BOOK: Child 44 - Tom Rob Smith

I think I found this on a best of list from last year. After sitting on my que at the Library for quite some time I picked it up and started reading. This is Smith's first book and it was pretty good in a suspense/mystery sorta way.

BOOK: Player Piano - Kurt Vonnegut

It was starting to look like iStanton had been abandoned but I decided to shake the dust off and do a post or two. I read this book while soaking up the rays in Mexico (see previous post). For the most part I enjoyed this one but I think I'd like to read some more of his stuff. The only other Vonnegut book I've read is Cat's Cradle.

Casitas Tortugas - Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico

When I started planning our trip to Sayulita I quickly realized that there's only one website with any information, Sayulita Life. This site does a good job of listing all of the available places to stay, activities and other information but its lacking in other departments. The photos are low quality and small and there aren't any comments or reviews allowed so its really hard to tell what a particular place is going to be like until you get there.

Anyway, I did the best I could and ended up with a reservation at Casitas Tortugas, right in the middle of the action in Sayulita. I thought it was going to be a decent place but I didn't expect it to be as nice as it was. We got the one bedroom apartment overlooking the courtyard complete with a resident turtle. There were also quite a few 3 to 4 foot long iguanas crawling in the trees that surrounded the place. The rooms are all kinda back off the street giving it a quiet oasis-like feel in the middle of a loud town filled with roosters that like to get going at about 3am every night. The owners were really cool and accommodating too.

If you're headed to Sayulita give these guys a call, it's probably one of the best places in town and really affordable too!

Altavista petroglyphs - Nayarit, Mexico

Last week Melissa and I decided to check out the petroglyphs at the Altavista archeological site while on vacation in Mexico. If you're ever in the Puerto Vallarta area and feel like having a little adventure I'd recommend checking this place out. It's not the easiest place to get to (unless you're willing to hike in or have a really high clearance vehicle) and a little difficult to find but it's totally worth the effort once you get in there. 

You can find very detailed directions and more information on this guys site. 

MUSIC: Coldplay - Viva La Vida

One of my favorites of 2008, it made me happy to hear Coldplay redeem themselves after their X & Y effort, or lackthereof.. 

MUSIC: MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

Love this CD. After months of waiting for this one to come up at the Library I finally decided to just purchase it on iTunes and it's pretty great. I want to go to this party if they make it to Portland sometime soon. 

MUSIC: TVOTR - Dear Science

It's on everyone's best of 2008 list so I figured I'd give it a listen. So far I like Dear Science more than any other TVOTR album I've listened to. The first track really does it for me. 

BOOK: The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

I really enjoyed reading this one, such a sad story yet so good at the same time. 

BOOK: The Audacity of Hope - Barack Obama

This is a fantastic book. I'd reccomend it to anyone, regarless of your political tastes. 

Kale

I have mastered the art of preparing this delicious green stuff.

Happy or Sad?

Sigur Ros - Schnitzer

The confetti was awesome but the music was even better. This is the 2nd time I've seen them and these crazy Icelandics didn't disappoint. 

Thanks to quayquay17 for the pic!

Menomena Poster

I got a new poster yesterday and I really like it. It's from the Menomena show on 11/24/07 at the Crystal Ballroom that I happened to attend. 

Home Improvement

Gabe and I got creative and made this storage shelf for our garage. If you look closely you'll spot the weight bench that has made its home underneath the shelf. It was really nice to get the garage opened up and a little more organized. I also put a couple of bike hooks in the ceiling.


I made this desk out of a recycled closet door from the Rebuilding Center and some legs from IKEA. It turned out really nice and fits well in our spare room.

John McCain - Robot Man

He didn't win Miss Congeniality in the United States Senate.

Jenny & Chad

It's not often I can get my cat's to sit still long enough to get a good picture.

BOOK: the curious incident of the dog in the night-time - Mark Haddon

Everyone was right, this was a great book and I'm glad I read it. 

BOOK: The Jesus Machine - Dan Gilgoff

Having grown up in church this book was pretty fascinating and a little scary for me to read, it took awhile to get through it but I'm really glad that I read it. It's amazing how much power and influence the Christian Right has in our countries political landscape. Regardless of what side you're on this book is an eye opener and is worth the read. 

MFNW. The Review

Wednesday - Gabe got me into a credentials party and then we went to the Roseland for Fuck Buttons and Mogwai. I really liked Fuck Buttons and Mogwai was pretty good too. I couldn't make it through the whole set though, work comes pretty early. 

Thursday - Another party, this time for the VIP's. Again, thanks to Gabe for getting me the VIP pass. This party was better than the one the night before. It was outside at the Wonder Ballroom and it was actually quite the nice night. After hanging out there for awhile I went to the Crystal to see M. Ward. The show started out really great and then his band left the stage and I almost fell asleep. I really liked the first three songs though. 

Friday - I went to Britt Daniel and Built To Spill at the Wonder ballroom. Both shows were pretty great. Unlike M. Ward, Britt Daniel didn't disappoint and I didn't have to fight the urge to take a nap during his set. Built to Spill pretty much rocked as well. 

