Yuccas and Red Dirt

For many many years, my mother-in-law's cousins still hold annual family reunions. Though we don't know many people, it's always a blast. This year it was held in St. George... in July... right during the hottest day of the year so far. Saturday got to 110 degrees. Jumping in the pool did little good until you got OUT of the pool and the water evaporated off your skin. The pool was as warm as a bath. My sister-in-law says that in Phoenix, they dump those 99 cent blocks of ice in the pools to cool them down. Ah, life in the desert. That night we went to the Tuacahn Amphitheater to see Les Miserables. I had to keep poring water on myself to stay cool. At least the wind was blowing a little... until the sun went down. Then the wind stopped, and it got hotter! The play was amazing, but all I could think about was how hot I was. I couldn't imagine how the actors were doing. I guess they're seasoned desert people, just like my sister-in-law from Phoenix and my aunt from Las Vegas. They seemed like they were doing fine.
The play was fantastic and I love the way they incorporate the landscape behind the stage. I'd never actually seen the entire musical before. We'd sing the songs in Jr. High and I watched a PBS special on it for 20 minutes, but that was it. I knew it was a 1200 page novel and you could tell there was was condensing for the 3-hour musical.
The entire trip was a litte more than 24 hours long, but it was such a blast. I'm now sitting here, back at 7000 ft. feeling the cold breeze blowing in from the window, knowing that it's not air conditioning, wondering how I got to be such a wimp in heat. I have a whole new respect for desert dwellers.

The Forth of July and Slide Rock

This was probably the most uneventful 4th of July ever. We were housesitting for my boss and his wife while they were back east for a week. They have 4 Labrador dogs that were always in want of attention. We couldn't leave them for a whole day so we just went to the festivities in town. I've never been to the Park City Parade, but I always heard it was well worth it.

The only good part of this parade was the float from Deer Valley. I'm really not being partial, it was definitely clever. Our general manager, Bob Weaton, recently moved out here to Woodland (he lives on the other side of the bluff). His new house came with some acreage. The story goes that he sold his boat and bought a tractor. He then claimed to our supervisor that he's had more fun on that tractor then he ever had on his boat. He then used this tractor for a 4th of July float. The rest of the parade was boring and disorganized. The final float was a giant foam 6-pack carton, where teenagers dressed up as beer bottles and stood in their respective slots. Only in Park City.

We went back to the house and took the dogs on a hike while our food cooked. I made homemade baked beans (thanks Lizzette for the recipe), watermelon, and BBQ ribs. It only takes making ribs once to find out the correct way to do it. Slow cook them for half a day! Don't expect to throw them on the barbecue raw. I baked them in the oven for an hour, but they still should've been cooked longer.

The weekend after, we went down to visit Bevan's parents in American Fork. His sister and her four boys were visiting from Phoenix. We took them to Slide Rock up in Alpine. It's a natural water slide that's become increasingly popular over the years. Two years ago, you could go on a hot Saturday and there will only be a couple other people. Last Saturday there were almost 30 people there! You have to hike a mile to get to it, but that doesn't stop them. I don't know, with that many people and that many slippery rocks and steep ledges... it's an accident waiting to happen. You have to watch kids VERY closely. It was a successful trip, and the only casualty was me. I hit my knee against a rock climbing out of the water and it started bleeding. Here I was, telling the boys to be careful. Huh.

This first picture is Bevan holding his neice. The other are his two nephews sliding down by themselves.