Christmas break 2011

We are back, after a year or so experiment with assorted networking sites.

A change of email on which one of the sites was based rendered it inoperative, so here we are...

AND ... the photo upload is back to working ...

SO .... . We will just pick up with Christmas break 2011 as if nothing had happened

With some time off work, we decided to go play a bit. This coincided nicely with Gayle's birthday.

We went to St George, Utah to visit the building shown. We have screamed through St George for years without stopping. This year we stopped. ..... Nice holiday lights on the building...

Daylight ... and in the process we noticed that this building is styled a lot like Nauvoo -- being the first LDS temple built since the folks arrived in Utah (1877).

How did another winter mountain picture get in here?

Someone must have sneaked into the hills the day before Christmas.... All we got was his FOOT.

West Jordan 4th Quarter 2009

4th Quarter 2009 so far
Oct 03-04 - LDS church conference
Oct 09-10 - Mesa to visit West Jordan for various items of family business
Oct 23-26 - DDadson work weekend in Columbus, OH (yet again)
Nov 04-05 - DDadson to Chicago for mid-week business meetings.
Nov 13-16 - DDadson work weekend in Columbus, OH
Nov 26-27 - Thanksgiving Holiday
Dec 03-08 - Dad in office or at home due to assorted non-realised business travel (we hope)
Dec 08-11 - Vacation (Dad ended up with extra week this year - missed hike days, unfortunately)
Dec 14-18 - Vacation (what would usually be the week I save for end of year)
Dec 21-22 - Vacation (left over, added to front of Christmas break)
Dec 23-31 - (Official) Christmas Holiday

Wish List ....
If the schedule holds still during 08-22 Dec, who knows what we might come up with.
We now owe visits we have not gotten to earlier in the year, of course.
Livermore, Phoenix and LA are always on the short list.
Mom owes LA a visit and I owe Livermore a visit.
Everyone always owes Phoenix a visit but Phoenix often visits either West Jordan or Boise or both. Go figure.
No motivation likely on the loyalty program front this year: Miles are perched at 36456, some distance from 50K.
Also Dad is a bit tired of travel for work, which is what it would take.

Summary - 2009 Q3 at West Jordan

Jul 09-10 - Hikers visit Delano Peak and Mount Holly - Beaver, UT
Jul 16-20 - DDadson works weekend in Lincoln, NE - travels home on Birthday
Jul 24-27 - DDadson works weekend in Columbus, OH - visits Columbus LDS temple
Aug 06-07 - Family overnight outing in Big Cottonwood near SLC - with evening phone feed to Mesa
Subsequent return to SLC by some,
Visit of Jupiter Hill (nr Brighton) and cell phone scavenger hunt by Hikers.
Aug 13-17 - DDadson works weekend in Lincoln, NE - chats with home from Winter Quarters
Aug 26 - Parents begin weekly time at Oquirrh Mountain LDS temple
Sep 18-21 - DDadson works weekend in Columbus, OH - no faith-based activity whatever (blah)
Sep 25-26 - Hikers visit Mount Nebo (after overnight at Nephi)
- DDadson logs 20000 air miles so far - reaches Silver Medallion.
Plans for 4th quarter so far:

Oct 03-04 - LDS church conference
Oct 09-10 - Mesa to visit West Jordan for various items of family business
Oct 23-26 - DDadson work weekend in Columbus, OH (yet again)
Nov 13-16 - DDadson work weekend in Columbus, OH
Nov 26-27 - Thanksgiving Holiday
Dec 03-08 - DDadson returns to Lincoln, NE for finish up of project
Dec 17-31 - Christmas Holiday with early extension
Wish List - Maybe a trip to Livermore, maybe a trip to Mesa, who knows

Outdoor season close at West Jordan

We had some rain in the Salt Lake valley earlier in the week. As of 1 October 2009 I look at the mountains and I notice that they all have a dusting of fluffy white stuff which comes from the sky, down to the 9000' elevations.
I am not sure whether it will melt off before it is joined by other. So... fall has come to the frozen north.
Summer is therefore OVER, and with it the cavortings in the high country. In a recent conversation amongst
the proprietors at West Jordan, it has occurred to us that indeed the cavortings in the hills have the full and
enthusiastic support of all members of parentdom, even though some may not personally participate in all activities.
Nonetheless, Mitherson assures us that it is perfectly OK for DDadson to engage in this craziness. It is better in her view than a considerable number of other things which could be engaged in. Also, any talk of mountain excursions is just a report of interesting activities. We are, as I hope is generally known, actually not an intensely competitive lot. Competition per se being a city thing, we go to the mountains to avoid participating in city things, so why would we drag competition up there with us to get in the way. Participation by any and sundry has a standing invitation; we love to include folks in the merriment.

