O Ye Mountains High

It was quite an eventful week.

On Monday, my ward hiked to Ensign Peak. I went there the long way on Memorial Day, but this time around we went from Salt Lake. I found it very easy. The only other time I've gone that way was when I was thirteen, and I was the slowest person in my ward and huffed and puffed my way up the hill. I've come a long way since 2002.

I don't usually take picture-taking devices on my trail runs, but since this was a casual walk, I had my phone with me.

The Ensign Peak monument

I get views like this a lot from the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.

Looking north to the radio towers. I usually run north of them.

 Wednesday was the birthday of my niece, Allie. That means I have been an uncle for twelve years. Crazy.

On Thursday morning I had to pick up my car from the repair shop. They're not really sure why it occasionally won't start, but they fixed some corrosion, so hopefully I won't get stranded anymore.

On Thursday evening, I went to Bountiful's Handcart Days parade, since my sister lives next to the parade route--not because I'm particularly fond of parades, but because that's what you do for holidays. I was glad to see many non-Mormon participants, because I think sometimes Pioneer Day is too much of a Mormon holiday. The arrival of the pioneers is a historic (and not just religious) fact. I'm no Pilgrim, but I still celebrate Thanksgiving. I've enjoyed reading the accounts of the earliest July 24 celebrations. The first one occurred in 1849, when they raised a sixty-five-foot American flag, had a procession where participants carried copies of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution, and fired cannons. I had wondered why they didn't have a celebration in 1848, but then I realized: A few weeks after arriving in 1847, Brigham Young and many others went back to Iowa. They returned the following year and didn't arrive in time for July 24.

My family left very early on July 24, so I spent the holiday mostly by myself. Since I have come across North Canyon in pioneer documents, I thought that would be a perfect place to spend the holiday. I wanted to get to a place called Rudy's Flat, which I had heard about but never reached. (This was my third time at North Canyon, but only my first time at Rudy's Flat.) I wanted to run up there, but I ran out of energy (I think I didn't have enough breakfast), so I walked probably 80 percent of the way up. It was very enjoyable, although I wish I had been able to run the whole time. Once I got up to Rudy's Flat, I was expecting a sign identifying it, so I kept going; but since the trail was going down, I realized I had probably passed it. A tattooed cyclist confirmed that it was indeed Rudy's Flat. I did have enough energy to run back down the trail; it took me forty-three minutes (including when I let cyclists and horses pass).

There were lots of aspens, Utah's new state tree.

I will definitely have to come back in the fall.

I don't know what kind of trees these are, but they intrigued me.

I saw a cool metaconglomerate boulder. What is a little disappointing about the hills near my house is that they all have conglomerate bedrock, a relatively boring rock.

I was expecting Rudy's Flat to be a little more obvious.

I hear a lot of people camp up here.

The tattooed cyclist told me I could get a better view southeast of the meadow, but I didn't go up the mountain he described.

Lots of wildflowers, but unfortunately sego lily season is over.

On the way back down.

My grandparents invited me over to their house for lunch and then I had a good visit with them. My pioneer heritage comes from my dad's side of the family, but my mom's parents are pioneers in their own right.

Then I spent the rest of the day at home, alone. Fireworks are forbidden in my neighborhood now, and I didn't think it was worth it to go someplace else to see them.

I watched 17 Miracles. I like the movie, but some things bother me. What stuck in my craw this time was that they said "Chauncey W. White" was called on a mission to Siam. I've been working with that very missionary's letters, and his last name is West, not White! Even the most elementary research should have made that clear; Farr West in northern Utah was named (partly) for him. Also, I don't count that many miracles, even with a liberal definition of miracle.

I also watched "The Building of the Transcontinental Railroad" from This Is America, Charlie Brown--not the strongest offering from the Peanuts franchise. The driving of the golden spike is generally considered the end of the pioneer period in Utah.

I slept downstairs that night, since the AC broke. (Last year it broke on the Fourth of July.)

And thus Pioneer Day is over for another year. This year was an experiment for me on whether I want to formally add it to my canon of holidays. I want to try again next year, but I'm still undecided. It was relatively easy to celebrate, and it did feel like a holiday, and it's certainly more meaningful for us Utahns than St. Patrick's Day, and it was a good, valid extension of the Fourth of July season--but it still doesn't feel like it has the same status as the other holidays. For now, at least, it's unofficially added to the canon.

The repairman came to fix the AC yesterday, and I got to hear an authentic Cockney accent in real life! He wasn't overly friendly--not mean, just not super friendly. Which I suppose is how I come across as well.

My parents and sister and niece are off visiting several national parks, while I'm stuck here. I have thought I should put it on my bucket list to see all the national parks. But then I thought that before I do that, I should see all of Utah's state parks. And then I thought that first I should see all of North Salt Lake's city parks. So I decided to scratch one park off the bucket list and went to Fox Hollow Park. It wasn't much of a park, not even having a drinking fountain. It was, however, near the Legacy Parkway Trail, so I decided to run on it. The only other time I've been there was five years ago, when I rode my brand-new bike there. It's not a terribly pretty trail, and I've never seen so many rodents in my life, but it's nice to get a change. I ran across the pedestrian bridge over Legacy Parkway and went by the Legacy Nature Preserve. Again, not very pretty, but it seemed a little more trail-like (since it was dirt, whereas the other side was paved), and I ran to 500 South in Bountiful, and I saw lots of teasel plants.

Now I don't get another weekday off until Labor Day. And there's not another really fun holiday until Halloween.