Repair by Removal

I have never liked the plastic skirting added to many modern vehicles.  About the only thing it is good for is to be torn off the first time you cross a wash.  GC2 came with two levels of plastic.  The top one was (is) integrated into the bumper and housed a pair of fog lights.  The fog lights have never worked since we bought the truck (and I've never encountered fog in southern Utah), but there didn't seem to be any reason to mess with the plastic.  Until now.  With a few of the (plastic) snaps broken, the skirting has been blowing in the wind.  I repaired it by cutting it off with a pair of tin snips.

Leaf Peeping

Last week, I got a call from the weather channel asking about fall colors on the Manti-La Sal.  I know nothing about TV so I don’t know how this works?  Is there a programming segment where leaf peepers are encouraged to travel from state to state?  At any rate, I told the caller that, suprisingly, the aspen groves up high, along the ridges and mountain peaks, were mostly green, maybe only 5% of them showing fall color.  Down low, on the other hand, in some of the canyons, up to 50% of the trees were starting to change.  “Well,” he said, “how about we say 20 to 30 percent?”  “Yep,” I replied, “sounds good.”  This is TV after all.

VSO Statewide

Utah is a large state.  But that hasn't stopped VSO.  About the only city in Utah she hasn't visited since Saturday is Moab.  She started at the marathon in Logan, then went for a hike in Blacksmith Fork (above), then saw Hiatt at Red Butte (below), and then drove to Price.

From there she went to the Escalante Canyons Art Festival (below) and is on her way to St. George for an art show at Zions Bank.  To paraphrase Stegner, she is a consumer of transportation.

Big Smile at Mile 14; Finish on the Podium

EDO completed her first marathon today:  The Top of Utah, Logan City Marathon.  She was first in her age group and was recognized at the awards ceremony!  (Um, she was the only one in her age group so, as she pointed out, she was also last.)  She was 34th out of 152 finishers.  (About 190 started the race.)  She was 8th out of 56 female finishers.  Her time was 3:46.  None of this puts her in the category of an "elite" marathoner, but I was very impressed with her consistency.  She started the day at a 3:45 pace and finished the day at a 3:45 pace (give or take a minute).  When she crossed the line, she was not out of breath or red faced or bent over at the first aid station.  Instead, she was standing around, talking, joking with her friends, and planning to go hiking and camping later.  Business as usual for a super-fit distance athlete.

PV Run-Ride

Today we started with a Parowan Valley Run-Ride.  We got out just before sunrise and made a 10 mile loop.  EDO likes to run to Paragonah, back over I-15, and then home past the truck stop at the northern Parowan exit.  I rode a rented bike that I didn't like very much:  Too little space between the handlebars and the seat.  We made it in a little over an hour.

Filter of Gold

VSO has been driving GC1 this week and has had some intermittent trouble.  At low RPMs, maneuvering around a parking lot, the truck has been shutting off.  She guessed it might be the fuel filter and, having nothing else to go on, I agreed to change it.  After all, the last time we had a new fuel filter in GC1 was on January 13, 2009, so it is probably due for replacement.  At that time, the filter cost $7.41.  This time, it cost nearly four times as much:  $26.51!  Evidently, despite its dull appearance, the new filter is made of gold.  We'll see if that solves the issue.

Forgot About This One

I forgot:  A week and a half ago, when we were in Logan, we went to Tony Grove Lake for the hike out to White Pine Lake.  It is an extremely popular (urban) hike and we passed 10 times as many parties as we would have seen on the Pahvant or Markagunt.  I'm not sure what the white pine is, maybe limber?  Mostly what we saw was Engelmann spruce, Douglas fir, and subalpine fir.  At any rate, the trail is four miles one way and, 90 minutes from the Chev, we decided to turn VSO around.  I am very sorry that we did because about 10 minutes later, I reached the lake (by myself).  She was so close that I am going to give her credit.  White Pine Lake!

The Weekend for Sailors

VSO wanted to try yard sailing (saleing? saling?) over Labor Day weekend.  It is a good time for it because the county fair is in session and town is packed with people from Las Vegas.  She told me that serious yard sailors (salers?) could make $1,000 per weekend.  I told her that if one's goal is to be a serious yard sailor, maybe one should look for something else to do in life, like get a job.  Besides, I would pay $1,000 to have somebody drive up and remove all this crap from my yard.  If I have to put it back in the box and haul it to the storage shed, I will be very unhappy.  By Monday afternoon, we'll be stealing a line from Gillian Welch:  "Everything is free now."