Which means another 'stache, and (this time) a mullet to match.
I hope you all enjoyed the month's festivities, and I hope even more that you remembered the purpose behind this yearly event and maybe even discussed it with a few people to spread the message.
Men, get those prostates checked regularly and take care of your health. Women, support your men and remind them to be vigilant in these areas.
And we'll see those wonderful/horrific/hilarious 'staches again next year!
Another Pie Night has come and gone, full of laughter and socializing and a whole lot of calories, too.
If you haven't been to one yet, or need a refresher on how they work, I'll be happy to discuss it with you in person or through emails or over the phone or really any way you'd like.
Because I just love Pie Night and everything about it.
As Pie Night veterans know, the key is to take very small slices
The beauty of Utah's national and state parks is undeniable.
So when Becca invited me to join her down in Moab a few weekends ago, I jumped at the chance.
Here are a few pics from the trip.
With my limited mobility, we could only do short hikes and scenic outlooks. Sorry, Becca.
We started with Gemini Bridges, which kinda made us nervous with its lack of guardrails.
But the arches and views were a great warm-up for me prior to the main parks still to come.
The story behind Dead Horse Point was interesting and tragic, but the views were majestic.
Perfect timing for the Asian tourists to show up
Next up was the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands. More beautiful country! Upheaval Dome has a couple different distance hike distances; we did the shortest.
We think the salt dome theory is more likely for Upheaval Dome's creation
You might have been wondering where the Indians from the blogpost title fit in. Well, we stopped by Newspaper Rock along the way.
In Canyonlands, this distant view of the Needles was great with the fantastic evening skies.
Dinosaur tracks! They were trickier to reach than we'd expected, but well worth it.
Fulfilling my childhood dream to be like Indiana Jones
And a final excursion to Corona Arch, which was a kinda tough hike in my boot.
And no, we didn't use the Corona Arch like a humongous swing, like the guys in this video:
Awesome.
Just like our time spent in Moab and its surrounding parks.
Park City is lots of fun, and it's even more fun when you're going up there with someone who hasn't been before. Plus, if they're going up for a conference and you get free dinner, that's a major bonus haha
Becca had meetings for a lot of the day, but she had a little break on Saturday, so I met up with her and we walked Main Street for a little and had lunch in a little Thai restaurant.
After lunch, I showed her a couple of the ski resorts, which had snow but weren't scheduled to open quite yet. Just a couple more weeks until they do, but I sadly won't be able to ski anyway.
Later that evening, Becca's program hosted a dinner at Cisero's. Very tasty!
Fancy dinner, complete with pumpkin decorations
Since socializing is a big part of work conferences, we joined everyone in walking down to High West Distillery, and everybody had a good time. I particularly thought some of the drink names were fun.
For example:
Dead Man's Boots
Licorice and Smoke
Blood and Sand
Rattlesnake
Aren't those awesome?!
Cool branding and poster design
PS - While we were all chatting, I noticed this song playing, and I thought it was hilarious. That Willie has a great sense of humor, and I enjoy the clever number wording.
I love music, and the best way to enjoy it (in my opinion) is at a live concert.
Last week I was lucky enough to attend two shows, and in fairly small venues, which is even better.
Wed, Nov 7: Martin Sexton, with opener The Sun Parade (at The Depot)
Turns out that one benefit of being injured is the opportunity to use ADA seating.
We didn't even ask, but since there weren't any open seats on the ground floor, the workers at The Depot let us sit in the crows nest and we had this sweet view:
The Sun Parade, with bonus percussion and vocals friends
I hadn't heard of The Sun Parade before, but they were good. Very upbeat tunes, yet chill, if that makes sense. Here's a video of their biggest song:
When The Sun Parade finished their set, it was Martin Sexton's turn.
He didn't disappoint.
The man does it all, and he does it solo. Guitar, singing, and making all sorts of instrument sounds with his mouth and various parts of the guitar.
With skills like his, Martin doesn't need any other band members
Surprisingly, many of my friends hadn't/haven't even heard of Martin Sexton. That is a shame, because he's a very creative singer/songwriter. He sings serious songs, and he throws in some silly songs for good measure. I even saw him referred to as a serious Jack Black once.
His song "Hallelujah" hooked me, and its YouTube video is a good demonstration of how he is in concert.
And this is "Glory Bound", which I also really like.
Thurs, Nov 8: The Infamous Stringdusters, with opener Lake Street Dive (at The State Room) Another night, another incredible concert. This one was a marathon, not a sprint.
We'd never heard of the opener, but Lake Street Dive had an Amy Winehouse kinda vibe, but without the slutty attitude. So we were able to like them for their quality and not have the trashy negatives.
Lake Street Dive, making us swoon
We tried to guess where they might be from, but we were way off. This quartet is from Brooklyn, NY.
Just check out this sound: Very cool, right? Just another example of how there are bands with incredible talent, still out there waiting to hit the big time. People say that, right? "Hit the big time"? I don't even know anymore.
Anyway, Lake Street Dive was a perfect warm-up for the night's main event.
And it was not just some 90 min set. We estimate they played for almost 3 hours. When the headliner of a concert actually takes an intermission, that is serious determination.
Now how do I describe how good these 5 fellas are? Ah, yes, here's how: Becca is from Tennessee, and she was so happy just listening to an authentic bluegrass band all the way out here in the Rocky Mountains. Seriously, she had a major case of perma-smile.
The Infamous Stringdusters, rocking the scene
That's one of their tame songs, but it shows how good The Infamous Stringdusters were.
I'd gladly see any of these four bands when they come through SLC again. And you're all welcome to join me for those or just about any other concert!
My cousin Emily mentioned raking leaves on her blog a few days ago, so I thought I'd do the same, sharing my Utah-learned method for excessive leaf quantities.
Because sometimes there are so many leaves that it's a two-tool project.
1) Use a rake to gather all the little kamikaze tree jumpers. 2) Use a snow shovel to pick them all up and put them in the yard waste can.
3) If by chance you have way, way, way too many leaves to fit in your waste can(s), then a good method is using the snow shovel to smash down the leaves. You'd be amazed how many more will fit.
4) Wait a few days for the rest of the leaves to fall from the trees, and repeat steps 1-4 until it snows and all the un-raked dead leaves are buried until springtime.
Any tips you'd add from your local experience (wherever local may be for you)?
Congratulations on your re-election, President Obama!
You've gotta admit, that's a good-looking family
The voters have spoken, and, as Governor Romney asked in his concession speech, I hope we will all pray for our elected leader's success in improving our country. Democrats and Republicans are all Americans, so let's now work together and strengthen the USA over the next 4 years, instead of bickering and dividing ourselves further.
I'm very interested to see what Governor Romney will do now
PS: I made a little meme that I hope both sides can find amusing. Just kind of an awkward pic for the Obama camp to release, and deserving of meme-ing, isn't it?
I don't ever want to be "too old" to carve pumpkins, even if I don't have kids yet.
So when Becca had a free night just before Halloween, we jumped at the chance to get in the spirit of the holiday by gutting a few gourds we picked up at Smiths.
Before the massacre
Ice cream scoop = best way to get the goop out
Picking out the pumpkin seeds
Mmm, and the house now has that delicious pumpkin smell
Puppy (Becca's) and an owl (mine)
Did you carve pumpkins? What design did you choose?