Saturday - I got to the Wonder nice and early for Ratatat and was fortunate enough to get in. This show was the highlight of the whole festival for me. I was really looking forward to seeing them but I had no idea they would be as good as they were. The crowd was really into it and they just really kicked some butt! I can't wait to see them again. Later on I went to the Crystal to see Menomena. Their show was awesome and left me wanting more. Hopefully they'll be playing their own show sometime soon. I was also planning on seeing Sir Mix A Lot after Menomena but when we got to the Fez it sounded like his set was going to be super late and I'm an old guy now so I decided to call it a night. 

This was definitely the best festival I've ever been to and I can't wait to do it again next year. 

MFNW

Music Fest NW starts tonight and I'm very excited. I'm going to get the party started by seeing Fuck Buttons and Mogwai tonight. See you there!

Radiohead Road Trip

Earlier this week Ryan and I went up to Vancouver BC and then down to Auburn, WA to watch a couple of Radiohead shows. It was absolutely amazing as always and felt like more of an "experience" than a show. The LED light display they have going on is crazy, I've seen lots of interesting light shows but this one definitely takes the cake. They did a good job of integrating it into the set, it's not distracting and adds a lot to the whole show. I really wish I could go down to some of the California shows but I think I've spent enough money for the time being so I guess it's time to wait another 4 years.

Check out my updated gigography for specific details on the shows. Thanks to A Reminder for the pics. 

My Radiohead Gigography *UPDATED*

I've been a Radiohead fan since 1997 so I figured its about time I logged the shows that I've been to. I had it in my head that I'd gone to 9 already but I guess it's only 8 (now 10). I still feel like that's a pretty respectable number considering the frequency of their tours. I'm really looking forward to the two shows I'm attending next week, especially since it's been 4 years since I've last seen a show of theirs!

Here and the shows and some brief thoughts:

The Big Stink - 8/3/97 - My first RH show came in the form of a lame festival that NRK put on in Estacada Oregon. Originally I wasn't going to go cause Cake was the only band playing that I wanted to see. I had only recently gotten into OK Computer so when NRK announced that RH was joining the party I spent the $20 and went. I ended up missing Cake while I waited in line to get in but seeing RH play there was amazing. They only played a few songs but were definitely the highlight of the day for me. Candlebox headlined, I remember being a little pissed about that.

Salem Armory - 4/4/98 - Even though it was in the Armory this show was awesome. Every time I watch Meeting People Is Easy I think of this show. Sometimes I'm sad that I didn't get to see them when they were playing small clubs like La Luna, but now I feel fortunate to have seen them in the hay day of their OK Computer tour. The highlight of this show was them stopping in the middle of Exit Music to kick some DB out for crowd surfing. Instant respect!

The Gorge - 6/23/01 - I can't remember for sure but I think this may have been my first show at the Gorge. A bunch of us got together and planned a camping/road trip for this and the next show up in BC. Aside from the company of my best friends highlights included hearing the first version of Reckoner for the 1st and only time until this recent tour, and of course the band opening with National Anthem. We all knew it was going to happen but it was awesome nonetheless.

Vancouver BC - 6/24/01 - For some reason I can't remember a lot about this show :) I do remember having an amazing time and getting to see Talk Show Host and Nude (this used to be a really big deal) live. I always have a good time in BC and I'm looking forward to re-visiting the scene in a few days!

Hollywood Bowl - 8/20/01 - I had always heard great things about the Hollywood Bowl so I figured why not go see my favorite band play there. A friend and I splurged on $100 tickets off eBay and flew down to California for the show. I think this was the first and only time I've seen Pearly* and also True Love Waits. Rumor has it that Edward Norton and Brad Pitt were in attendance, along with countless other celebrities I'm sure.

Red Rocks - 8/23/03 - Ever since I first saw the Sunday Bloody Sunday video on MTV I've wanted to go to Red Rocks. This is by far one of the coolest and most unique places to see a show. My favorite thing about this one was hearing Subterranean Homesick Alien live. It gave me the chills. Ryan saw Jack Johnson walk past, apparently he likes a little RH now and again too.

Shoreline - 9/23/03 - I love me some 2 + 2 = 5. Shoreline sucks but of course the show was awesome.

Coachella - 05/01/04 - This was my worst RH experience ever. The band was fine but the environment has left a bad taste in my mouth when it comes to festivals. Coachella sucks! I spent close to $40 on water and it was probably 110 degrees all day long. The cool thing about this day was seeing the Pixies open for RH but other than that, and seeing them play again, I was pretty miserable.

Vancouver BC - 08/19/08 - It took us about 2 hours to drive the 10 miles from our condo to Thunderbird Stadium but once we finally go there everything was great. Radiohead came on shortly after we arrived and played an awesome set. This was my first time hearing In Rainbows and I was quite impressed. I feel like you never know how well the music is going to translate live but they always exceed my expectations. Some of the highlights included Weird Fishes, National Anthem, Just & Planet Telex (lights were crazy for this song), Reckoner and 2+2=5.. The rain started almost as soon as the band started playing and got progressively worse as the night went on. This was the first time I've been to a show in the pouring rain but it almost made it a little more fun. Awesome show!

