Category: birthday

March 22-26, 2016

I believe your birthday is the one day of the year you should absolutely call your own.  But one day is so short, so why not celebrate a birthday week.  Or month, or like Yogi as many days as you are old on each side of your birthday.  At that rate you could eventually celebrate all year.  What a great idea!

Bill and I left Kanab around 8:30 on a cool morning with a few clouds to accent the surrounding red rock.

A quick stop in Orderville at the German Bakery and within an hour were headed into nasty weather.  Rain fell and the wind blew.

After another 2.5 hour drive through snow and slush we headed straight to the house.  We
were fortunate enough to stay south of the city in Spanish Fork at Bill’s son and DIL’s
house.  Oh yea, and their dog Ranger who was very excited to see his friend Sasha.

Capital Building

The next day we tackled our “to do” lists.  Neither of us are particularly city people but thank goodness Bill knows his way around Salt Lake City.  REI where I tried on but didn’t buy hiking boots.  Forster’s Camera Service a very cool, out of the way tiny store front with used equipment where I hesitantly left my Nikon behind for repairs.  Into the heart of the city with amazing architecture like the LDS Temple to the right.  Utah DNR Map and Bookstore for Bill’s “last map purchase” (truly a joke as he is more a mapaholic than I am) where I also picked up Gem Trails of Utah to add to my rockhounding collection.  Then on the way back a stop at Home Depot for swamp cooler filter pads at Bill’s S&B.  But of course it’s still winter around here so they weren’t on the shelf.  Such a stark contrast to southern Utah where people are starting to think about AC.  We survived the day and got yer done.

That night we went out for my birthday dinner at Rodizio Grill – The Brazilian Steakhouse.  Set in a sweet little cluster of shops with an open courtyard at the Meadows Shopping Center where entertainment sometimes occurs.  The wait was 30-40 minutes so we strolled about checking out the gourmet stores.  The Mountain Town Olive Oil Co. has rows of samples and OMG all the ones I tasted were fabulous like raspberry/pear balsamic, but I bought the chocolate balsamic (chocoholic also) and now am dreaming of a spinach salad with feta, strawberries.  Bill bought two bottles of flavored olive oil.  Delicious but pricey.  Also wandered into a Chocolate shop but was so overwhelmed barely looked at all.  Especially after spending $10 on the bottle of balsamic.

Time to head back to the restaurant.  The lighting in the courtyard was attractive and the snow covered mountain view divine.  Right after taking this photo I replaced the lens cap while walking and tripped on a curb falling to my knees.  Note to self: can’t walk and chew gum at the same time.  After taking a body inventory for screaming hurts I slowly rose and made my way into the restaurant, where we still had a wait but thankfully a place to sit down.  I’d torn my jeans and had a small dark patch of blood on the right knee.  But I felt mostly OK except for a very sore and stiff right leg.

Dinner at Rodizio was an eating entertainment experience.  The huge salad/vegie bar would make a meal in itself.  Servers come around with food on skewers like shish-kabobs, chicken, pork, beef, vegies, pineapple, BBQed with various sauces.  Just hold up your plate and they’ll slide the desired number of pieces on.  The passion fruit lemonade was a treat.  Thank goodness there were other birthdays so the crew stood by a different table to sing.  Didn’t take any photos.

The next day’s drive home seemed swift and uneventful, except for escaping the snowy mountains.

Birthday eve was spent in recovery with a day of down time at home for me.  Knee was still stiff making walking difficult.  How could I go hiking on my birthday like this?  The RV Park saw a lot of new people with tents and RVs out on Easter weekend or Spring Break somewhere.  Not my preference with so much noise and activity.  I look forward to returning to the NR in a month for peace and quiet at the canyon.  Or at least until we open May 15th.

Bill picked me up about 11am on my birthday and we took the scenic drive along SR89 to Page, AZ.  Past House Rocky Valley Road and over the Cockscomb.  How about this rig?  Bill says it’s wheel-base could be too wide for some 4×4 roads.

The closer we got to Page the more menacing the sky looked but it never rained.  Lake Powell at 107 feet (32.6 m) below full pool is barely visible near Lone Rock.

We enjoyed lunch at an unusually busy Slackers for good burgers and outside dog friendly seating.  Then stopped at The Powell Museum bookstore where I drooled over some gorgeous Native jewelry but didn’t buy myself a birthday present, and took no photos.

We stopped at Glen Canyon Dam Visitor Center to buy my Geezer pass and they don’t sell them.  Guess I will have to wait until back to work at Grand Canyon.  Good thing I travel with a geezer. 

Wish I could tell you this is an aerial view of the landscape but instead it’s a relief map in the visitor center.

Then the beautiful drive home with a little side drive where I saw a condor.  You’ll have to trust me on this because the photo is not great.

I had a wonderful birthday week spending time with Bill, and many of you through both here and FB.

Thanks for celebrating with me.

BTW, the problem with auto focus on my D5100 was user error.  Somehow I turned off the auto focus.  Duh.  But the camera really needed a good cleaning anyway.  I sure look forward to the big Nikon’s return as all these photos were taken with the Coolpix P600 which I’m not overly impressed with but sure works good for driving shoots.

62 years ago some things were different while a few things stayed eerily the same.

