Flail Chest

I get stuck sometimes.  But usually I can dig myself out in an hour or less.  Last week was different.  I got badly stuck and needed help.  It took five of us two hours to get out.  The problem was that I slid into the bar ditch (on the uphill side of the road) and the driver's side of the truck was wedged against the bank.  We dug the bank away, but got into some tree roots.  I got up with one foot on the saw box and one foot on the bank and used my chainsaw to cut away the roots.  Shutting off the saw, I turned to jump from the bed of the truck and lost my footing.  I did a swan dive onto the snow-packed road, landing directly on my rib cage.  I heard a crack and found that I could no longer breathe.  Rolling over onto my back, and without any oxygen going to my brain, I saw a bright light and heard heavenly voices.  I thought I must be hearing the greeting of St. Peter, but it turned out that a couple of colleagues were criticizing me for laying down in the mud while there was still work to do, and the bright light was simply the sun in my eyes.  After two or three shallow gasps, I was indeed able to stagger to my feet and return to the (earthly) work of shoveling.  I have to say, though, that it was a tough start to the morning.  After three or four days, I am beginning to be able to breathe deeply again, although I have to admit that it works best after I've swallowed some Oxycodone.

Telluride

At the beginning of last century, Lucien Nunn, an engineer and successful hydroelectric power developer from Colorado constructed a power plant in Beaver Canyon, Utah.  The plant featured a 4,500 foot penstock, two turbines turning two generators, and a two megawatt capacity.  In its first year of operation, the Nunn plant sent electricity to the mines at the boom town of Frisco, Utah, more than 50 miles to the west.  Eventually, Nunn's Beaver Canyon plant, part of his Telluride Power Company, provided reliable electricity to most of Beaver, Piute, Sevier, and Sanpete Counties.  Something it continues to do today.

Last week, Jim Gray, an engineer working for Beaver City, which now owns the Telluride power plant in Beaver Canyon, took me through the building.  The guts of the operation—the paired turbine-generators—are shown in the picture (above).  With the exception of the white painted generator at the back of the picture, all of the equipment is original.  That is, the two turbines, in the center of the picture on the concrete platform, have been operating without replacement since April of 1908—107 years.  Likewise, the generator in the foreground:  It has been refurbished, but is the original generator, installed by Nunn.  Wow.  What else needs to be said?  Nunn's work speaks for itself.

Steep Country

Along with EDO, I got into some steep country today.  I finally turned around on a 15 foot pour-over.  I was half way up and could have surmounted it.  But one of the rules in steep country is that you don't go up something you can't come down:  Climbing down is almost always more difficult than climbing up.  (This is a rule that could also benefit the political classes.  But let's not spend any time on that.)  With EDO below me and no clear route to the top, even if I made it over the present obstacle, it seemed wise to try it another day.  So we went back to the truck.  Which, in itself, was not easy because we'd already come up a rough mile and a half.  The thing that I kept noticing, though, after a good many years of goofing around with EDO is that she has become a strong hiker and scrambler.  She used to need a lot of help from me.  Now she needs none.  Pretty soon, I will be asking her for a boost.  The other thing I noticed was the diversity:  Blue spruce, ponderosa, limber, white fir, bristlecone, juniper, Douglas fir.  Really a nice spot.  Plus, there was more Rocky Mountain maple (pictured below) than I've seen anywhere.  This is going to be a nice little canyon in the fall when the maple leaves are yellow.

Hidden Haven Hike

After a couple of cold nights, the cascade at Hidden Haven was partially frozen.  The air temperature was, however, very nice, which, to me, means "not hot."  With EDO, I walked from the parking lot in Parowan Canyon to the falls and back on Friday afternoon.  The round trip was only a couple of miles, but we probably spent two hours doing it.  EDO scampered back and forth from the trail to various hiding places in the woods.  And, of course, we talked a lot about the condition of the white fir vis a vis the Douglas fir.

Highlighting the Talent

After a year away from the spotlight, VSO is making a blockbuster return in 2015.  She is one of the headliners at the St. George Art Festival on Friday and Saturday (3 and 4 April).  She accepts cash, credit, and check, so if you want to see her before she sells out, get over there early on Friday and bring your wallet.  Speaking of blockbusters, have you seen VSO's recent website upgrade?  If not, you'd better click the link on the right side of this page and get a taste of the state of the art.  Most of what you will see is for sale.  But, as I may have mentioned before, if you notice something you like, you'll want to cash in the IRA and get into the bidding war because it won't be available for long.