Auburn, WA - 08/20/08 - I didn't have high expectations for this venue but it turned out to be a pretty great place. It was raining again but our seats were covered so that made it a little more enjoyable. We were also further back, which normally isn't a good thing but this allowed us to really take in the full scope of their light show. Thom came out in red pants so I figured it was going to be a good night. They did a good job of mixing things up with the set list. We got to see Climbing Up The Walls, Idioteque, Lucky, The Pyramid Song and In Limbo! I was pretty excited about that. They always play Morning Bell so it was nice to see this one get some love. They also brought out Nigel on the tambourine for this song. This was a first for any RH show I've ever been to, I've never seen them bring anyone out there with them and it was especially cool for that person to be Nigel Godrich. 

Both shows were awesome and complimented each other very well. I'm really glad I got to go to two shows in a row! Now I want more! 

Nutshell

I finally made it to Nutshell (one of Portland's new vegan restaurants) tonight and it was fantastic. I'm not a vegan but if I could cook food like this I'd be tempted to give up meat and cheese for the rest of my days.

We started off with a delicious order of focaccia bread and olive oil and then moved on to the bamboo fries. At first I thought that was just a clever name, then I found out that I was eating bamboo. They were pretty awesome though. After the fries we had red chard & green kale with creamy grits & a cherry ginger gastrique, also incredibly delicious and probably my favorite thing we ate. We then topped it all off with penne pasta featuring oyster mushrooms, onions etc..(shrooms are my new favorite food).

Everything was wonderful, I'd go check it out if you haven't been there already. I always cringe a little when I think of vegan food but this stuff is really great.

BOOK: Dress Your Family In Corduroy And Denim - David Sedaris

It's been a long time since I picked up a Sedaris book so I really enjoyed reading this, even if it pales in comparison to Me Talk Pretty One Day.

Double Mountain Hoplava

Mmm. Delicious.

BOOK: A Civil Action - Jonathon Harr

The definition of a page turner. I really couldn't put this book down but I was a little sad about the ending. I'd highly recommend it, especially if you like courtroom stuff.

A well crafted mojito

Yes!

BOOK: In the Merde For Love - Stephen Clarke

Almost as good as A Year In The Merde. I loved this book. 

My water bottle has arrived!

Edgefield

Greyhounds, books ane sunshine!

Portland International Brew Fest

Last night Gabe, Ryan and I all went down to the brew fest in the Pearl. This was probably the most fun I've ever had at one of these things, usually I hate going. The weather was nice and there were trees everywhere so it was pretty great. We also didn't have to wait in huge lines to get beer and someone gave me 9 extra tickets while I was waiting for Gabe and Ryan at the front gate. Sweet!

After sampling several tasty IPA's we headed to Life of Reilly to play 36 holes of Golden Tee where yours truly won both games in decisive fashion. 

Lackthereof - Holocene

I finally got to see Lackthereof on Thursday at Holocene. The last time I attempted to check them out I accidently missed their set while drinking beers outside so I got there really early this time. The show was great, as was having my girlfriend point out all of the celebrities (people from Viva Voce, Menomena, Talkdemonic etc) in attendance that I would not have otherwise recognized. 

Click Here for WW article. 

Thanks to Alicia J Rose's flickr page for the photo. 

BOOK: Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson

This book definitely exceeded my already high expectations. Nick Hornby refers to Marilynne Robinson as the greatest living American writer in one of his books so I assumed it would have to be pretty good. Get your dictionary out and settle in for a beautifully written and eerie novel. I loved it and would definitely recommend it.

Talkdemonic: Bastille Day

On Saturday we went to the free show/block party that Pix was hosting in NoPo for Bastille Day. It was pretty cool to see a show outside on a city block. Talkdemonic was great, as usual.. Towards the end of their set someone started passing around sparklers and throwing tons of confetti into the air so it felt a little festive there for awhile. I think this is something that needs to happen more often in Portland. As much as I like going to places like DF or the Wonder for a show being outside on a nice summer evening will always be better.

Thanks to teeathh's flickr page for the picture!

Crater Lake

Here's a couple of videos from my trip to Crater Lake over the 4th of July weekend:





On the first day we hiked up to Garfield Peak (Video) to check out the view from one of the higher points along the rim of Crater Lake. Technically speaking the last two thirds of the hike was closed but we hiked over the snow that was covering the trail so we could get up to the top. It was kind of crazy seeing all of that snow on an 80 degree day in July. This was a really fun trail to go up and the views at the top were breathtaking.

After spending a little time taking in some of the views we headed to Union City to find a campsite. We ended up in a nice little campground with the Rogue River running right through it. The other video is of the Rogue River Gorge which was about 1/2 a mile or so from our campsite. Once we got settled in there I almost burnt my thumb off with a sparkler. I thought those things were supposed to be harmless but I somehow managed to hurt myself with one.

Day two brought us to the upper part of Klamath Lake for a little canoe expedition through a wildlife refuge on the lake. I've probably only been in a canoe a couple of times in my life but thankfully Melissa has a lot of experience with them. We saw all kinds of crazy birds, beaver dams and marshy plant life. It was pretty fun but I ended up with a canoe burn on my knees that just started peeling yesterday.

