Tricia

Tricia Spendlove, Dave's and my niece, led a troubled life and died a tragic death.  On July 31, 2014, we attended her funeral and graveside service.  The funeral tributes described the sunny, hopeful girl Tricia often was.  Nicholas, Tricia's brother, brought his bagpipe band to play "Amazing Grace" at Tricia's grave site.

Mansion Meal with the Morelands

"The party starts as soon as a Moreland walks in the door," I told Charlotte Moreland Alvey, the daughter of Dave's sister, Janice.  Janice's kids are special favorites of ours--they are friendly, fun, and always involved in interesting adventures.  Michael invited the Moreland crowd to dinner at his Victorian mansion on Sunday, July 27, 2014.  Camille, Michael, and I concocted a vegetarian menu, since the Morelands now substitute cashew butter and quinoa for meat and dairy products.  "Do you eat salmon?" I asked Charlotte.  "Yes, at a party," she said, "but beef--it's too gross."  Charlotte's husband, Tony, was in town from his pilot job with a Continental Airlines feeder line.  He held his toddler, Jet, and talked with Ben, who will soon leave for a mission in the Philippines.  In the meantime, Ben hones his skills as a tightrope walker (except the rope is loose and slung between two trees or posts in a park).

 Charlotte is expecting another baby in November.  It's a boy, and her friends suggest "Boeing" or "Piper" as the name.

Janice now lives in Centerville, next door to Dave's sister, Nancy.

Wild Flowers and Demolition

Creation and destruction.  Those were the contrasts of Michael's and my Saturday, July 26, 2014.  We began the day with a hike to Cecret Lake, near Alta, to enjoy wildflowers during Salt Lake's Wildflower Festival.  We finished the day at the Kamas Demolition Derby with Dave, Camille's family and Michael's cute date, Jessica.

We fueled ourselves for our adventures with a stop at the Pioneer Park Farmer's Market.  Michael discovered a stand selling authentic Southern cooking, cooked by a woman with roots in Louisiana.  "This is how my mama cooked it, " she explained, as she stirred the jambalaya.  "Every day, when I left for school, she'd ask, 'What do you want for dinner?'  Life revolved around good food."  We ordered plates of deep-fried chicken, jambalaya, cole slaw, and corn bread muffins.

This weekend, there were wildflower tours in all Salt Lake's canyons.  Michael and I rode a bus from Alta to the trailhead for Cecret Lake.  As we hiked the steep trail, the slopes were covered with red, purple, and blue wildflowers.

 The lake was an emerald jewel in a granite setting.

 After our hike, Michael drove to Ft. Union to pick up Jessica, and I headed for Pine Mountain to help Dave and Camille fix dinner.

 Emilie made the banana cake that Annelise savored.

Tickets for the Kama Demolition Derby sell out as fast as tickets to a Broadway blockbuster.  We finagled seats and celebrated this slice of redneck fun.  The crowd picked the winner of the "best decorated car" contest by roaring for the jalopy draped in the flag!  We gasped with horror and delight as a car lit on fire (no one was hurt) and as motorcyclists in the post-show leapt 30 feet in the air and landed on narrow tracks on the other side.

Go West

On Thursday, July 24, 2014, Dave and I celebrated Pioneer Day by stopping at the Old West Country Store in Kamas, Utah, and buying ourselves real Western outfits.  We had tickets for the Dierks Bentley concert at the Deer Valley outside amphitheater that night.  Dierks Bentley is a country western/rock singer and we decided to go in style.  

During the afternoon, before the concert, we strolled around Mirror Lake, a favorite beauty spot in the Uintah Mountains.

 I daydreamed about having a boat some day and floating on the placid alpine water.

On our drive back to Park City, we paused at a mountain overlook to enjoy the rocky vistas around us.

 "This is the way Park City celebrates Pioneer Day!" the mistress of ceremonies yelled, as she introduced Dierks.  The crowd waved their beer cans and hollered, "Yes!"

Cowboy hats and boots, short shorts, and halter tops are Park City's idea of Western chic.  I had on way too much clothing with my hat and boots!

We savored the music and the sunset, as we sat on the hill, listening to the concert.  After the concert was over, we drove to our cabin at Pine Mountain for the night.

We spent Friday, July 25, hiking a loop trail near Mirror Lake, passing three lakes and multitudes of wildflowers.  I am a Westerner to the core.