Little Cottonwood Creek

I have found a wonderful spot to fish on Little Cottonwood Creek. It takes 8 minutes to drive to and 5 minutes to walk to after that and I am fishing. So far I have caught Brookies and Rainbows. Yesterday I picked up four Rainbows. The fish are crafty. It took me an hour and a half to bring these guys in. I was surprised that a couple of them went 10 and 11 inches. Nice size for a small creek like this. The fish don't hold in the fast water but prefer pools and back eddies. I had to wade in the water to prevent my backcast from landing in a tree. When I catch a fish, I always move on. It is one hole, one fish territory. I had success with attractors; stimulators, royal wulff and trude, and parachute adams. I know there must be some bigger fish lurking in the fast water but so far have not been able to bring one up out of there. Here is a shot of one of the Brookies.

Where did Summer Go?

Wow! Where did the summer go? I had so many things I was going to do this summer and now it looks like Autumn is beginning. Did I go to Zion? No. Did I go fish Slough Creek in Yellowstone? No. Did I fish the Owyhee River in Idaho? Not Yet! So, there are still some excursions that I may get in before the snow flies.

Two weeks ago, Dick Hauch and I went to Idaho to fish the Salt and South Fork of the Snake Rivers. We stayed with Hasty and Grace Arnold in Irwin, Idaho in their beautiful home on the banks of the Snake River below Palisades. Dick and I were interns together at L.A. County-USC Medical Center in 1973. We try and get together to fly fish at least once a year. This time we fished our first day on the Salt River above Palisades with our guide, Travis Taylor. His father, Bart has been a fishing guide in the area for over 30 years. We had a great day fishing on the Salt and the next day we fished the South Fork from Conant to Byington, 9 am to 9 pm on the river. It had rained the night before which put a damper on the really hot fishing, but we caught fish nonetheless. We just had to work harder. The two main flies we used were a Chubby Chernobyl that imitated a large stone fly or grass hopper. Behind this we trailed a Hemingway, a size 16 caddis imitation that we fished wet or dry. We tried other flies but we always seemed to come back to this combination. On our last day, we bid goodbye to our wonderful hosts and stopped at the Grey's River to fish in the morning before we drove back to Salt Lake. I put Dick on a plane and that marked the time to officially start planning our next year's trip.

Riley in coming for a visit this week and after that Diane and I are headed to Mesa Verde and Hoovenweep for a few days. I will report on that after that. Or, I could just make up some shit now. Nah, I'll wait.

New York City

My First Trip to NYC

Yes! I was excited. Diane and I were headed to NYC for a week to celebrate Diane’s 60^th birthday. Diane’s sister, Julie would meet us there and we planned to share a suite at the Hotel Giraffe.

We left on Saturday, July 2, 2011. Diane and I had a layover in Memphis where we lunched at the International Bar-B-Q. I had the pulled pork, beans, and cold slaw. I had truly started my vacation. In part, it would be a culinary adventure. Food would be one of the many highlights of our trip.

After arriving at LaGuardia airport, we hailed a cab and headed for the hotel. Julie had already checked in(non-stop, first class from LA). After getting settled, we embarked on a short walk that took us to Mario Batali’s place called Eataly (Yes, a play on words). What a place! It is an emporium of several restaurants and shops selling cheeses, meats, wines, beer, chocolates, gelatos, etc. We settled on a restaurant called Verdure. I had the eggplant caponata. It may have been the most delicious dish I ever had. It was a Saturday night and it was quite crowded, which added to the “New York” experience. With full bellies, we headed back to the hotel and turned in.

Sunday July 3, 2011.

The next day, Sunday, we awoke to a steady rain. We had raingear and umbrellas so that was no problema. We went to the Subway and got our 7 day Metro cards and boarded the subway for Greenwich Village. Diane had booked us on a food tasting and cultural walking tour.

