Wonderful Utah....

We went picnicking last Sunday up in the mountains..it was SO nice - almost 10 degrees cooler than the sweltering dry valley heat which we left behind. The giant trees (one that two men could barely wrap their arms around) shaded everything just the right amount, with sunlight glinting through the leaves as we listened to the nearby river flowing and splashing. A deer gracefully passed by, about 40 feet from where we sat roasting marshmallows, headed to the river for a cool drink. I, NOT a camper mind you, fell so in love with the surroundings, that I talked some friends into a little jaunt up there next weekend to TENT, no less, for two nights. When I tried to reserve a spot, though, I was met with disappointment, as that weekend is a HUGE Utah holiday. "Pioneer Day" they call it - the day that Utah was officially a state. It took decades to be recognized as such, due to the religious practices and conflicts with the law regarding their traditions. People who have not been here or done a lot of research, believe that most "Utahns" live in families with multiple wives. Well, for the record, that is a rare, unusual, and very sequestered practice. The average family where I live has one wife, or no wife at all, and for the most part, they are normal. They DO have an odd accent...they stress the "g" at the end of any word with an -ing suffix. They leave out hard consonants in the middle of words. (i.e. "kitten" is "ki-ehn", and "mountain" is "mou-ehn") But it really is a wonderful place to be, and would be absolutely perfect if they could just make the temperature remain at 70 degrees or more year-round. HA! In my dreams, says Ben. I don't know...I am holding out for global warming!