On the High Mountain

The High Mountain Trail on the Cedar City Ranger District is a little farther from The Homestead than most of our afternoon hikes.  Which is too bad because it is a very nice trail.  For the first few miles, it skirts along the edge of the Ashdown Gorge Wilderness Area with views of Cedar Breaks the whole way.  It eventually drops steeply into the gorge, but for a nice out-n-back there are a couple of miles of rolling trail along the ridge.  VSO and I went earlier this week and found the woods full of wild flowers.

Gnat Attack

This week we were on Polar Mesa examining some former uranium mining sites.  It was a nice day, and fairly productive, but the gnats were swarming and they made it nearly impossible to stand around.  June is gnat season in southern Utah and I have certainly experienced them before, but this was the worst attack ever.  They were in everyone's eyes, ears, and hair.  And they are not simply annoying, they also have a vicious bite out of all proportion to their size.  These "cedar gnats," as they are known locally, are the size of what we used to call "no-see-ems:"  They are way too tiny for swatting and you can, um, almost not see them.  But, the resulting bites are swollen, oozing, itching infections that last for a week.  I ended up with dozens of them, including on places that imply I wasn't wearing boots, socks, and jeans.  But, what made the whole thing seem particularly unfair, was that we were on Polar Mesa.  Where was the snow and ice?

The Full Yankee

We've not spent much time in the canoe this year.  In fact, this week's brief tour of Yankee may have been our only float so far.  The lake was, of course, trashy:  Yankee has a pack-it-in; leave-it-there ethos.  And, I had expected to see a number of dirty bathtub rings.  Fortunately, the reservoir was full.  A nice surprise after three years of drought.

Rose Parade

When we bought 420 Grand, I noted that the house came with mature landscaping, including many flowers.  In fact, the property boasted at least 50 rose bushes, maybe more.  For that reason, we always had bouquets of fresh roses on the table at both houses.  This year, it is the same.  While this is not the time to buy a house, we are fortunate to have a rental with rose bushes.  In this case, just four bushes, but they are prolific bloomers.  Both tables have showy bouquets.

One-O-Three

This week's headlines have highlighted the price of petrol:  The national average is above $5/gal.  I was fortunate to pay $4.85 yesterday, so I shouldn't complain, but it may have been the first time in my experience that a single fuel stop topped $100.  Normally when I am discouraged by triple digits, it is because it is too hot to go outdoors.  This summer, though, we may find that the cost of motor fuel makes it difficult to go anywhere.

High Lonesome

Jim Howells and his Iron County Acoustic Music Association (ICAMA) have done a great job bringing live bluegrass music to Cedar City.  Last year, EDO and I attended the festival with Mark.  We drank a beer, listened to some banjos, and then went to Ashdown.  This year, VSO spent the day making pulled-pork to share with the Eddys.  We drank a beer, listened to some mandolins, and ate barbeque.  "In the jailhouse now fellers neighborhood of b."