We met our guide, Marie, in front of the Murray Cheese Store. Even though it was raining, our spirits were not dampened. We began our tour by crossing Bleeker Street and entering an olive oil store called O and Co. The owner told us about various olive oils and how they are produced and rated. He warned us that there is no regulation that provided for the listing of possible other oils in olive oil. We tasted a basil olive oil that was delicious. Then we had a chocolate spread that was magnificent. We would come back later and purchase both of these. We then went outside, turned the corner and entered Joe’s Pizza. It was one of the very first pizza shops in Greenwich Village. They import a tomato from Italy that they use for their sauce because it has few seeds. The crust is very thin. We all were treated to a slice from a pizza that was just out of the oven.

Our next stop was Palmas, a rustic Italian-French restaurant on Cornelia Street. We went through the restaurant and through a garden to a private room where we were served a dish of cauliflower, pine nuts, and currants cooked in olive oil. Back out on the street, Marie gave us the history of Cornelia Street; its restaurants and its people. She pointed out Po’s Restaurant, which was Mario Batali’s first restaurant.

From Cornelia Street it was a brisk walk over to Centro Vinoteca where we actually got to sit down. We were served deviled eggs and dates wrapped in bacon (Riley would have loved that). We continued our walk to a section of the village where Washington Irving and Aaron Burr had owned homes. We stopped at the Milk and Cookies for a tasty cookie. This place is a favorite of David Schwimmer’s. We stopped in front of the Cherry Street Theater, an off, off Broadway theater. It was right next to a home owned by Edna St. Vincent Millay. Marie kept the historical tidbits oozing out of the buildings we walked by. We passed by a restaurant called the Little Owl, famous for being pictured as the Central Perk coffee shop from Friends.

Our last stops were Murray’s Cheese Shop, Faicco’s Pork Shop and Rocco’s Pastry. From Faicco’s we sampled home made rice balls during the start of the tour and now at the end, we had Wisconsin Reggiano, hand picked olives and a cheese that had been soaked in red wine. Our very last stop took us to Rocco’s for an intensely rich canolli. We headed back to the hotel so stuffed that we thought we would never eat again. That would not be the case.

Oddly enough, a few hours later we began to get hungry again. Later that evening we decided to go to the Blue Smoke Bar-B-Q. It had been recommended by Julie’s cab driver. Since there was a 45-minute wait for a table, we walked around the neighborhood before being seated. I was unable to decided on a dish so I had the combo of pork ribs, pulled pork, smoked chicken, and smoked sausage. It was all good including the calamari, the creamed spinach, and collard greens. Having no room for dessert, we ordered one anway—chocolate mousse silk pie. We stumbled back to the Hotel Giraffe and called it a night.

Monday July 4, 2011.

A new day would bring new adventures. We fortified ourselves with the Continental Breakfast provided by the hotel. The faire was quite good and was the same everyday. Along with their delicious coffee they provided juices, fruit, hard-boiled eggs, and assorted bagels, pastries, muffins, and croissants.

We left the hotel, boarded the subway heading downtown and got off at the Brooklyn Bridge stop. We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge taking in all the surrounding sights. This was a popular activity. We were joined by many walkers and cyclists. We crossed the bridge and dropped into DUMBO(down under the Manhattan bridge overpass). There was a mandatory stop at the Jaques Torres Chocolate Shop. We had a light meal at a little café where we had eggs in a cloud. This was a unique dish consisting of baked eggs whites looking like a cloud holding two egg yolks.

We took the subway under the East River to the Financial District. We walked around Ground Zero and saw the first replacement tower. It was only half completed but already was higher than all the surrounding buildings. We walked around Battery Park and the large Financial Center Building. With our dogs a barking, we returned to the hotel to prepare for the evening activities.

We had reservations on the Circle Line Boat Tour to go out on the Hudson River for the evening fireworks show. We took the subway to Times Square in hopes of catching a cab to the dock. There was no way to get a taxi and even if we did, they were all in gridlock. We hoofed it to the dock only to be placed in a line with hundreds of other people. We finally got on the boat and got out onto the Hudson River. After dark, at 9:30 PM, the fireworks started. They were spectacular and being on the water enhanced the view. After the show we disembarked with throngs of people not only from our boat but a host of other boats. We started walking, futilely looking for a taxi. No luck. We made it back to Times Square and took the subway back to the hotel. We were pretty tired by now. Who knew having so much fun could be so exhausting.

