Late posting, as usual

It's been a few days since last posting. I actually have an explanation for that, other than procrastination.
After getting back from vacation Monday, my wife came down with a sinus infection and mild bronchitis, I got an inner ear infection that I am just now getting over, with the aid of a buttcheek full of antibiotics and some pain pills and more antibiotics. My wife is still getting over her sinus problems, but is feeling better.

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Our trip went fairly well; the temperatures were reasonable, and we didn't get rained on.
We went down to south central Utah, basing ourselves in the small town of Torrey. It's a quiet place that has grown quite a bit during the past few years, but is still small. It sits at the base of the Aquarius Plateau, which feeds the rivers in all directions in that area of Utah, so in a few minutes you can drive up to an alpine environment, or wander around in the desert, depending on temperature, time of day, and mood.

Double-click on any picture for full size.

This is a picture of the area from about halfway near the top of the Aquarius Plateau.



We did a bit of hiking in the river canyons by Escalante, and spent quite a bit of time in Capitol Reef.





At Capitol Reef, they have parts of an old community. There are a lot of cottonwood trees around, which are ubiquitous to the desert areas. Some are quite big, and very old, as you can see from this photo.



There are also a lot of these guys, who tend to hang out in the old orchards there. Since there is no hunting allowed in the park, they tend to get very tolerant of tourists.









This is the cabin of Elijah Cutler Behunin, built in 1882, for his family of ten. A rising river wiped out their crops and they had to leave.



This school house was built on land donated by Behunin; it operated from 1896 to 1941. I managed to get a shot through a window; they have tried to keep it looking like it once did.





Here we have remains of older settlers; the Fremont Indians. The Fremont lived in the area from 600 - 1100 AD. It is thought that the Fremont were the ancestors of today's Utes and Southern Paiutes.





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Interesting political developments. I'm not really sure that Biden was a good choice for Golden Boy's campaign. Of course, I am fairly confident that The Coot will do just as badly at choosing a VP. If he doesn't, I'll be very surprised.

A few quotes on government; there are a lot of good ones out there, but we'd probably run out of room.

“Democracy is little more than the system by which 51 percent of the people can pee in the cornflakes of 49 percent of the people.”
-Jonah Goldberg

"It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly American criminal class except Congress."
-Mark Twain

"The difference between death and taxes is death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets."
- Will Rogers

"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.”
-Marcus Tullius Cicero

"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office."
- Aesop

"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have."
-Thomas Jefferson

"It is terrible to contemplate how few politicians are hanged."
-G.K. Chesterton

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Have been listening to a lot of dusty old songs, a lot of these in the top ten are probably way before the time of most of you. Anyone familiar with all of them?

"Sukiyaki" by Kyu Sakamoto
"Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell
"It's Only Make Believe" by Conway Twitty
"(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding
"Understand Your Man" by Johnny Cash
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye
"Baby Don't Do Me Wrong" by John Lee Hooker
"It Doesn't Matter Anymore" by Buddy Holly
"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" by Hank Williams
"Both Sides Now" by Judy Collins

A break from cabin fever

Been getting things together to leave town for a few days; Friday morning we'll be leaving for south central Utah, and not coming back until sometime Monday. Hopefully I'll have a few interesting pictures for those who are interested. Right now I'm fighting with a bit of a head cold, hopefully I can shake it by the time we go. I may get a chance to post something before we go, but who knows?

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Monday is our anniversary; 35 years of marriage. Where does the time go? The years haven't been that good to me, but my wife, Sandy, is still just as beautiful as that day she walked down the aisle to me. With any luck, we'll have many more years to come.



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My playlist is all moldie-oldies today, I don't know how many will be recognized.

"Lightnin' Strikes" by Lou Christie
"Sunny" by Bobby Hebb
"Love Is Blue" by Paul Mauriat
"Walk Away Renee" by The Left Banke
"Come on Down to My Boat" by Every Mother's Son
"Sunday Will Never Be the Same" by Spanky & Our Gang
"Legend of a Mind" by The Moody Blues
"Lil' Red Riding Hood" by Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs
"White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane
"Happy Together" by The Turtles

That last one is just for you, Meleah

I hate it when stuff like this happens

Wall Arch, one of the most accessible major arches in the Devils Garden area of Arches National Park, collapsed sometime Monday night.
"Not being a geologist, I can't get very technical but it just went kaboom," Chief Ranger Denny Ziemann said. "The middle of the arch just collapsed under its own weight. It just happens."
Wall Arch, located along the popular Devils Garden Trail, was 71 feet tall and 33 1/2 feet wide, ranking it 12th in size among the known arches inside the park. Lewis T. McKinney first reported and named Wall Arch in 1948.
No one reported observing the arch collapse and there were no visitor injuries,
Wall Arch is shown before and after it collapsed in Arches National Park. (Courtesy Arches National Park)
the National Park Service said.