After leaving Rocky Point we went back to Crater Lake and had a few beers at the lodge while reading books. The lodge sits right on the rim so you can sit outside and take in the views while eating and/or drinking. Awesome!

On Sunday we made the hike down to the water. There's only one trail in the park that takes you down to the lake so it was pretty cool to see it from this vantage point. Unfortunately they boat tours hadn't started yet so we weren't able to go to Wizard Island in the middle but it was still a great time. Next time I think I'll wait until later in the summer to go so I can do the entire rim road and the boat tour as well. If you're like me and have spent much of your life in Oregon without ever having been here you should go, it's really an amazing place.

Modeselektor - Hello Mom!

I feel like turning my place into a house music club while listening to this album. I never knew I could like this kind of music so much but this CD is awesome! Their first CD (Happy Birthday) is pretty awesome too but their sophomore effort is much better. 

BOOK: Shopgirl - Steve Martin

I finished this one while taking in the fantastic views at the Crater Lake Lodge. I think I'd recommend anything Steve Martin writes, so far both books I've read have been great!

The 4th

Happy 4th of july weekend. I'm headed to Crater Lake for a few days. See ya when I get back!

Green Lakes Organic Ale

Not bad at all. Hoppy yet refreshingly smooth. Yum.

Wall E

Pixar just keeps getting better, this one is definitely my favorite. Probably one of the cutest movies I've ever seen too.

Saturday

I guess most people did this with their middle school youth groups but on Saturday Melissa and I went to the Ape Caves on Mt St Helens to beat the 100 degree heat on Portland. I had a really good time there despite being sore all weekend as a result of the hike. As soon as we descended into the lava tube (the longest continuous one in the continental US) the temperature dropped to around 40 degrees. There was also lots of water seeping from the ceiling giving us the feeling of a light drizzle for most of the hike. It's definitely a fun thing to do on a hot day, probably a lot more fun if you don't go on a Saturday like we did.

After the hiking we went to a couple of birthday parties, one of them for my friend Jenny who just turned 30. Seeing her, Cesar and all of the people we used to hang out with back in the day was really great. I'm really glad her husband dug up my e mail address to let me know about the party. The second party was a kegger that we could walk to from my house. Gabe, Melissa and I made the walk over and proceeded to party like we were 21 or something. It was really fun but I didn't feel too good on Sunday. Oh well.

BOOK: Citizen Vince - Jess Walter

This book was pretty great. Entertaining, a little suspensful and a quick read for a 300 pager. Reccomended by iStanton.

Brett Myers: Boom, Outta Here!

Even though Jim Rome plays this about 5 times a day it never gets old. Brett Myers is cool.

Blue Giant - Wonder Ballroom

I went to the debut of Blue Giant last night at the Wonder Ballroom. The band features Kevin and Anita from Viva Voce (one of my favorite Portland bands) so I had to check it out. From listening to the tracks on Myspace I figured it would be pretty mellow but I was pleasantly surprised with their rockin sound at the show. Watch for their album which is supposedly coming soon. I think it's going to kick some butt!

On another note, the Wonder Ballroom sucks. We were forced to wait at the door for about 20 minutes while the manager of the place tried to decide whether or not he was going to let us in. For some reason their little scanner thing didn't like the tickets I bought about 6 hours prior at their box office and we were immediately taken for scam artists or something.. Lame.

The Prom

Last Friday Melissa and I got all dorky and went to a "Prom" that one of our friends was having. It was pretty fun and we ended up with this sweet picture too.

BOOK: The Pleasure Of My Company - Steve Martin

I might have to buy this one. Awesome book!

BOOK: How To Be Alone - Jonathan Franzen

Some really good essays mixed in with some really boring ones. If cosumerism is a favorite topic of yours I would read it

Transportation

Today I rode my bike to work for the first time in years and it was actually quite nice. I thought I might be pretty rusty and slow but it only took about 25 minutes to ride the 4.5 miles to NW Portland from my house. I'm going to try to use my bike for commuting at least 3 times a week for now. I think the best thing about it will be the lack of stress that seems to come with me getting in my car around rush hour. There isn't a horn on my bike so I should be able to keep myself out of trouble when I'm on it.

Tell Me You Love Me

Last night we finished off Season 1 of HBO's Tell Me You Love Me. At first I wasn't sure if I could get into this show. It's probably one of the most awkward and depressing shows to watch but the more I watched the more I liked it. The characters and stories really started growing on me. The show also has lots of sex, realistic looking sex...I mean it borders on porn at points:

The series gained some early publicity because of its extremely realistic depictions of sexual intercourse, oral sex, masturbation and ejaculation. Despite persistent rumours to the contrary, and a notable lack of comment on the matter from either HBO or the production team, the sex scenes were finally confirmed as simulated by several individuals intimately connected with the show.

The fact that theres no music in the show is nice too, it adds a whole new level of tension. Anyway, if you like HBO shows that make you want to cry a little you should watch it.

