Things in Slickhorn

Today we started down the third finger of Slickhorn in the snow.  We thought we might make it to the main wash, but the way was steep and very slippery.  Plus, there were distractions.  First, we stopped to look through a series of lithics and sherds that yielded this broken point (below).

Then, we walked the rim for a mile until VSO noticed a very nice glyph panel (below).  In between, we found a series of sites that once held more than a dozen granaries made of mud.  I was calling them "bee-hives," and most of them are gone now, but we found one that was intact and we also found the chunks of cement-like mud that held the others together.  Pretty soon it was time to turn around so that we could make it back to the pavement before dark.

Finding Things

We were finishing lunch in a little alcove out of the wind when VSO said, "I noticed a few lithics on that last bench, we should find a place to stop and look for artifacts."  Not ten seconds later she said, "Hey, look at this piece of corrugated."  We were, in fact, lunching in a mini-midden, a small pile of pre-historic kitchen tools.  Within a few minutes we had noticed four or five pieces of black and white that belonged to a single jar that the girls were able to partially reconstruct (above).

We got going again and scrambled up through a few more sections of West Lime Canyon, including a number of deep pools and chattering cascades (above).  VSO was running out of energy, but EDO wanted to climb to the rim.  I went back and forth between them until I had VSO turned around and headed down.  Then I went back to EDO and she said, "I think I found an elk."  Good Lord.  The grand-daddy elk of southern Utah (below).  This thing was a Boone and Crockett-style eight feet across.  It was more like goat country, but I guess elk can go anywhere.

In the Four Corners

It has become a solid tradition that we spend the week after Christmas in the four corners.  I'm pretty sure that it is the girls' favorite place, and I like it pretty well, too.  We drove down yesterday and stopped briefly for some late day sun at the mouth of the Dirty Devil:  Strong light and bright colors.  Today was a different story.  It rained all night and snowed until late afternoon, so the back-country was a mess of slush and mud.  We had to do something, so we slogged through a seven-mile round-tripper in Brushy Wash.  Nobody complained, but it probably won't make the guide book.

Good Ski Track

We definitely had a white Christmas in southern Utah.  After sleeping late and eating tower cake, we went up the canyon to the Boy Scout Camp.  The road is gated, so no one had been up it.  It made a perfect ski run.  The best thing is to have our local cross-country champ break trail, while I pack it behind her.  By the time VSO comes up, it is starting to be a pretty nice track.

Red Creek

We took it easy today with just 1,100 feet of vertical.  EDO drove us out to Red Creek Canyon and we climbed from the road to the ridge above Paragonah (pronounced "goon-ah").  The climb was hot, but the wind on the ridge was cold.  EDO put on her fleece and vest.  Unfortunately, the sky was overcast and my pictures were murky.

Even Steeper

For this one, EDO wanted to go straight up the wall of Parowan Canyon.  It required hands as well as feet.  In less than a mile we covered 1,300 vertical feet.  Arduous, but it came with good views.

Back to the Back-Country

I drove to Utah last weekend and, bam, jumped straight back into rough hiking.  EDO likes it steep.  At first, I wasn't sure my knees could take it.  But, after three days, they are feeling alright.

Drive All Day

The other day, EDO said to me, "Dad, all the songs we're writing are about driving or drinking."  I thought about it for a moment and realized it was true.  Because the two don't go together, let's stick with driving for now.  We'll have a drink later.  Listen here.

Wendel After the Rain

Last weekend it was snow; this weekend it was rain.  We got about two and a half inches (2.5 inches!) in 36 hours.  When it finally quit this afternoon, I went out to Wendel for a hike in the foothills of the Skedaddle Mountains.  On the way I noticed that most of the flats had turned to lakes—standing water everywhere.  I also noticed a vacant property in Wendel that I'll need to look up on Realtor.Com—looks like my kind of place.

California Tree; Utah Christmas

VSO has fond memories from high school of hunting for a Christmas tree in the Sierras after Thanksgiving.  This year, she didn't want to leave California without one.  So, on Friday, before she and EDO had to hit the road for Utah we went out to find a white fir.  We got distracted by this incense cedar (above) and almost took it:  It would have been the only incense cedar Christmas tree in Utah.  But, after looking around a little more, we settled on this little five-foot white fir that fit inside the bed of the truck (below).  The California tree is now decorating The Homestead.

Bad Day for Bad Weather

The Sunday after Thanksgiving is a major travel day, maybe the biggest travel day of the year.  At 420 Grand, it also turns out to be the day of the first major winter storm for 2019.  We are currently showing seven heavy sticky inches.  I would have stopped the girls—who were here for the holiday—from returning to The Homestead in this weather.  Fortunately, we took the forecast seriously and sent them yesterday. We lost a day together, but they made it safely, and without driving on snow-covered roads.

Mobile Studio

We temporarily moved the recording studio from The Homestead to 420 Grand.  After she got set-up, EDO laid down a rockin' version of John Hiatt's Lift Up Every Stone.  Listen here.

