Glitz and glamor

I enjoyed watching the Academy Awards tonight. The movie montages (especially the singing one) were especially funny and Anne Hathaway did a great job. Watching famous people be real and human and full of emotion is neat. Not to mention lots of pretty dresses...

Walking to Utah

Is something I do often, because it's only a few miles away. Walking along the lake as evening light descends over each line of rock outcropping is very peaceful. Especially this time of year, when we don't have many visitors. I wander in and around the trails and streets of Wahweap, soaking in the scenery and letting the things tumbling around in my mind figure themselves out into straight lines.

Love my hardware store

One of the great parts of living in a small town and frequenting local businesses is that there are usually people just waiting around to help you out. The hardware store is one of my favorites, because I walk in with a problem, wander the aisles until someone asks if they can help, they find whatever I need quickly and I walk out with a solution that usually costs $1-2. Can't beat that.

Loss of visibility

Whirling snow, ice and wind descended on northern Arizona and southern Utah this weekend. While driving to St. George (snow in Page but no accumulation, snowing towards Kanab, snow on the ground in Kanab, snowy roads in Apple Valley, rainy day in St. George) my home landscape looked totally foreign. With clouds hovering over the buttes and ridges, I was left with the few feet of scrub brush on either side of me. How I missed the colorful redrock landscape that paints this region. Amazing what you don't think to miss until its gone for a day.

Submitted!

Today is a red letter day, because I finally submitted the professional paper from my Master's thesis that has been worked on, on and off, for eight months. It took the whole day today, with the help of my new shiny printer (with wireless double-sided printing!) and software at work to get it done. After so much going back and forth with co-authors over email, clicking send was quite a relief. Probably a few errors remained, but it is such a huge step forward it still makes me giddy. Hooray!!

Four Wheel Drive!

Thanks to a friend's four wheel drive vehicle, I got to experience some more rugged landscapes today. First on a bumpy road through multiple wash outs to Paria, where they filmed a number of Hollywood westerns. The buildings themselves were burned in a fire and haven't been rebuilt. But the valley itself is quite lovely and full of rainbow-colored mudstone layers. The mighty Paria River (at least on this day) defeated us, as we didn't want cold and muddy feet that early in the morning.

We drove on, through the mostly melted snow near Bryce Canyon and over into unexplored territory. Through valleys, mountains and plains we drove, north of the vast Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Eventually we took the Hole-in-the-Rock road, originally blasted by Mormon pioneers that leads all the way to Lake Powell.

After a hike through Entrada Formation hoo doos and arches, we drove down the rough road to Egypt--finally arriving just before dark to an audience of skittish cows. It was clear why the road ends there, and we turned around and headed back, bouncing slowly over potholes in the dark.

Everything happens today

Why is it that on some days nothing of great consequence happens and on others everything does? Yesterday I was happily learning to bird (in 30 degree weather) as part of the Christmas bird count and enjoying the chance to be outdoors. Today was a rollercoaster. I found out this morning I had a new housemate, who moved in this afternoon. A report I had been waiting on for months finally arrived, I got an important meeting scheduled and oh yeah, I found out that I have a job for another few months anyway. Planning beyond this month again is nice, even if my long term situation is still uncertain. Then finding out that someone passed away too young (not someone I knew personally, although I know the family) threw things in proper perspective. My thoughts are with them tonight. And with the long-eared owl, northern flicker and wood ducks, wherever they may be today as the evening draws to a close.