Start of June

The most exciting thing for me this week was that Utah Historical Society staff got to tour the new Museum of Utah! The grand opening is June 27, but different groups are getting special previews in the next few weeks. I wasn't involved with the museum, so I didn't know what it would be like. And I was really impressed! It is arranged loosely thematically, not chronologically. 

I generally avoid internet comments, but a long time ago (like more than a year ago), I looked at comments on an article about the upcoming museum. Some commenters were certain that it would be the same old story of Mormon settlement. That is part of the museum, but it's only a small part. Others were certain they wouldn't acknowledge incarceration of Japanese Americans at Topaz. They were wrong too. (Interesting how so many folks will learn something and suddenly think they know more than everyone else.) I'm eager for all the haters to get a dose of humble pie.

The most publicized item is the Mormon Meteor, a 1930s race car.

They have items from the Sundance Film Festival from 2019 and 2020, the two years I worked there.

I was amused that these 2002 Olympic mascots were on display, because we have them on a shelf downstairs at home! I see them every day. (We also have a bigger fox on the same shelf.)

I was not involved with the museum officially, but last fall, they did ask me to copyedit some of the museum text. I thought they were going to send more to me to edit, so I don't know why they didn't. But one of the areas I did edit was quotations from different Utah writers and musicians. They include the title of the authors' work (like Neon Trees' "Animal"). But I didn't want them to include the full name of Juanita Brooks's book John Doyle Lee: Zealot, Pioneer Builder, Scapegoat, because the best scholarship indicates that John D. Lee was not a scapegoat for the Mountain Meadows Massacre, even though Mike Lee tweets otherwise. They did listen to my advice, because the Juanita Brooks quote does not include the book title. 

And there is a section devoted to celebrations, which of course is right up my alley, especially with some of the Pioneer Day entries.

I was intrigued by this holiday-themed game from 1995. The caption says it was "produced specifically for the 150th anniversary of Pioneer Day," but I assume they mean the 150th anniversary of pioneers arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, not the holiday itself (which came two years later).

In this same celebrations section, they have videos of different celebrations. In the Days of '47 video, one of the men says that Brigham Young wanted a rodeo at one point, so that's why Days of '47 has a rodeo. NO! Rodeos were not a thing during Brigham Young's lifetime! But it's still an interesting perspective.

I don't actually know this, but it's my understanding that in this section there was supposed to be a video about the Pride parade, but the Utah law prohibiting different flags in government buildings meant they couldn't include the video. [eyeroll emoji] There are some other references to LGBTQ+ activism throughout the museum, though. Pride Month is supposed to be an enjoyable time for queer people, but I'm finding myself disheartened by all the people who take issue with it, like Governor Cox declaring June "Fidelity Month." If you don't like something, you can just ignore it!

Anyway, I'm excited for everyone to see the new museum! I'll be working a morning shift at the grand opening (June 27), but it will be open daily after that. And it's free!

June also means the time has come for me to resume goathead picking. Since 2012, I have devoted time in June to picking goatheads. Since 2022, I have done it a different way: There are a few patches I've adopted in the neighborhood, and I go back regularly all summer and into the fall to pull up any new plants I see. I really think I have made a substantial difference, at least on Marialana Way. This year, I have adopted a new spot where Center Street turns into Lacey Way. I have spent several hours there this week to pull up all the plants that have already sprouted. There are still more plants there, but soon I should catch up, and then I hope to keep an eye on the spot so I can pull up any new plants. I have often seen goathead plants spreading all over the sidewalk here, so I hope I can prevent that from happening again.

I always wonder how much of a difference I'm making, and is this just some weird quirk I'm doing that doesn't have much impact? But some cities will give people bounties for bags of goatheads. I don't pick great volumes of plants, because I prioritize picking them when they're new and small. So while I wouldn't be able to collect much of a bounty, I think I'm making more of a difference by getting them before they bear fruit—the most diabolical fruit you will ever encounter. I am concerned about various invasive plants: myrtle spurge, dyer's woad, phragmites. As bad as those others are, they don't stab you or pop your bike tire. So my goathead mission will continue. (There's a brunch restaurant in Salt Lake called Goat Head, and I might have to go sometime.)

Thursday evening, my family went to see the Bountiful Chalk Art Festival. Many of the artists were still working on their pictures, and I saw not one but two artists wearing Dipper Pines (Gravity Falls) hats. I'm not at all artistic. 

Yesterday I did a usual North Canyon run to Rudy's Flat, seven miles total. Two other runners ran past me, which always makes me feel slow. And since I've been going on nine-mile runs, and sometimes even fourteen-mile runs, I feel like I'm being lazy when it's just seven. But seven miles is plenty, especially in hot weather.