So, the season close outing has occurred. It was a somewhat hasty trip to Mount Nebo. As of the clearing of smoke at end of outing, the final scoring of summit visits vs attempts was:
Amanda with 1 for 1, James with 2 for 2, and Dad with 0 for 2. Most of the crew thereby has wherewith to be pleased, and James is accumulating a reputation as a mountain guide on this one. Our technical gear deployment was admirable: the radios worked flawlessly, the camera was light, agile, and transferred to Amanda for the summit dash.
There was a slight issue for DDadson, who though sponsoring the entire thing did not allow enough time for himself to get there and alas still has a vendetta peak on his list. Here is a summary of our observations, some actually encouraging for future attempts for those of me requiring such.
Psychology:
Based on the photodocumentation of the final section to the summit, I am pleased to report that when approaching to the final summit structure of the mountain, one ought not believe everything one seems to see, to wit. Looking from the knife-edge ridge just below the final huge expanse of rock, one is inclined to conclude that it is a monolith of solid rock. Wrong. It is in fact, like many massive Utah summits, a huge pile of loose rubble underlied no doubt by solid rock and punctuated by solid outcrops; Hence, lots of the surface actually presented to the hiker/climber is mostly TALUS or SCREE.
General route information and time prognosis:
We have always used the North ridge route, which is by far the very shortest and the only one we are willing to consider. Notwithstanding the shortest route, the entire trip itself is still extremely strenuous but completable in 1 day depending on ones level of energy and physical stamina. For time, vigorous speedy young humans should plan on 5 hours to the top and 4 hours back down, adding an extra 1-2 hours if the return is partially completed after dark.
This is therefore feasable for the young in late September when we have always done it.
But .... Add 2 hours to both directions for middle age physiology, which means do the trip in JULY and start as early in the day as may POSSIBLY be managed (0600-0700 should be about right)

This post was once much longer; decided not to bore everyone.
I have now sent the detail text to people who would likely be interested.

Very assorted news from West Jordan

The latest news is that there actually would be lots of news if there has not been extensive fixation on a couple of the hobbies of the principal posting person. It could even look like SUMMER 2009 IN REVIEW, who knows?
A synopsis, then:
The brand new Oquirrh Mountain Utah (LDS) temple (as of 21 August 2009)
There have been the customary announcements and formalities and now the new Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple, 130th operating temple, is finally in operation. Such announcements take on a distinctly personal touch for us here at West Jordan. As of the dedication date some of us (Mom and Dad) became members of the volunteer operations staff. Our weekly scheduled time to is 1600-2200(or close) each Wednesday. This is well on its way to becoming a very welcome peaceful time each week.
Before that....

Dad visits Winter Quarters Nebraska following collapse of a business trip
If anyone is in Omaha, Nebraska, particularly at the Omaha Airport, a very splendid side trip is available
for only a modest investment in time. The Winter Quarters (aka Florence NE) LDS church history complex, including the Winter Quarters Nebraska Temple is 5 miles north (a 15 minute drive depending on route) of Omaha Eppley airport, both on the west bank of the Missouri river, which is also the Nebraska-Iowa state line.
This information collected by Dad from a visit on 16 August 2009, following the collapse of one of the HK installs in Lincoln, NE. 16 Aug is a Sunday and a couple of very pleasant afternoon hours were spent there on the temple grounds while listening by - remote cell phone link - to Mom's notes from the just barely concluded 2nd worker training meeting at Oquirrh Mountain Utah temple in West Jordan 900 miles west that same afternoon. A splendid merger of long-distance activities. Florence/Winter Quarters is well known as the last civilised staging point at the eastern end of the Mormon Pioneer trail. For some of us who are aware of ancestral connections to 19th century migration participants, this is always very poignant genetic deja-vu. Mary Williamson and Mary Wickersham Woolley (to say nothing of soon to be born daughter Mary Louisa) send their regards from the eastern trailhead.
Before that ....
Family Summer Retreat 2009 did convene, though in much abbreviated form
Yes indeed, we did get together on 6 August 2009 at Redman campground in Big Cottonwood canyon
near West Jordan. We were able to set up a phone link to the Mesa folks for the evening campfire festivities,
such as we ever have them anyway. It actually worked out as well as can be expected from the hammering it took this year from the scheduling complexity of the gang. The camp site actually was pretty cool - a double size group spot that cost us about $40 and was well worth it. If we ever do a hastily contrived ad-hoc Salt Lake solution again, it definitely will be at Redman USFS CG, Site #36 (Jumbo Double campsite). Plenty of room and oodles of parking space.
Having overnighted, we were greeted the next morning with the grim news subsequently reported elsewhere:
Marilyn and Melissa departed to obtain ad-hoc medical follow-up, Marilyn's arrest of pregnancy being then in progress. Others remained to break camp and then everyone left for various return routes to the city.
One return route was by way of the Guardsman pass road - junction within 1/2 mile of Redman CG - and a walk over
to the last hitherto unvisited minor peaks withing easy reach of Guardsman Pass. This brought the peak visit
tally for Summer 2009 to 3: Jupiter Hill (9985 or something)
On the way down, Dad dropped his Tmobile cell phone in the meadow, and then rather than looking right where he
was when he dropped it (within 1/2 mile of the car), embarked on an extensive and time consuming 1/2 hour return back to the previously visited summit. So a couple of us summited a second time - for nothing. Happily, having 2 cell phones allows use of the one still on-hand to ring-locate the misplaced other one, assuming it is on. We did so, and there it was singing away happily in the trail-side grass less than 50 feet from where it was noticed missing. Mild groan.
Amongst all of that ....
How come only one or two more reports of outdoor adventures the whole summer?
The reason was that Dad was psychologically, even when not physically, gridlocked in small but very erratic
series of weekend trips away from home for occupational activities. One active project had him out one week
a month. A second project was intended to take only one weekend, but will ultimately require at least three.
Add in the planning uncertainty, and old Dad was in a complete quandary the whole time.
We were hoping to report the stunningly clever reconquest of Mount Nebo, but alas it may not be to be this season, unless miracles happen. Nevertheless, we did pack away 2 new Utah county highpoints which none of us had been to, one of them a vendetta. Amanda's rain check list grows ever longer, alas - Delano, Nebo, Timpanogos, Kings Peak, Mt Elbert, etc. A little more time in the city than we had hoped.