That area has been a favorite of mine since the late sixties.

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Had an enoyable evening last night; a sort-of house warming party for some of my relatives. Much good food was in evidence.
For those who like interesting vehicles, scope out my brother-in-law's little item; he and his wife collect Pepsi stuff as a hobby, and this is one of their latest beauties.



There was a bit of rain, but not enough to really get anything wet. We were treated to this however:



You can't see it all, but it stretched completely across the sky; usually you just see half rainbows, but this one covered a full 180º.

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Anyone know all of these? Trying to decide my mood from the playlist I assembled this morning. Seems a bit down, doesn't it?

"Eve of Destruction" by Barry McGuire
"Red, Red Wine" by Neil Diamond
"Dark Night" by The Blasters
"Ain't No God in Mexico" by Waylon Jennings
"Independence Day" by Martina McBride
"She's Not There" by The Zombies
"Welcome to My Nightmare" by Alice Cooper
"Sole Survivor" by Asia
"Melancholy Man" by The Moody Blues
"Send in the Clowns" by Judy Collins


Here's one from The Blasters; it was part of the soundtrack of From Dusk Til Dawn. It's one of those tunes that is great when you're cruising down the highway at night with the top down.

Busy weekend

It was good to get out over the weekend, even though it was a bit tiring.
Saturday we spent time at the art festival in Park City. My wife found a couple of items she liked, and it killed a few hours walking around. The festival is on the main street, and several blocks long, going north and south. It is also on a hill, making it a bit of a walk going one way. Since the city is at about 7000 to 7100 feet in elevation, it is easy to get out of breath on the uphill.
The first picture is from above the festival, the second picture is taken from down in the midst of it, looking down one side of the street.

Click pictures to enlarge.





Lunch was fish and chips and some local brew at the Wasatch Brew Pub.



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Sunday we had a get-together with some of my relatives at a local park; an aunt and a bunch of cousins and their kids and grandkids, my brother and his wife. Most of the time was spent on chowing down and catching up on stuff. The park has changed a bit; I spent time in it when I was a kid, and my mom and her siblings spent time there when they were children. This gives you a bit of an idea of the place. The temperature was up around 100ºF, so we stayed in the shade a lot.






The husband of one of my cousins brought a car he has been restoring.



It may not be "green" or politically correct, but what the hell, it's good to see an old boat like that on the road now and then.

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The presidential campaigns are interesting. The Golden Boy warns everyone that the Old Coot will be running a racist campaign, then gets miffed when he is accused of waving the race card. Then he gets upset at being accused of running a "celebrity" campaign. Hell, all I've been seeing the past few months is how is claiming to be able to solve all the worlds problems, being treated like a finalist on American Idol, and people practically fainting in his presence. I wouldn't be surprised if they were throwing panties at him, too. It seems like he's good at attacking other people, but then yells foul when anyone attacks him. I've got news for you, Barry; in politics the fighting is two-sided. If you are going to piss and moan about people talking bad about you, maybe you should find another line of work. There's always going to be someone who dislikes you and has bad things to say.
Both of the candidates seem to be waffling for votes; I'm not sure now what they would be like; both of them say one thing, but their records show another. Just goes to prove that you can never completely trust a politician.

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Anybody familiar with more than half of these top ten in the shuffle?
"País Tropical" by Sergio Mendes
"Got Me Under Pressure" by ZZ Top
"Edge of Seventeen" by Stevie Nicks
"She's My Girl" by The Turtles
"Brown Sugar" by The Rolling Stones
"Georgia on My Mind" by Ray Charles
"Nickel Romeo" by The Bangles
"We Gotta Get Out of This Place" by Eric Burdon and The Animals
"If You Don't Like Hank Williams" by Kris Kristofferson
"The Great Gate at Kiev" by Moussourgsky



"If You Don't Like Hank Williams"

I dig Bobby Dylan and I dig Johnny Cash
And I think Waylon Jennings is a table thumpin' smash
And hearin' Joni Mitchell feels as good as smokin' grass
And if you don't like Hank Williams, honey, you can kiss my ass

Chorus:
'Cause I think what they've done is well worth doin'
And they're doin' it the best way that they can
You're the only one that you are screwin'
When you put down what you don't understand

I said, I dig Roger Miller, Merle Haggard; George Jones
Shotgun Willie Nelson and them rockin' Rollin' Stones
And Jerry Lee's still gotta be the coolest in the class
And if you don't like Hank Williams, honey, you can kiss my ass.

Chorus:
'Cause I think what they've done is well worth doin'
And they're doin' it the best way that they can
You're the only one that you are screwin'
When you put down what you don't understand