Tuesday July 5, 2011

After a night of good, restorative sleep we were ready to go at it again. We took the subway up to Central park and walked further to the American Museum of Natural History. One could spend a week in there and not see everything so we had choices to make. We went to the Largest Dinosaurs Exhibit. This showcased the largest of all the dinosaurs from birth to death to being dug up as fossils. We had tickets to a brand new exhibit called, The Brain and then we went to an IMAX movie called Tornado Alley where a guy built an armored car so he could get inside a tornado and film it. It was lunchtime and we had lunch at one of the museum cafes. After lunch, Diane and Julie abandoned me to my own devices while they went shopping. I had not had my fill of the museum so I stayed and went to the animal exhibits and then The Incan Trail Photography Exhibit and then the Tibetan Medicine Exhibit. I left the museum and went into Central Park and came back through the Park before I took a subway back to the hotel.

That evening we went to the East Village where we met Julie’s friend, Meg at Meg’s favorite restaurant, Café Mogador. It was a Moroccan restaurant. I had the sea bass cooked with hot spices and vegetables. The fish had been caught that day by the owner of the place, or so they said. Once again, I stepped out of my paradigm and ordered desert—Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble with Vanilla Ice Cream. We were back to the hotel by 9:30.

Wednesday July 6, 2011. Diane’s Birthday

Diane had filled the itinerary on her birthday. First, we toured the Empire State Building and then walked to the New York Public Library and then on to Grand Central Station where we had lunch at a Mexican Restaurant. We had 2 PM tickets to see Billy Elliott—a fantastic musical about a boy from Wales who wanted to be a ballet dancer instead of following the family tradition of working in the coal mines, which were about to be shut down anyway.

That evening we had dinner at an Indian restaurant called Devis. Afterwards we explored an area called The Strand where they had one of the world’s largest bookstores. When we got back to the hotel, the birthday balloons and cupcakes that Julie ordered for Diane’s birthday had arrived. It was a grand and memorable day.

Thursday July 7, 2011

On Thursday, drill sergeant Diane had us scheduled to be out early. We took her orders but we did not have to keep being nice to her since it was no longer her birthday. She tried to invoke something about a “birthday week” but we ignored it.

We got down to Battery Park where the boats leave for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island tour. Both were awe-inspiring. It is amazing what the immigrants had to go through. We read the Emma Lazarus’s poem so familiar to many.

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to

Breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me

I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

After the tours we went to Union Square and had lunch at the Heartland Brew Pub. This day was the first really hot day so we went to the hotel to cool down (and rest) before we returned to Eataly for dinner. After dinner we hung out at Madison Square Park and as dusk approached we saw hundreds of fireflies make their appearance. It was a delightful ending to a nice day.

Friday July 8, 2011

Friday was our last full day and we made the most of it. We signed up for a bike tour of Central Park. We not only got in a good bike ride but we got a cultural and historical lesson from our guide. There have been over 350 movies filmed in Central Park. At one point where we stopped near the Dakota Hotel our guide looked up and said hello to someone who pleasantly said hello back. It was Yoko Ono going for a walk with a companion.

Upon completion of our tour we asked our guide for a recommendation for a place to eat lunch. He first asked if we felt adventurous and then on to tell us about a Dominican Restaurant called Papasitos. We walked there as instructed and I ordered the Mofongo as instructed. Mofongo is a dish made from plantains and garlic and herbs all mashed together. It was very tasty. After lunch we split up again and I went exploring on my own. I guess there was more shopping to be done. I went back to the NY Public Library. I then gave myself a tour of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I went by Rockefeller Center and then headed back to the hotel. That night we went to Lincoln Center to see a great play called War Horse.

Saturday

All good things must come to an end and so it was with our New York trip. Saturday was departure day. That did not keep us from going to the Breslin Hotel for a brunch. I had the baked eggs with spiced tomatoes and chorizo while Diane opted for the ricotta pancakes with macerated strawberries and candied almonds. After a last walk around the neighborhood, we bid adieu to New York City and headed for the airport. In the famous words of the Governator, “I’ll be back”.

