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!

New feature: RWB Roundup

Memorial Day weekend is my second-favorite weekend of the year, and May is my favorite month that is not in the fall.

I went trail running six days this week, and it is such a wonderful time of year for it.

Wild Rose Trail. People have made shortcuts near here, but they are missing the best part of the whole trail!

sego lily

tufted evening primrose, which I think smells like Froot Loops

radio towers above Bonneville Shoreline Trail

Arrowleaf balsamroot

Trail above Wild Rose

Sticky geranium

Death camas

I was surprised this week to find many new signs on the various stretches of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail

Mulesears between Woodbriar and Wild Rose

For my Saturday run, I ran up the new Mahogany Ridge Trail to Rudy's Flat, then down North Canyon. The last time I went all the way up Mahogany Ridge (as opposed to downhill) was on Christmas Eve, and it was much prettier yesterday than in December. I went 9.4 miles, and I'm so hard on myself that I only did nine. And I was happy to use a new Camelbak bladder that didn't leak all over me. (My sister gave it to me when she was getting rid of things three years ago.)

I was dismayed by all the dyer's woad on Mahogany Ridge.

It was so lovely to see all the newly green trees on the mountainside. But the picture doesn't really show it because of the bright sunshine.

Smallflower woodland stars aren't that showy, but it's just charming to see little white stars among the greenery

Mushrooms!

I had some cat encounters this week. Our neighbors' very friendly cat came up to our side door this week and probably would have come in if we had opened the door.

My Friday run barely counted, because I was late because I wanted to get all the patriotic decor up, and I only went 2.2 miles. On the way back, I saw a black cat, and I wanted to pet it. I assume it's the same black cat I've seen in that area before. It let me pet it and even rubbed against my legs until it became more interested in another cat. I adore Reggie, but I do wish he were less afraid of strangers.

And speaking of Reggie, he loves to play with my scriptures when I read them. Here he is using the triple combination as a pillow.

Yesterday, after my long run, I wanted to go to some more independent bookstores for the book crawl. I drove up to Brigham City to visit 3 Goats Gruff, which is a sister store to Book Garden in Bountiful. 

I bought a copy of Carol Lynn Pearson's Goodbye, I Love You, which I have read all about, but I haven't read it itself.

It just so happened that there was a Memorial Day festival going on in Brigham City, right by the bookstore, so I checked out the vendors and walked on Main Street. It wasn't that special, but I was glad that my journey happened to coincide with the festival.

Then I went to Ogden to stop at Chapter and Charm Bookshop, which was a small bookstore devoted to romance novels. I'm surprised there's enough market for so many shops like that! I wasn't interested in anything they had, but I got my map stamped, and I wandered Washington Avenue and stopped at a cupcake shop, Farr Ice Cream, and Walmart. Maybe it's wasteful to do the bookstore crawl, but it's fun to see new places.

***

Memorial Day weekend is when I officially kick off the Fourth of July season, and since this year is a special one, I thought I would document the special patriotic/summer treats that are coming out. I don't think I'll document the more mundane items, like ordinary ice cream cones, but if it's special, it goes here.

These are the flavors I officially list as Fourth of July foods: hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, watermelon, ice cream, rocket pops, popping candy, lemonade, apple pie, s'mores, and flag cake. And I'm also considering strawberry shortcake, pancakes, baked beans, fried chicken, potato chips, potato salad, and cotton candy.

But here, I'm also going to include other flavors that are specifically made for the Fourth of July. I might not consider them holiday foods, but evidently some people do. 

And I think I've settled on the name red, white, blue roundup, or RWB roundup. So, here's the first installment!

(Note: there are a lot of products that are rocket-pop flavored, which consists of cherry, white lemon or lime, and blue raspberry. I will proceed with my reviews assuming you know that. I think I have only ever encountered two red, white, and blue pops that did not have those flavors [Dairy Queen and Trader Joe's]. Rocket pops are known by a variety of proprietary names, like Bomb Pop, Firecracker, and Blast-Off Pops.)

During the Valentine's season this year, I really enjoyed having coffee creamer in coffee substitutes, Pero and Postum, so I was glad to have cooler days this week to have Chobani S'mores Coffee Creamer in both Pero and Postum. It did have a s'mores-adjacent flavor that cut through the drinks' bitterness. 7/10.

Ice Breakers Ice Cubes Snow Cone Gum has been around a while, and I like it. But they made this flavor into mints in 2021, and I miss them. 7/10.

I did a formal review of Firecracker Pop Oreo, and I'm so happy they exist. They do taste like rocket pops, though they are very sweet. 8/10.

Joyride Sour Ice Pop Strips have less sugar and more fiber than most gummies. The flavor isn't that distinctive, but I like it, especially for the sugar and fiber numbers. The strips stick together, though. (This is just cherry and berry, no lemon.) 7/10.