Apparently I didn't clear all the soap out of my water bottle, because it was foamy all along

I feel like I've seen less Utah sweetpea than usual this year

I love Nootka roses!

***

Time for RWB roundup! There's a lot this week.

The Burger King Firecracker Cookie Pie has a cookie crust with a soft, sweet topping. It tasted a little fruity, but I don't think it's supposed to. I like it, though I don't know how to describe it. 7/10.

Recently, McCormick has been making limited edition finishing sugars. I find this so intriguing, because is there really that big of a market for finishing sugar!? I don't know what to do with them. I tried these new flavors on cottage cheese, which was not a great vehicle for them. But I'm analyzing the sugars, not the cottage cheese. The McCormick Mixed Berry Finishing Sugar looks so fun and festive! And the berry flavor is fine. 7/10.

And the McCormick Apple Pie Finishing Sugar tastes more like fall, even though it has red and blue stars on the package. 6/10. I want to have more of these sugars, but I don't know a good use for them.

I got this Nice! Gummy Stars Peelable Candy from Walgreens. Nice! is a Walgreens brand, but I think these are made by Peelerz. I have given up on trying to peel peelable candy, but for just eating, I really enjoy these! The white (lemon) one is great. The strawberry and blueberry ones are OK. But the texture is great. 7/10.

I don't know what the flavor is supposed to be for Nice! Sour Belts, but it's not that great. 5/10.

King Krumb is Walmart's answer to Crumbl, and I'm glad they have seasonal flavors. Each box has two flavors. So far I've only had the Valentine's flavors, but this week I tried the Fourth of July flavors. I don't appreciate the durable plastic packaging. These cookies are not soft right out of the box, so they're best after fifteen seconds in the microwave. The King Krumb Berry Patriotic Cookie has a vague berry flavor, but I don't think it's that flavorful. 6/10.

Same can be said for the King Krumb USA Birthday Cake Cookie, which was satisfying carbs but not a distinctive flavor. 6/10

I'm always interested in really random things, like grüns Firecracker Superfoods Greens Gummies, which are classified as a supplement. I have no idea about their nutritional value, but they are enjoyable gummies, if a little weird. 7/10.

I admit I'm a little embarrassed that Waterloo Apple Pie à la Mode Sparkling Water is branded with Guy Fieri. Apple pie à la mode is a tall order for sparkling water: apple, spice, crust, and ice cream are all supposed to be in sparkling water? I can't say it tastes like apple pie, but it tastes like lots of things I have in the fall. 6/10.

There are lots of s'mores things, and I like it when their packaging is red, white, and blue, like Favorite Day S'mores Mini Bites. They are a graham cracker with a marshmallow coating and then chocolate on the outside. These are very decadent and tasty! 8/10.

I made a special trip to West Jordan to try the Dunkin' Donuts Rocket Pop Donut, which has a rocket pop–flavored filling. I'm not a fan of the star sprinkles, because they make it too crunchy. But it looks really fun, and it really does taste like a rocket pop! 8/10.

While in West Jordan, I had a Wayback Burgers Red, White, and Blue Shake, which is a vanilla shake with pomegranate and blue raspberry flavors. Since this is a national chain, it's a runny shake, which is fine with me. I can't say the flavoring was exceptional, but on a hot day after picking goatheads and running up the canyon, this was really satisfying. 8/10.

Kroger (Smith's in Utah) has three special chip flavors for the summer. First is the Kroger Chili Cheese Potato Chips, which has a hot dog on the package, but I don't think there's any hot dog flavor (which is probably a good thing). It's chili cheese. As I first tasted these, I really enjoyed them. But then it occurred to me that I wouldn't care to eat many of them. I think this flavor works better on corn chips. I associate chili more with Halloween than with the Fourth of July. 6/10.

Kroger Buttered Corn Potato Chips are better than the Pringles corn-flavored chips from 2020. I'm not sure what to make of them; they don't really strike me as very corny. I don't usually like butter-flavored things, so I wish they leaned more into the corn and less into the butter. 5/10.

The Kroger Cheeseburger Potato Chips are better than I expected, since I usually don't like cheese-flavored snacks. They do taste like a cheeseburger, mostly the condiments. It's not gross, but it's not my preferred flavor for potato chips. 5/10.

Albanese Boomsicle Gummies are the usual cherry, lemon lime, and blue raspberry flavors. Some of the gummies are designed with bite marks, and some aren't, which I think is a cute touch. As far as gummies go, these are really good! 8/10.