Saturday!

Yesterday Melissa, her best friend Mary and I went wine tasting out near Carlton Oregon. The sun finally decided to come out so we thought it would be nice to get outside and drink some good wine. We visited a total of 5 wineries, probably sampling 30+ different wines. I can't really think of a better way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon in Oregon.

My favorite was Anne Amie, go check it out sometime. I ended up buying a bottle of white wine there, it was really crisp and clean and that's about as much of a description you're getting out of me. I'm looking forward to drinking this bottle sometime soon.

To top it all off we headed to a concert by The Blow compliments of Gabe. I've never seen anything quite like The Blow before, I guess technically speaking she's more of a "performance artist". It was a perfect end to a great sun filled day. If you ever get the chance go see her perform you should go.

Bikin' for beer

New ride

BOOK: Housekeeping Vs. The Dirt - Nick Hornby

This book was really fun to read, I'd recommend it:

In this latest collection of essays following The Polysyllabic Spree, critic and author Nick Hornby continues the feverish survey of his swollen bookshelves, offering a funny, intelligent, and unblinkered account of the stuff he's been reading. Ranging from the middlebrow to the highbrow (with unrepenting dips into the lowbrow), Hornby's dispatches from his nightstand table serve as useful guides to contemporary letters, with revelations on contemporary culture, the intellectual scene, and English football, in equal measure.

The Machine

Nice game Sasha! I can rest a little easier knowing that we're capable of beating the Celtics, now go out there and win 3 more!

There can only be one

Scary and funny!

Party Recap

This past Saturday Gabe and I hosted what was probably our first attempt at a real grown up party. Actually I think we tried once around Christmas several years ago but as some of you probably know we didn't succeed back then. Anyway, we're all older and wiser now that we're in our thirties and I think the party was a smashing success!

We really wanted to try to make most of the food so Melissa and I hit the recipe books and came up with some ideas. We spent Friday evening and a good part of the day on Saturday preparing the menu and ended up with lots of fun stuff. We also got to use lots of the herbs I've been growing on my balcony in the food. Here's what we ended up making:

• Jalapeno hummus
• White bean dip with sun dried tomatoes
  
• Roasted red pepper cheese spread (my personal favorite)
• Stuffed Mushrooms
• Fresh vegetables from the farmers market (we didn't actually make these but cutting them took some time)
• Bruschetta

I was probably a little too excited about the food thing but in the past we would have just bought some prepared appetizers from the store and set them next to a big bag of chips and called it good. It was really fun making some stuff and everyone seemed to enjoy it based on the fact that it was pretty much all gone by the end of the night.

We were a little scared about our ability to host a decent party but lots of people came over and there wasn't an abundance of noise coming from our place so I think everything went well. Perhaps we'll have another when the weather gets a little nicer. Thanks to all of you who came, we'll see you next time!

Party menu

Stuffed mushrooms, handmade dips, bruschetta, farmers market veges and much more!

Party

So far we've made a white bean dip with sun dried tomatoes along with a roasted red pepper cheese dip. I can't wait to eat it all tomorrow!

BOOK: A Year in the Merde - Stephen Clarke

Gabe told me to read this one a long time ago and I finally did. It's pretty entertaining and I'd recommend reading it. I might even pick up the sequel at some point.

Voodoo Doughnuts

There's a new store on 15th & Sandy. Yummy

Utah Day 9

Sunday June 1^st, 2008

The drive home started today but first we decided to stop in Salt Lake City to see the Great Salt Lake. We headed over to Antelope Island and walked across the stinky beaches there and then drove around a little. The coolest thing I saw here was a heard of Buffalo. Other than that the lake was a bust.

We continued on to Boise where we got an awesome room with a view at the Doubletree for $64, I think this place was normally something around $200/night but we got an amazing coupon at the truck stop before Boise for this walk in rate. They had a hot tub, swimming pool, free internet and an amazing fitness room. I didn’t work out but I did check my e mail, sit in the hot tub and ate a warm chocolate chip cookie that was presented to me at check in. We also went to downtown and ate at the Table Rock Brewery, that place was pretty good.

We were both pretty impressed with Boise and I found myself wanting to go back at some point. It was a cool little city and reminded me a little of Portland only much smaller.

On Monday morning we finished driving the rest of the way home to Portland where Jenny and Chad were very happy to see us. It was an amazing week and I’m a little bummed that it’s over but I guess all vacations have to come to an end at some point.

Utah Day 8

Hiking through the Virgin River in the Narrows

Orderville Canyon

Orderville Canyon

Saturday May 31^st, 2008

We set the entire day aside for the famous hike up the Narrows in Zion. There are two ways you can do this one, from the top for from the bottom. If you go from the top it’s 16 miles all the way down and takes a long time. We decided it would be better to hike from the bottom and just turn around at a certain point. Hiking the Narrows requires spending a lot of time in the water, a walking stick comes in handy too. At points the water was almost chest deep but it never got higher than that for us but if you go from the top you have to swim through many parts.