Where's Sam?

On Saturday, we awoke to a beautiful morning. It was crisp and clear. A perfect day for a hike, Diane and I decided. When Sam got up we invited him along and shortly after that we were heading up Big Cottonwood Canyon to the Butler Fork Trailhead. It had been a huge snow year this winter but now, the last week of June, the hiking season was beginning. We started up the trail and soon got to a bridge that had a sign saying, "Danger, Do Not Use Bridge". It looked like it might crash into the stream at any moment but we went across anyway. The next section of the hike was a steep uphill climb. Following that the scenery just got prettier. We walked along a cascading stream that was running much higher than I remember. At one point where we had to cross the stream on wet tree trunk we had to decide to cross there or look elsewhere. Diane found a spot to jump across that only got all of us a little wet. As we went up the stream was overflowing its banks and drenching the trail. We trounced through mud and water getting our feet soaked. After crossing a meadow we came upon a wooded area that was holding a lot of snow. We had to cross several slippery snowbanks. The higher we got the more snow we encountered. This slowed us down considerably. Well, let's say it slowed Diane and me. Sam was off. Soon, he was out of sight. Diane and I trudged on, slipping and sliding and post holing. After a while of this. Diane decided to stop for a rest and I took off my pack and set out after Sam. After about 20 minutes I decided that I would turn around and go back and look for Diane. I figured Sam we get to the lake and turn around and come back. I got back to Diane and we waited about 20 minutes before we decided to head back down. We were pretty sure that Sam we catch up to us before we made it back to the car. We enjoyed that hike down; taking in the beautiful scenery. We got to the car and I checked my cell phone. Sam had left a voicemail saying he had overshot the lake and was up above it on a ridge. He said he was heading back down. All the way down Diane kept asking me if I thought Sam was all right. I reassured her each time. Now having heard the voice mail, we were relieved that we had heard from him. We waited, we waited; still no Sam. I checked the time stamp on the voicemail. It had been sent at 12:20 PM. It was now 2PM. Reluctantly, I now told Diane that I was worried. We had come down in about 40 minutes and Sam had headed down at 12:20, which was an hour and 40 minutes. The thought entered my mind that he might have gone down a different canyon, either a couple miles up the road at Mill D Trailhead or even possibly into the neighboring canyon, Millcreek Canyon. My phone pinged. A text said, "Pick me up at Wasatch and 3800 South". Somehow he had managed to end up in Millcreek Canyon. We got in the car and headed down and around to where he was. As I suspected, he had hitch hiked out of Millcreek Canyon. What I did not know was that he came down the mountain 4 miles above the winter gate and he had to run 4 miles to get to the road where he could catch a ride. By the time we saw him he was one tired and hungry kid. Well, we were all tired and hungry so we had burrito bowels at the Mexican Joint near there. A nice hike and another, "All's well that end's well"

Back in the Saddle

The last time I took Diane skiing at Snowbird, she got ill and had to come down in a toboggan. Well, it was time go back up the mountain and tame the demons that prowl her subconscious. We picked a perfect day. The sun was out and it was warming up and the snow was in great shape. Up the lift we went, higher and higher. From the top of the Gadzoom lift we skied down to the Gad II lift. We went higher and higher up past Liftline and STH(steeper than hell). We choose the run, Bananas for our warm up run. We made several runs off the Gad II lift until it was time for lunch at the Mid Gad. Duly fortified by lunch we decided to take the high speed Peruvian lift up to the top of the mountain. It was a bit colder and windy but we took off down the run and got out of the wind. Diane said she did not like cat tracks so we took a black diamond run called Chips Face. She came down that expert slope in expert fashion. It was a beautiful day with great snow conditions. Just the kind of day to boost one's confidence.