I never loved those round peanut butter sandwiches as a kid, but I thought I would give them another chance by trying Smuckers Uncrustables Red, White & Berry Spread Sandwich. They have blueberry and strawberry filling. I do enjoy them! The bread is so soft! 7/10.

Ore-Ida Star Tater Tots are a category 3 food, meaning they are just a seasonal shape, not a flavor. They're good tater tots (especially with ketchup), just a little boring. 7/10.

Back in 2014, I had Summer Ice Pop Tic Tacs, which were cherry, lime, and blue raspberry. That was the first time I ever had something flavored like a rocket pop, and it was twelve years ago—they were ahead of their time! But they didn't bring them back the next year, though I did see them in 2018 in Canada, oddly enough. But they're back! Now they're Red, White, and Blue Tic Tacs. The package doesn't specify the flavors, but they're just as I remember them. I find it odd that they don't specify the flavors, because I almost didn't buy them because I worried they'd just be mint with special colors. Maybe fruit flavors would drive people away? 7/10.

Sour Punch Ice Cream Truck Bites ostensibly have four flavors: cherry sherbet, orange cream bar, Americana pop, and strawberry snowcone. I only really taste the orange flavor. And either I got a bag with only three flavors, or the cherry and strawberry look identical. 6/10.

Not food: Squatch Freedom Fresh Soap looks cool, and it smells nice, but I don't know what the scent is supposed to be. 7/10.

I missed the instruction to squeeze and shake before opening Nature's Premium Berry Blast Red, White & Blue Fruit Pearls, but that's OK. They're just strawberries and blueberries with yogurt. I am glad I use Sensodyne so I can chew on frozen foods (that would have been far too painful in the past). I appreciate that these come in paper, not plastic, cups. They're fine? 7/10.

Marvelous May

It wasn't that exciting of a week. I suppose the most interesting parts were the usual trail runs.

I was off on Memorial Day, so I did my default summer run up North Canyon to Rudy's Flat, just seven miles. I love that place, but I go there so much there was nothing too unique.

Miner's lettuce, according to my plant app

We had a cookout at my sister's house, and the rest of the day was not that exciting or that Memorial Day-esque. I did watch What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown?, which originally aired on Memorial Day, but I only rate it 4/10.

My mom and my grandma had gone to my grandpa's grave to put some decorations on it. Since the cemetery is right by my work, my mom told me I could pick up the decorations so they can reuse them next year (it seems so wasteful just to use them once!). When I got there, all the decorations had blown over anyway.

These days, when I go into the office, I'm digging through old office files to see what we need to keep before we move into our new offices. By "keep," I mean things that we transfer over to State Archives. I found a really interesting folder devoted to a 1978 initiative where Pizza Hut collaborated with the Utah State Historical Society (today our name doesn't include "State") to produce glasses with historic homes on them.

In the evening I ran Wild Rose, which is lovely at this time of year.

Do you like the spider on this sego lily?

Tufted evening primrose

But I didn't go running on Wednesday because I was reviewing Bush's Baked Beans (see below), and I didn't feel up to a run after that.

Thursday I ran to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail via Tunnel Springs Park. Part of this trail has a lovely spot where at this time of year, there's usually lots of Palmer's penstemon, which looks amazing and smells amazing. In the last few weeks, I had seen a few flowers in bloom, but they hadn't peaked. I was disappointed to go this week and find none at all. Either they peaked earlier than usual and I missed them, or it was a bad year for them (which is what I suspect).

This is even prettier with Palmer's penstemon in bloom

May is the best month for this trail, because it doesn't have a lot of fall colors

Friday I had an elders quorum activity, which included a three-mile hike in Mueller Park, which is literally a walk in the park for me.

Saturday morning was rainy, and I avoid running in the rain when I can. After the rain cleared up, even though it was mid-afternoon, it was still a cool and partly cloudy day. I went to Mueller Park past the gate. At the Kenney Creek Trailhead, you can take a right to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, then up the Hornet Trail. These trails have more tapertip onions than anywhere else I've seen.

The Hornet Trail connects to the Maple Glow Trail, which used to be called Maple Syrup. As I ran up this trail, the trees seemed to be framing the glowing mountainside.

Maple Glow connects to Peregrine, which I love! This route passes Precambrian boulders and outcrops, crosses a bridge, and passes more Precambrian outcrops, all surrounded by shady trees. But it's more than two miles to get to the start of the Peregrine portion. 

At five miles, it reaches the Mueller Park Trail, about two-thirds of a mile above Elephant Rock. I headed down the trail, but instead of staying on Mueller all the way down, I took the Bonneville Shoreline Trail down.