We hiked up the river for about 2.5 miles until we came to Orderville Canyon. Once there we went up Orderville for probably another 1.5 miles until we came to the spot where they make you turn around. I had the most fun doing this hike, again I felt like I did something I didn’t know I could and I was left with a little sense of accomplishment after this day. We probably spent about 6 hours in the Narrows. The whole thing was amazing but the Orderville section was particularly beautiful with all the greenery, small waterfalls/pools and plants that were there. One hiker that was coming down as we were heading in described this part of Orderville as “a little slice of heaven”.

After the Narrows we went up to Kolob Canyons and took in the view as the sun was starting to go down. We did a short 1 mile hike up to a viewpoint, saw some lizards and took pictures, then headed back to Cedar City. It was really an awesome day.

Utah Day 7

Walls of Peek-A-Boo

Beginning of Peek-A-Boo

Peek-A-Boo Arches

Melissa inside Spooky Gulch (this is where I had to stop)

Crust like ground inside Dry Fork Slot

Friday May 30^th, 2008

Bryce isn’t very large and we suddenly realized that we hadn’t been to any slot canyons so we decided to head back into GSENM to see some of those. We headed to Escalante and then started down Hole in the Rock Road (another unimproved road) for about 26 miles until we reached Dry Fork. A short hike down some slick rock and sand takes you to the entrances to 3 slot canyons. I have never seen or experienced anything like this before. I’ve seen pictures of slot canyons but I don’t think I really knew what they were until we were in them.

The first one was the Dry Fork Slot. This was a good place to start as it wasn’t really that narrow. The slot canyons are mainly formed by wind and flash floods so it’s really cool to see how they are shaped over time. You can almost see water flowing through it by looking at the walls and the shapes they’ve taken on from years of erosion.. Very interesting place for sure.

The second slot we went to was Spooky Gulch. I only make it about 100 yards up this one before it became impassable for me. I got to a spot where the walls were probably about a foot apart and I wasn’t able to squeeze through it. Melissa got through and headed all the way to the end but obviously I didn’t enjoy this one as much as she did!

We saved the Peek-A-Boo slot for last. At the beginning I didn’t think I was going to be able to do this one either but I decided I didn’t want to stand around anymore while Melissa had all the fun so we made it happen! To get into this slot you have to scramble up 12 feet of rock. There are little holds and it’s really not that hard to get up this part but once you are there’s another big rock you have to get over. The problem with this upper part is that I had to stand in about a foot of muddy water to get to the area that I had to scale. Once your shoes are wet it’s a little difficult to do that. I think the only way for an inexperienced climber to get over this part is to have the assistance of another person. I had to help Melissa over by holding her feet and sorta pushing her up the rock. Once she was over she had to pull me up. It was all kinda strenuous and awkward since there really wasn’t any holds or a good way to get over but I’m really glad we figured it out cause the walk through it was really cool.

Peek-A-Boo was full of really sharp turns and some pretty narrow areas. I was able to get through the majority of the slot and really had a good time once we got up into it. It’s hard to explain what this place was like so I guess you’ll just have to let the pictures do the talking. This slot canyon was one of my favorite parts of the trip though. It was the first time I felt like I pushed myself and did something (rock scrambling/climbing) that I didn’t really know I could do. There’s no way I could have done it by myself though!

After our slot canyon adventure we headed back towards Cedar City, stopping at Cedar Breaks on the way. This is another National Monument that looks a lot like Bryce. There are a few viewpoints here so we just stopped at one, checked out the view and then continued on to Stephanie’s. After showering for the first time in a few days we went over to Applebee’s to watch the Celtics beat the Pistons. We also thought it would be fun to drink some of the sissy 3.2% Utah beer.

Utah Day 6

Bryce Canyon from the Rim Trail

Down in Bryce Canyon

Thursday May 29^th, 2008

On Thursday morning we packed up our stuff and headed out of GSENM and started making our way to Bryce Canyon National Park. On our way we stopped in Kanab for some breakfast at a place where the waitresses wore six shooters. After a couple of days by ourselves in the desert it was nice to see some other people and eat something that someone else prepared for us.

We arrived at Bryce in the early afternoon and decided to walk around the park for the afternoon. Bryce is a little different than a lot of the other place we visited, you get to start at the top of it and hike down into it if you want to. We started along the rim trail just checking out the views below and then headed down into the canyon to get a closer look at everything. There were a lot of people here but it really is a beautiful place. We hiked back up and walked along the rim trail to several viewpoints where I proceeded to take lots of pictures.

We also did the Bryce Canyon Scenic drive later in the evening. The Natural Bridge was the highlight of this. It’s basically another arch that you can see when you pull off on the side of the road. It was pretty spectacular.

Utah Day 5

Hackberry Canyon

Hackberry Canyon

Wednesday May 28^th, 2008

We set this day aside for a longer day hike through Hackberry Canyon. The trail head was just a half mile up the road from where we camped so we didn’t have to go far to get there. The first part of the hike was really beautiful. The walls of the canyon were really close in and we were walking through a nice little stream along the way. About half way through the hike the canyon got a lot wider and we were in the middle of a lot of bushes, plant and trees. Up until this point I really enjoyed all of the plants we were encountering but here it was just a pain. The hike turned into more of a bushwhacking type walk and wasn’t very much fun but we continued on in hopes of it getting better. The brush eventually cleared up but by this point we were pretty tired of this particular hike and decided to head back. I had brought plenty of water and food but I hadn’t been drinking enough and was also getting a little sun burnt. I learned that applying sun block to your legs is also necessary in places like this.