Warning: Cliff Area

Warning: Cliff Area. WTF, how did I get here? I was skiing at Snowbird with Bob Hood and as we got on the Peruvian lift, the operator said Mineral Basin just opened up. We went up and went into the tunnel and came out in Mineral Basin. Bob said let's go left which I did but I guess I went too far left. There was about 10 inches of powder but it had been wind blown and was crusty. I followed some tracks up a knoll and started down. I got funneled down towards a chute and my right ski stopped but I kept going and stepped out of the binding. Ouch! I had been nursing an Achilles tendon strain and this seemed to aggravate it. The next order of the day was to find my ski. I had a pretty good idea where it would be and I started digging and found it right away. The powder was pretty deep and I had to build a platform to use to put my skis back on. With skis on I looked up and saw that there was only one way down. Right by the sign that said, Warning: Cliff Area. A skier came up behind me and said it did not look good but was going to try it anyway. I watched him make two impossible turns down the chute and then he scraped off some powder that was covering a slab of ice. He said it was not too bad, but watch out for that ice. I surveyed the scene and realized that a climb out in that powder would take all day so it was down the chute. I somehow made the two impossible turns and was heading for the slab of ice. I dropped down below it heading down the fall line but gaining speed. I made a quick turn to the right and came to a stop. It was so steep that as I stood on my skis I could put out my right hand and touch the mountain. I waited until my heart rate became manageable and then I side slipped down until I got to some less steep but reasonable terrain. I made it down to the chairlift where Bob was waiting and he asked where I had been. Just enjoying the mountain, I said.

Thanksgiving in Dixie

No, I am not just whistling Dixie. We went to Dixie for the Thanksgiving holidays. Here is a little explanation. You see, here in Utah, they call the southern part of the state, Dixie. Go figure! Diane, Sam, and I left Thursday morning from Salt Lake City(really Sandy, our official residence). Riley, Jamie and Riley's girlfriend, Natalie left from LA. Our rendezvous point was a house just outside the east entrance to Zion National Park. It was a pretty fancy house but we got a good deal from VBRO.com. It had four bedrooms, each with its own bathroom. There was a custom kitchen and a dining room with a large table that seated 10. Next to that was the great room with a cathedral ceiling and a fireplace. We had picked up a full turkey dinner from Mimi's in Salt Lake. We heated up the meal and had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. That evening we played a round of Trivial Pursuit following by a fun game called the Game of Things. The next morning Diane fortified us with a gingerbread pancake breakfast with plenty of bacon for the Baconater. We drove into the town of Springdale for a look see and stayed for lunch at a Mexican place called Oscars. It was then into the Park where we drove to end of the canyon and took a hike called the Riverside Walk. It takes you to the start of the Zion Narrows hike. We encountered a little ice on the hiking trail but had no serious mishaps. We headed back to our house and prepared for a visit from the Meulemans who were having their Thanksgiving at their house in Hurricane(pronounced Her-A-Can by the folks that live there, if you can call that living). Tom and Jan brought along their daughters Lindsey(with husband, Joe) and Laura(with boyfriend, Patrick). We had turkey enchiladas and watched a little football until they departed. The next day, we split up. Diane, Riley, Natalie, and I took off to do some hiking. We stopped at the Canyon Overlook trailhead and hiked to a beautiful vista just above Pine Creek. Next, we drove into the main canyon and started up the Emerald Pools hike. Almost right away we came upon an icy trail. I was prepared. I pulled out the traction devices from my backpack. We put those things on and now we could easily walk on the icy paths. We passed some people who accused us of cheating; which I guess we were. There were 3 pools. The upper one required a fair amount of uphill hiking but it was a beautiful sight, well worth the effort. We made our way down and headed back to the homestead. I failed to mention that we saw several Rocky Mountain sheep sure-footing themselves on the steep sandstone on the way into the Park. This would now be our last night and the forecast was for snow the next day so planned an early exit. In the morning we left the house about 6:40 am in a caravan. There was about a foot of snow on the road and it had not been plowed. We made our way through the snowy, steep switchbacks that took us through the Park and into Springdale. From there the roads had less snow on them and by the time we hit Hurricane, the snow was gone. Here, our routes diverged. Riley, Jamie, and Natalie headed back to LA and we headed home to Salt Lake. It was a fun and memorable Thanksgiving.