Giant mushroom!

This ended up being 9.3 miles, and while I had been on every portion of this trail before, I hadn't done this exact loop. I was glad to have an excuse not to do a thirteen- or fourteen-mile run, and I'm glad nine miles is relatively easy for me. Trail running is the most wonderful hobby, because I get to see nature, then come home and feel less guilty about eating a lot.

***

Speaking of eating a lot, here's this week's RWB Roundup!

On Wednesday, I received a box of Bush's Baked Beans Summer Flavors, which I had ordered a week earlier. This box only cost $5.25 plus shipping, which is a great price for large cans of beans, along with branded can sleeve and can opener! I submitted a formal review to The Impulsive Buy, which will probably go up this week.

First up is Bush's Best Apple Pie Baked Beans. They have a mild apple flavor and spices; it smells like Thanksgiving. These are less satisfying than original Bush's. They're kind of bland. 5/10.

Next is Bush's Best Dill Pickle Baked Beans. Like the apple pie flavor, these have no meat, yet somehow the pickle flavoring makes it seem more robust. I like these! They really taste like pickle, but they're still beans. 7/10.

And last is the weird one: Bush's Best Rocket Pop Baked Beans. The other two flavors are available in Walmart stores, but this one is only available online. It smells strongly of candy, which is not what you want from baked beans. I thought it tasted more like cough drops than a rocket pop. 3/10.

Birthday Cake Cheerios have little red and blue sprinkles. It's a pretty boring cereal. Not bad, just boring. 7/10. 

Pure Kick Ice Pop Hydrate is an electrolyte drink. I've noticed that a new trend is these electrolyte sticks that require at least 16 ounces of water. Most glasses don't fit that much! And I'd rather not put electrolytes in a bottle. Even so, I liked this drink, but I get conflicting information about whether aspartame is OK. 7/10.

I got this Taffy Shop America mix at the Museum of Utah store, which is open now, even though the museum doesn't open to the public until June 27. I had never had this Utah brand before. The flavors of this mix are Bohemian Rasp-o-berry, Vanilla Cone-y (Island), Bluebaffy Taffy, and Red, White, & Chew (cherry, lime, blue raspberry). These remind me more of the taffy that is made in the East, rather than our Utah staples of Sweet's and Taffy Town. I find this brand to be less flavorful than our usual Utah brands. 6/10.

I love Target's seasonal trail mixes, which are more decadent than ordinary trail mix. Since ice cream is a Fourth of July food, I wanted to get Favorite Day Loaded Ice Cream Sundae Trail Mix. It has peanuts, pretzels, M&Ms, cookie dough bites, peanut butter cups, cookies and cream bites, and coated waffle cone pieces. Most of it doesn't really strike me as very ice cream-y, but it's still an enjoyable mix. 7/10.

I got free samples of SALTT (pronounced "salty") electrolytes after my triathlon, and I quite enjoyed it. So I decided to order the SALTT Red White & Bam Electrolyte Drink Mix. I feel bad, because I accidentally ordered a subscription, which I cancelled, but I still got the subscription price for this mix. I didn't like this as much as the other flavors I tried. As the name suggests, these taste saltier than usual electrolytes. 6/10.

I don't really like hard candies, but I still wanted to try Dum Dums Red, White & Blue Mix, so I was glad I found a bag of 80 instead of 250. The flavors are cherry, birthday cake, and blu [sic] raspberry. They're what you expect from Dum Dums. I like that the birthday cake wrappers are red, white, and blue. 6/10.

Kroger stores (Smith's in Utah) are selling special All American products this summer. Here is Kroger Seventh Inning Swirl Ice Cream, which is inspired by Cracker Jack, with caramel swirl and peanuts. It's supposed to be flavored like caramel popcorn, but I don't get any popcorn flavor, and I'm glad it doesn't actually have popcorn in it, because that sounds weird. I really like the caramel and peanuts. 7/10.

And it goes with Kroger Sweet as Cherry Pie Ice Cream, which has cherry pie filling and pie crust pieces. I really enjoy this! It surprises me that there are so many Fourth of July apple pie things, because cherries are actually in season at the Fourth of July. (They're just not in the expressions "As American as apple pie" or "Mom and apple pie.") 8/10.

This Pilsbury Apple Pie Cookie Dough said to bake it for fifteen to twenty minutes. I did twenty minutes, and they were overcooked, not burned but close. My family seemed to enjoy them; I just thought they were kind of bland and dry. Maybe they'd be better if they were cooked less time. 5/10.

I still have lots of products on my radar that I want to find and feature here, so stay tuned for coming weeks!