I think we ended up hiking about 6 or 7 miles RT in Hackberry and it took a better part of the day. I ended up a little dehydrated and took a 3 hour nap as soon as we got back to the campsite. It wasn’t the best day but I liked seeing how quickly a place like this can turn into rough and exhausting place. Nothing like the desert huh?

Utah Day 4

Grosvenor's Arch

Campsite

Big rock with a view at campsite

Kodachrome Basin State Park

Cottonwood Wash Narrows

Tuesday May 27^th, 2008

After staying at Stephanie’s again we headed east to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM) for some back-country driving/hiking/camping. I had never heard of this place until we started planning for our trip. It was recently declared a National Monument by Bill Clinton when he was still the President. It used to be a really popular place to ride ATV’s so I think the locals weren’t to excited about it becoming protected land. GSENM covers nearly 1.9 Million Acres and was the last place in the United States to be mapped. Needless to say we were barely scratching the surface of this place.

We started at the Kodachrome Basin State Park for a couple of short walks. This park is filled with red colored sandstone chimneys, hoo doo’s and lots of interesting and scenic rock formations. It’s not a huge park (and technically not a part of GSENM) but it looked pretty cool and was on the way to where we were going so we thought it was worth stopping. The scenery here was great, lots of Lizards and interesting plants as well.

This is where the trip started getting a lot more interesting and a little out of my normal comfort zone (which was a good thing). From the entrance to Kodachrome we had to take a 40 something mile dirt road (Cottonwood Drive) that took us into the heard of GSENM to get to the places we wanted to see here. This time we did our research and found out that the road was passable, just a little bit wash boarded and rough at times. I was a little nervous about getting on this road after our last experience with an unimproved road but this was probably the most fun driving I’ve ever had. It felt like I was in some old western or desert movie looking for some treasure on an old abandoned road. I know, pretty stupid but these kind of roads are really fun in little all wheel drive German cars.

The other thing that made me nervous for just a few minutes was having to sign up for a permit at the local visitors center. This is basically the parks way of contacting our next of kin if we happened to go missing or something. I knew it wasn’t going to be a big deal since the weather was really nice and we had done a lot of research about where we were going but it was still a little unsettling for someone with no real experience exploring places like this.

We started by driving about 20 miles down the road to Grosvenor’s Arch. This is a little day use area where you can walk right up to this large yellowish double arch. I took lots of pictures and then we had some lunch. Grosvenor’s Arch had the only bathroom that we would see until we came out on the other side too. Good times!

Next we stopped at the Cottonwood Wash Narrows for a short 3.5 mile RT walk. This was my first experience going through some narrows. There wasn’t any water in the canyon but you could see how water and wind have shaped this place over the years in the sides of the canyon walls. Places like this are really dangerous in flash flood conditions but luckily there weren’t any of those going on during our visit.

One of my favorite things about this trip was observing the different patterns, textures and lines that were visible in the different canyons and rock formations we came across. Cottonwood Narrows was a great place to see this, it was very up close and personal there. The variety of plant life was fun to see too, lots of Prickly Pears and other interesting flowers blooming here.

After this we decided to head down the road a little to find somewhere to camp. The nice thing about BLM land is you can pretty much camp anywhere you want to as long as it’s already been impacted and isn’t right next to a trail head. We ended up finding a really nice spot at the base of some rock walls. There was a little path you could take up to the top of these rocks right next to our tent. We went up there and sat on the top of the round rocks, read and watched the sunset. It was the kind of place that just gave you the feeling that you were the only ones around for miles, I’ve only camped like this a couple of times but I really love it. The only bad thing about this spot was the bugs, even showering yourself with bug spray didn’t seem to matter.

Utah Day 3

Riverside Walk

Plant along the Riverside Walk

Middle Emerald Pool

Monday May 26^th, 2008

We spent the day with Stephanie and Jonathon and the boys in Zion doing some hikes and walks. It was raining in Cedar City but once we got to the park it was beautiful again. We took the shuttle to the end of the park and did the Riverside Walk first. This is a two or three mile round trip trail that’s just packed with people. The trail takes you up the Canyon alongside the Virgin River. It was awesome to see the many varieties of plants and flowers growing in this part of the park, it’s quite the scenic trail.

Here are some of the other trails we did:

Weeping Rock: Short trail up to the parks largest hanging garden. You walk up about a half mile to the top where you can see a bunch of plants just hanging off from the cliff above. The sandstone here is soaked with water and it just drips out of the rock, hence the name..

Emerald Pools: This a pretty fun and really popular hike in Zion. Going up to the top is nice but pretty much everyone in Zion does this so it’s pretty crowded up there. Once you get there its pretty amazing though. The lower and middle pools were pretty impressive too.

