Miller Motorsports Park & The Great Salt Lake - May 16, 2009

For our date this week, I scored free tickets to the Miller Motorsports Park through Life Flight. Life Flight is a 'corporate sponsor' and puts a helicopter on scene for all the major events and in return, gets advertizing and some tickets to the major events. Our first visit to the MMSP was very fun & very noisy. We also scored gift certificates for 10 minutes at the motorized go-cart track. I was lapped about 4 times! But James was pretty awesome around the corners. The park is huge, with multiple grandstands and viewing areas all the way around and there is a free shuttle that rings the park. So we would ride the shuttle to the next stop, get off and explore and watch some racing and get back on again. It was also pretty open around the cars, so we could see maintance and race prep going on near the start line.

A group of cars ready to go out on the track

Can you see James? He's in the driver's seat of this racer parked outside the museum. The museum holds a variety of race cars owned by Larry Miller (or his estate, I suppose).

Life Flight on scene. We stopped here just as the paramedic was walking by, so we got to wander into one of the viewing towers and visit with the rest of the crew for a while. It was kind of nice to be insulated from the engine noise for a while!

This car was one of our adopted favorites -

There was a husband & wife - last name Snow - who were both racing today - and we saw a bunch of crew wearing "Caution Snow Ahead" T-shirts. I WANT ONE! And when I saw their truck, I had to take a picture. I think they won their race.

On our way home from Tooele, we stopped near the Saltaire Palace at this abandoned building and did some exploring near the Great Salt Lake.

Can't see us, but it was a beautiful evening - except for the mosquitos.

We saw a skunk wandering around near some waterslide tubing.


Inside the abandoned, burned out train car.

James took this picture - GOOD WORK!

AK State Trooper Update - May 15, 2009

"Thank you for your interest in becoming an Alaska State Trooper Recruit. Your application was one of many received from individuals striving for a career in law enforcement. The Department of Public Safety has made the initial selection of candidates who will continue to the next phase of the selection process. There were many qualified applicants on the list, and this selection was a difficulty and arduous task. Your application was carefully reviewed; however, you were not among those chosen to progress further in the selection process for this recruitment.

If you would like to re-apply you are eligible to do so for the Fall 2010 Academy.

We appreciate your cooperation and patience during this selection process and wish you success in your future endeavors.

Sincerely, Department of Public Safety Recruitment Selection Committee"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WE ARE SO SAD. But we are now working on Plan B - which is to put into motion Plan C - whenever we decide what Plan C might be.

When we began this process again last January, James said he planned to apply again, whatever the outcome of this round. So we'll start the process again this coming December or January. Doesn't 2010 sound like forever away? James already has a 'to do' list of things to be a better candidate next year. Practicing typing, getting another semester of school done, take some computer classes... I'm proud of my James & the effort he put into this years application and into all his efforts into providing for our family.

Of course, on the 'silver lining' side of things, we still have full-time Utah jobs, I get to keep my husband close by for the rest of the year & we're planning some Utah adventures. And James is already weighing the pros/cons between a seasons pass to Brighton vs. Alta...

Hiking Farmington Canyon and Chad & Kelley's Wedding - May 9, 2009

"Sinner!"

James came across an on-line contest by Rossignol requesting stories about skier's/boarder's "Sins" and offering confession. I tried to find the site today, but I guess the contest is over. Too bad, it would've made a fun link.

Anyway, James won a t-shirt for confessing his 'sin'. The shirt says "Sinner" on the front and on the back:

"The Reverend Rooster's
Rossignol Ski Confessional
and Roadshow.
An online confessional
to rid you of your ski sins"

His sin?

While patrolling on an uber-powder day on Milli at Brighton, James chatted up the Warren Miller camera crew, including athlete Julian Carr. Just after opening, James ended up about a dozen chairs behind them. Toward the top, James heard some clattering skis and discovered Julian Carr picking up his ski gear below "Killer" - the huge rock at the top of the Milli high span. And above Killer, Julian's "bomb hole" from jumping off the lift and then launching off Killer into an explosion of gear (apparently the footage from this felony can be seen in the opening footage of one of Warren Miller's movies).

James' sin is forgiving Julian for jumping of the chairlift and not hauling him off to the sheriff and getting expelled from the resort for the day. It was early on a mid-week POWDER DAY, with no one on the lift, no other witnesses, no damage to the chairlift... So James (after making sure no other patrollers were around to witness his sin) told Julian and the crew what he was SUPPOSED to do, and then let them off with a warning. Wouldn't he make a FABULOUS trooper? Alaska doesn't know what they're missing!

That's the story of the t-shirt in this photo. The rest of the picture's story is that we went hiking before Chad & Kelley's wedding. We drove up Farmington Canyon (by Lagoon) to a funky little campground about 5 miles up a narrow, windy, dirt road. There's a trail from the campground down to the stream (which was raging pretty high) and all the way down out of the canyon. We hiked down to a good sized waterfall and then turned back when the trail hit another fast-moving stream. It is still early in the hiking season, and the trail has some pretty close shrubbery. I have a nice 8-inch scratch along the back of my calf where a branch got too friendly. It was a fun, fast hike (I died on the uphill and James is hardly breathing hard!) and we'd like to go exploring again.

Farmington Canyon waterfall

Farmington Canyon kiss

Farmington Canyon self portrait

Farmington Canyon view down into the valley

Chad & Kelley's wedding was wonderful. I took some pictures with Kelley's and Alan & Michelle's cameras. Alan took a bunch more pictures and we enjoyed visiting with all the family.