Born to Ray and June Olmsted on March 26, 1954.  My mother says she planned that day because it falls between the two grandmothers’ birthdays.  Of course I don’t have memory of World events that year but I do know a little history of the time, especially after some Google research.

In 1954 the World population was 2.728 billion and the USA 163,025,854 compared to today’s 7.405 billion and 324,118,787.  Life expectancy was only 69.6 years, today 79.  Only added ten years and doesn’t seem that far away.  But that doesn’t frighten me near as much as the continuing hateful social attitudes that I truly thought would have long ago become history.

The Civil Rights movement came to a head with Brown v. Board of Education when the US Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional.  We may have “come a long ways Baby” but still seem to be arguing over the inequality of people, and life.  We are all part of this planet and should be treating each other with the respect deserved.  62 years later and I still see so much hate that it hurts.  Hope I live long enough to see this change and people become kind to each other and everything else on this Mother Earth.

The first mass vaccination of children against polio began in 1954.  I know from seeing a vaccination log Mom kept that I got that at one time.  I’ve survived that so far but do question the validity of many vaccines today.  There are times when Western medicine can be helpful yet I believe in active participation involving my health.  Just paying attention to the foods and beverages we consume can make a real difference.  Since eliminating high-fructose corn syrup and reducing sugar I notice a distinguishable improvement with arthritis and inflammation in joints.  62 years ago my family ate local fresh produce, dairy and meat.  Lucky are those who can still do that today.  Don’t get me started on GMOs.

Yep, things are different.  By 1955, the country had pulled out of the previous year’s recession and gross national product (GNP) was growing at a rate of 7.6 percent.  I’m no math wiz but thought these numbers rather interesting.  Income has been holding relatively steady for the last ten years without an increase in minimum hourly wage since 2009.  There has been a lot of fluctuation in the last 62 years.  It seems to me that with only a little more than a 10% increase in income and at least a 30% increase in outgo it’s no wonder we can’t make ends meet.

1954 was the year of McCarthyism when the American people feared Communism.  Senator Joseph McCarthy was censured, bringing an end to his witch hunt of Communists and President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Communist Control Act outlawing the Communist Party in the US.  The Vice President was Richard Nixon.  Little did we know he’d become President 15 years later.

In 1954 the most popular movie stars in the year’s new releases included Bing Crosby in White Christmas, Humphrey Bogart in The Caine Mutiny which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Kirk Douglas in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  These classics never get old and I’ve seen them all several times and still prefer them over most of today’s movies.

“Hey Kids, What time is it? – It’s Howdy Doody time!”  If that rings a bell it could be you lived in one of the 29 million U.S. households with a 1954 television set, double the number in service only three years before.  It was the first year for Disney, the Rose Bowl Parade in color, and The Tonight Show hosted by Steve Allen.  I grew up watching Father Knows Best, I Love Lucy, and The Jackie Gleason Show.  Other than “Bang, zoom, to the moon Alice.”  I think these shows didn’t display the kind of violence seen today.

Elvis began his music career.  Bill Haley and the Comets played Rock Around the Clock.  Marylyn Monroe married Joe DiMaggio.

Books published in 1954 include Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming, Lord of the Flies by William Golding (didn’t care for this required reading in high school), and J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings: part one and two, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.  After falling in love with Tolkien in high school I had to wait until 2014 for the movie version of The Hobbit originally published in 1937.

When Henri Matisse died in 1954 Pablo Picasso began painting Les Femmes d’Alger (Women of Algiers) in his memory.  More surrealism was painted by Salvador Dali when he completed The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory.  Compare these to Norman Rockwell’s most widely reproduced Breaking Home Ties featured on the September 25, 1954 cover of The Saturday Evening Post.

Looking back the fashion of the day seems a little restrictive for women with cinched waist-dresses accompanied by a matching often boxy coat trimmed with real fur.  Most school age girls weren’t allowed to wear pants, and boys weren’t allowed to wear blue jeans.  That dress code was in force until my Junior year in 1970 and then it was anything goes, or almost.

I’ll only list a few of the 1954 changes to products & technology.  Texas Instruments announced the development of the first transistor radio.  I remember having one of these amazing and seemingly small magical music gadgets when a teenager.  Can’t compete with today.  The first Burger King opened in Miami, Florida and the TV dinner was introduced by Swanson’s.  Not sure either of these were a positive thing.  Nash and Hudson merged to form the American Motors Corporation ( AMC ).  Funny as my first car was a 1964 Rambler Ambassador convertable manufactured by AMC.

First nonstick pan was produced.  General Electric introduced colored kitchen appliances.  Play-Doh, Lincoln Logs and the Weaving Loom were invented.  I wasn’t allowed anything as messy as Play-Doh, played with my brother’s Lincoln Logs, and made pot-holders with the loom which I then hauled around the neighborhood in a wagon selling to neighbors.

When it comes to outdoor recreation the gear may have changed some since 1954 but hopefully the attitude of spending time in nature hasn’t.  Thankfully my parents introduced me to camping at a young age.

The passage of time just kind of creeps up on me.  Year after year I only feel a little bit older.  Yet now, 62 years later, I wonder about that 18-year old girl in the mirror who wanted to be a gypsy.

What kind of changes have you experienced throughout life.