wonderful homemade ice cream for parties at our house, when I was a little girl.  The shop also sold specialty cheeses, which reminded me of how much Michael, Dave and I, and Camille's and Lisa's families enjoyed Heini's, a specialty cheese shop in Ohio's Pennsylvania Dutch country.  We'll certainly return to this Heber Valley store, with its web of memories!