I'm really happy these Trader Joe's Red, White, and Blue Cookie Bites exist. The colors are made from natural sources. They are flavored cherry, lemon, and raspberry, though I find the flavors hard to detect individually. But I like them, especially for their texture and appearance. 7/10.

Russell Stover American Style Chocolate is a very strange item. I think it's just Dubai chocolate with peanuts instead of pistachios. They even use kataifi pastry. What, exactly, makes this "American style"? But they are enjoyable, though salty. 7/10.

Sockerbit America's Favorite Gummy Mix is another perplexing item. It's Swedish candy, and none of the candies strike me as really American, and how can they be "America's favorite" if I never heard of them? What most surprised me is that the gummies are all different textures. The flowers are marshmallowy; the ones that look like Bandaids are sour; the strawberry is soft, like a gummy cinnamon heart; the worm-like one is like a Trolli gummy. They're fine, but gummies aren't my favorite kind of candy. 6/10.

Special K Summer Blueberry isn't very imaginative, but I do like Special K. It's just what you'd expect. 7/10.

The Trader Joe's Cheeseburger Burrito comes back every summer, and I liked it less than I remember. As you can see, it's very greasy, and nothing about it is very fresh. 5/10.

I have long thought they should make red, white, and blue ice cream sandwiches, so I was happy to try Kroger Red, White & Blue Sandwiches. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. They use frozen dairy dessert, rather than actual ice cream. As I started the cherry flavor, I enjoyed it. But the lemon flavor tasted like dish soap or furniture spray, and the raspberry flavor wasn't much better. 4/10.

Lemonade has a long relationship with the Fourth of July going back at least to the mid-nineteenth century, and I was happy to see Wonder Summer Lemonade Mini Donuts. You all know those mini powdered donuts, and these are the same with a nice lemon flavor. 7/10.

Gatorade All-American Mashups doesn't indicate the flavor on the bottle, but apparently it's mango passionfruit. I don't know how that's "all-American." I enjoy the flavor, but I mostly detect passionfruit, and it strikes me as very sweet. 7/10.

I have long stayed away from sparkling water, because is it too close to soda, which I pride myself on not drinking? But after having some in New Mexico last fall, I decided it's not soda. I've seen Bubly Melted Ice Pop Sparkling Water before, but I haven't had it. And it really does have the flavors of an ice pop! But, of course, don't expect it to be as sweet as soda. 7/10.

I got these US of Yay Gummies at Winco, but I think the company makes these candies and sells them to various retailers. They have USA, sunglasses, stars, and ice cream cones. They're pretty generic. 5/10.

I have a formal review of Root Beer Float Cinnamon Toast Crunch coming up. It really tastes like root beer, and the root beer flavor doesn't clash with the CTC! 8/10.

Fireworks Berry Creme Pretzel Crisps is another item that is weird on paper. It has popping candy. But I really enjoy them! Candy-coated pretzels are great. The popping candy isn't very poppy, but I appreciate the effort. 8/10.

Great Value Apple Pie Crème Cookies are pretty much what you expect from an off-brand sandwich cookie. They're pretty sweet. They taste like fall to me, and that's part of why I resisted counting apple pie as a Fourth of July flavor until 2021. 7/10.

Nice! Gummy Ice Pop Crystal Candies are the Walgreens brand, and they are a strange little candy. They do have a distinctive ice pop flavor, but it's a little weird. The texture is both gummy and crunchy. 5/10.

Drizzilicious Birthday Cake Bites exist in a nonpatriotic version, but I appreciate the effort to commemorate America250. I'm surprised mini rice cakes are a thing, but they're surprisingly good. 7/10.

I don't know whether Drizzilicious S'mores Bites are seasonal or not, but I count it as a seasonal flavor. They do have a nice graham flavor. 7/10.

I am perplexed by Favorite Day Peelable Sweet Corn Gummy Candy. First of all, I have never found peelable candy to be all that peelable, so I don't get why it's apeeling. This candy does taste like corn. Is that something you want? It seems a little buttery to me. It's just a little off-putting. 4/10.

Garrett Birthday Cake Popcorn is nothing special, but I like it. 7/10.

Star-Spangled Flag Jonny Pops aren't as pretty in real life as they are on the box. I praise their ingenuity, but the little layers make it hard to detect individual flavors. The worst problem, though, is that these are not soft popsicles. It almost has the texture of an icicle, rather than the soft, breakable texture of Bomb Pops.

Most of this year's red, white, and blue products are marketed either for America or FIFA, so it's surprising to find one for WWE. Red, White, and Blueberry Drumsticks have cherry frozen dairy dessert, blueberry filling, and a white coating with crisp rice. I was underwhelmed at first, but the blueberry filling really added to the flavor, and I liked the end with the chocolate in the cone. 7/10.