Into the Creek

We went to Janesville for the Koslowskis and then to Standish for Jacob and Candice.  We drove out through Belfast and the whole gang hiked into Willow Creek.  It was a beautiful place and everyone seemed to enjoy the hike.  Until, that is, I suggested that we could cross over to walk on the other side.  I might have made it, but each of the three girls that I tried to help—VSO, EDO, and Candice—ended up slipping into the water.  Eventually four or five of us were wet to our knees and it was time to go home.  Bad planning on my part.

Passing Through

I may have mentioned that Rural Ways has split time between California and Utah during 2019.  In between those two states is Nevada.  Nevada may be empty, but it's not small.  To cross it requires a lot of driving.  I do most of the driving, so I wrote most of these lyrics.  EDO turned it into a nice country song.  Listen here.

Eight Cords

The shed on the back of the garage at 420 Grand is ten by ten by six and a half.  Or 650 cubic feet.  I decided to turn it into a wood shed.  If a cord of firewood is 128 cubic feet, the shed should hold about five cords.  As you can see from the picture (above), it is nearly full.  Call it four cords.  In the meantime, The Homestead needs at least three cords to make it through the winter, so I hauled eight pick-up loads during my trips to Utah this fall.  Processing the wood is a lot of work, but EDO has taken over the task there.  She has developed a powerful swing (below).  Call it four more for The Homestead.  Eight cords.

Facia

There have been clogged gutters on 420 Grand for many years.  They have become so bad that they are actually wetland habitats, growing moss, bryophytes, and tadpoles.  Well.  Maybe not the last one, but certainly all the rest.  I don't really see the need for gutters where the roof drains into flower gardens and no one needs to walk there.  So, instead of repair, I've opted for removal.  Which leaves the rotted facia.  That should be replaced, but the house also needs a new roof, and I don't want new facia without a new roof.  So, I've simply scraped and Kilzed.  Stopping the rot for now.

Forty Days and Forty Nights

I know that my reader is probably tired of hearing about this, but I continue to be amazed at the length of these seasonal droughts.  This summer we went more than one hundred days without a wetting rain.  When that dry spell finally broke at the end of September, I assumed that it was the beginning of an autumn cycle that would include a few clouds.  No.  It hasn't rained since.  We passed the forty day mark yesterday and I have begun watering the shrubs at 420 Grand because I can see that they are desiccated.  Oh, but the Susan River is still flowing.

Surfing the Slide

After spending the morning bringing in a heavy load of firewood, EDO wanted to take me to one of her favorite hiking places in Center Creek.  Of course that meant we were going for a steep scramble.  Sure enough, we climbed 500 feet out of the canyon on a slope of loose rock (above).  On the way we stopped for a picture in a small sandstone keyhole (below).  The return trip required surfing the rock slide.

Sheep in Wolf's Clothing

I'm not sure what this is.  I'm not sure whether it is country or gospel, but because it came out of a reflection on Matthew 10:16 it is probably the latter.  So, to steal a lyric from John Hiatt, I don't think Ronny Milsap's gonna ever record this song.  Of course, if the Milsap people want to talk with our publisher, that might be OK.  Listen here.

First Among Mortals

EDO's cross country team took second at the Utah State Cross Country Championships yesterday.  They lost to their regional rival, and perennial powerhouse, Millard (the New England Patriots of Region 2 Cross Country).  But, they partied on the return trip to Parowan with no regrets and plenty to celebrate.

A Helping Hand

 

I've had a few minor opportunities to put up wood at 420 Grand, but there was still a lot of work to do.  Tony has offered to help, and today he came through in a big way.  He brought his trailer, his maul, his saw, and a lot of free labor.  In just a couple of hours we had at least a cord cut, split, loaded, and tagged.  And all it cost me was a couple of home-made cookies.  Full disclosure:  Because VSO made the cookies, it actually cost me nothing.

I Cannot Tell a Lie

There is an old cherry tree on the south side of 420 Grand that has been carrying some large dead branches for the past year or so.  Normally ladders and chainsaws don't go well together, but I was able to get the worst of it cut out without climbing more than about eight feet up.  There is still a lot of clean-up to do, but at least most of it is on the ground.

Crossing the River

In traditional country, gospel, and bluegrass music, the end of life is often symbolized by the crossing of a river, usually the Jordan.  The symbol is, obviously, from the Old Testament, but it is useful for each of us as we consider the human condition.  This year, Grandpa passed away, giving all of us at Rural Ways another reason to think and talk about crossing that river.  So we wrote a song about it.  Listen here.

Beautiful and Goofy

I was in Utah on Saturday and Sunday.  It was a beautiful early fall weekend.  We went out to the Breaks first, all three of us.  Later, EDO and I went to Bowery Creek for a steep scramble up the ridge.  The girls were beautiful, too.  And goofy.

Them Apples

The orchard at 420 Grand includes a very large apple tree that provides shade to most of the back yard.  This year it produced thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of apples.  Most of them were wormy drops, but some of them went to Utah for the girls to turn into pies.

South Side

A winter storm warning is part of the forecast for tomorrow.  (Finally!  The good season returns.)  But, yesterday I was out on the South Side Trail in my t-shirt.  I think it will make a good mountain bike ride if we don't get too much snow.