Court of the Patriarchs: This doesn't really count as a hike, its more of a little viewpoint where you can get a good look at three massive peaks in the park that they’ve dubbed the Court of the Patriarchs. This was our last stop on the shuttle before heading out for the day.

Speaking of the shuttle, I loved the fact that they had this available. Up until recent years you could drive through the park and just park at different lots but now you’re required to ride the shuttle in peak seasons. I guess the place used to be packed with cars and bumper to bumper traffic but now it all flows really well and the park remains relatively quiet even during the busiest of times. I loved the shuttle!

Utah Day 2

Stuck in the mud

Wildcat Canyon

Scenic Drive in Zion

Checkerboard Mesa hike

Sunday May 25^th, 2008

This was our first day in Zion National Park. We decided to take it easy since we were pretty worn out from driving all day on Saturday so we just did some easy tourist stuff. We started by doing the scenic drive through Zion. There’s a windy road that heads up through the canyon and out of the east entrance that you can drive on. The rest of the park is only accessible through the Zion shuttle system. The drive was a nice way to get a quick glimpse of this beautiful place. Once we got up to the end we went on a short hike called “Checkerboard Mesa”. The trail goes on for miles but we just did about 2 or 3 miles of it.

After Checkerboard we decided to head up towards the Kolob Canyon portion of the park and do a hike up there that was recommended in one of the guide books. Wildcat Canyon was a little disappointing to me compared to some of the other hikes we did but it was still pretty nice up there once we got to the part of the trail with a view (You could see the main part of Zion Canyon off in the distance).

Being the adventurer’s we are we decided to take an “unimproved” (dirt) road back to Cedar City. I would recommend doing a little more research on such roads before taking them on. We ended up getting stuck in about 2 feet of mud and snow somewhere near the top. We were saved by some guy who lived up there and saw us driving by before we got stuck. I think he hopped on his ATV immediately cause he knew we wouldn’t make it. He got there about 2 or 3 minutes after we got stuck and pulled us out with his little 4 wheeler. We had to drive through the field to get around the snow and mud but after this part we didn’t encounter any more surprises.

Utah Day 1

The next several posts are about my trip to Utah. I wanted to keep a journal of the trip and figured my blog would be a good place to put it. Feel free to read but be warned, its long, rambling and mainly here for me and my bad memory.

Saturday May 24^th, 2008

Today we left Portland for a day full of driving to Utah. This was the beginning of a vacation Melissa and I had been planning for the past few months so it was exciting to get on the road. We left at about 6am and got to my Sister’s house in Cedar City at about 9pm, only stopping for gas along the way. It was a long day of driving but it was nice to get it all out of the way in one day

Lakers up 2-0

I always enjoy watching the lakers administer a 30 point beat-down. 

Project 2 Phase 2

Book:The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman

I'm a sucker for the name dropping (or book dropping) they do on the enhanced Lost episodes. It was on one such episode where I learned that parts of the show have been influenced by these books so I decided to jump into the fantasy genre for a bit. The last time I did this I ended up with a graphic novel that was OK but this book was much better and pretty entertaining. I'll probably take a little break for now but I imagine I'll continue with the trilogy in the near future.

Lakers vs. Spurs

Kobe: "I can get off at any time. In the second half I did that."

Ummm.. Thats what she said! Ha!

What a game! I was about to give up just after the start of the third quarter but then the MVP started getting off. I'm glad I didn't change the channel.

Evangeline Lily

Wow.

Water

Our underground sprinkler system is not functioning properly.

Project 2

Project 2

Pacer

Its not often I come across a classic like this.

Dinner on the patio

Sunshine is here!

Lunch time

Delicious beer

What not to wear

Picture

Utah

Next week I'm heading out of town for a little road trip to Utah. We should have just over a week to wander around 3 different national parks in the southern part of the state. Some of the details I'm excited about include:

• Seeing my Sister and her family
• Spending more than a couple of hours in Zion and Bryce
• Going to the Grand Staircase
• Pedal to the metal open road driving
• Using my new Camelbak (pictured above)

Stay tuned for some live mobile blogging from my trip!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Finished

Nearly complete

Russian tough guys

These two look like they should be on 24 day 7.

Chad

Happy Laker Face

Game 2

Can't wait to see the MVP trophy presentation followed by what I'm sure will be a convincing Laker victory tonight!

Lovejoy

Green Thumb Pt. 2

Homemade!

Green Thumb

BOOK: The History of Love - Nicole Krauss

I just finished reading The History of Love last night. I think I liked this a little better than Man Walks Into A room but they were both pretty good. It's funny how similar her and her husband's writing styles are, it takes a little getting used to. Now I'm going to try to take on Everything is Illuminated, wish me luck!

Plants

Part 3

my piece is coming together. Should be complete next week!

BOOK: The Watchmen - Moore/Gibbons

I just finished reading my first graphic novel. It was all right but I think I liked the graphics more than the novel.

Slick

Bill Clinton was in Albany today. What?!

New Red Door

We've lived here for over 5 months and today we finally got our door painted. Sweet!

Fish

I just love the fact that Derek Fisher is back in a Laker uniform.

Pt. 2