These are some of my favorites of Chad & Kelley:

On Craig's Motorcycle

Allen took some great pictures of those who would dance - I thought they were so cute!

G & G

Tammy and Brett

Erin and JB

Scott and Sarah

Nancy and Glen

Michelle and Alan

James and Jessi

Other Reception Photos I liked:

Dallas

Shumans

Sydney and Scott

Grandma's brother & sis-in-law Clark and G&G

Chad & Kelley leaving the party

Afterward we ran up to Tremonton to visit some friends and spent the night at G&Gs. Busy, busy day!

Lost & Found - May 8, 2009

I lost my wedding ring.

We were getting ready for work and I looked at my hands and NO WEDDING RING. I stopped in the hallway and asked James, "Where is my wedding ring!?!?!?!" With no clue, we both searched the most obvious places, but had to run out the door.

Poor naked hand!

I had absolutely no idea when or where I might have taken it off. I vaugely remember noticing my fingers were a bit swollen while riding the bike the day before, so I had visions of my lost ring in the gutter or the weeds somewhere between home and work. I asked everyone at work if a ring had been turned in. I searched the bathroom where I had showered the day before. I searched my office drawers and every cubby hole and under every seat in my car.

James had the day off work, so he came by to take home this entertainment center (Life Flight was getting a new, smaller one - their TV is a huge flat screen on the wall so they had no need for this gigantic piece of furnature - but we do! I'm SO GLAD to get the TV off of the fireplace mantel!)

We had to dismantle the entertainment center and the big upper part fit into The Outlaw just fine and the smaller bottom part fit into Little Blue. So I went home for lunch and helped James cart the pieces into our apartment and put them together again. Then I SEARCHED EVERYWHERE I could think of for my ring. James was wonderful - he helped me search and didn't say one word about my losing our most valuable possession (aside from the cars). I finally gave up and went back to work to pout for the rest of the afternoon.

As we got ready for bed, James said something about it turning up in a month or so, whenever we weren't looking for it. I was imagining the replacement he might be persuaded to buy me - for our 10th or 25th anniversary. When I flipped open the covers to crawl into bed and cry, MY RING was tucked into the bed, safe and sound. I still have no memory of taking it off, but I'm thrilled to have it back!

AK State Trooper Update - May 8, 2009

The 'time line' said that James would get an invitation to Anchorage to inteview AROUND the week of May 8th or a letter of 'regret' after May 12th. So when Friday May 8th arrived, we really hovered around the phone. Last year, James got a phone call with the invite on THE DAY actually mentioned, so we expected a phone call.

When 6 p.m. Utah / 4 p.m. Alaska rolled around, we were starting to work on plan B, what do we do if we have to wait another year to apply? AGONY!

So James called the Trooper Headquarters in Anchorage and talked with the secretary.

"We don't have the list of applicants from the review board yet, so phone calls won't go out until next week. Call me again on Monday afternoon if you haven't heard anything..."

So we wait...

Biking to work - May 7, 2009

This is my shadow proof that I rode the bike to and from work TWICE this week. I'm so proud of me! It is more difficult when the wind blows - especially when I have a headwind along the long stretch.

It is 7.25 miles each way, so round-trip is 14.5 miles. There aren't too many hills, but on the way home, the last stretch is all a gradual uphill... over the train tracks, under the freeway, past the park, around the corner and still uphill to our street. I don't have to get off & walk, but on Monday I called James from the bottom of our stairs and asked him to come out and carry the bike up for me! He did - I love him!

After only two round-trips, I'm still not tired of the ride. I spend a lot of time taking mental 'snapshots' - the pictures I would take if I had a digitial camera and didn't have to be to work on time. Photos of the red barn w/a rooster weather vane and a green tractor out front. The huge bulls with their huge horns. The flock of tame geese in the front garden of a house. The line of cars turning onto my road with their headlights on. The "Absolutely No Dumping" sign that is dumped in the borrow pit. The fire hydrant drowning in weeds. The airplanes taking off into the sunrise clouds. The sunrise over the Wasatch Front...

Next week's goal: ride the bike to work and back THREE times.

4-wheel-drive, a Bridal Shower and The Stump - May 2, 2009

Can't see them, but James & Uncle Glen are inside this rain soaked vehicle and in the truck bed, a golf cart / three-wheeler hybrid that Justin & Trevor will use for the 'canyon' part of this adventure. The boys (Glen, Alan, Chad, Craig, James, Trevor & Justin) and Criag's girlfriend went for an adventure in the rain to Millville Canyon near Logan. They returned muddy and wet with all the vehicles, all the parts, and all the people that they started with. Although Alan's will need some repair work later - something about an unsecured battery and a long wire to the starter?

I enjoyed a visit with the ladies for Kelley's bridal shower. It was held at Aunt Nancy's with some really yummy snacks - Erin made a really good cheese ball w/red and green bell pepper and green onions. We played Chad & Kelley Bingo and visited after the gifts were opened.

AND I got to spend some time with Grandma - we went to the grocery store & made dinner together - chicken alfredo, salad & sweet potato fries.

On the way home, we went to North Ogden to see "The Stump" that Uncle Glen had told us about - an artesian spring that was originally drilled in 1930 for irrigation water. An old tree stump had been used to mark the site & do a little advertizing for a nearby hamburger place. The original stump rotted away and in 2000, the city installed a 10-foot-high fiberglass replica of the tree stump. The water is good & we filled all our jugs and empty water bottles in record time!