Paria Dunes

One day, I want to hike Buckskin Gulch.

Oh that the desert were my dwelling place,

With only one fair spirit for my minster.

That I might forget the human race,

And hating no one, love her only.

-Lord Byron

No More Class

My mother-in-law tells me that when Kevin was five, he was very excited to go to kindergarten. She'd prepared him by talking about all the things he'd do in kindergarten, the daily schedule, etc. He went the first day and had a blast, but the next day, instead of getting ready for school, she found him sitting in front of the TV in his PJs. She told him that he needed to hurry and get ready for kindergarten, to which he replied, "No, I don't need to go to kindergarten today. I've already been." What a rude awakening that he would have to do this not only for a second day, but for 12 years of public school, college, and beyond.

Tuesday Kevin had his last classes for law school. Congratulations, Kevin. Hey, it's been a long time coming, but you can finally say you don't need to go to class; you've already been.

Kanarra Creek

On of my brother Mike's top Southern Utah hikes is Kanarra Creek, a BLM-managed slot canyon 12 miles south of Cedar City outside of Kanarraville. There's a dirt road past Kanarraville and a little hike (half a mile?) to get to the slot canyon. In the slot canyon, there are several waterfalls, one of which stopped us from ascending further, even though there was a rope there. Kevin and I hiked this with my brothers, my sister, and her husband in July 2005, and for such a short hike had many adventures, including a large rattlesnake next to the creek in the lower canyon and a dead battery in my brother's van to greet us when we came back.

This country is gorgeous, and the area is lesser-known so it was fun for my family to go there as a group. I don't typically like getting super wet, but I put up with it for this one, much to the amusement of my brothers. Sorry, this video is on its side.


Here are two videos of the area in the slot canyon that finally stopped us. My brother-in-law got up this rope, but he'd spent half the previous year roofing and had a lot better upper body strength than the rest of us.


One thing that you can't totally see in this clip is how the water comes down from the side, so the rope is practically hanging in part of the waterfall. Also, loud, rushing water can be a bit distracting.


This is the largest clip, but most rewarding. The makeshift log ladder was pretty slippery and wet, so it required some caution. While I'm making my way down, Matt takes in views of the slot canyon.

Literature Analysis, Revisited

My Papa's Waltz by Theodore Roethke

The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.

We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself.

The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.

You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.

On ny daily walk today, I randomly remembered an experience I had as an undergraduate in a 200-level literature class that involved this poem. The class had about 20-30 students, and I remember I got into a debate with the rest of the class (or the vocal 6 or 7 of them) about the intention of this poem. At first glance, I see what the rest of the class saw, which is about a boy remembering a fun roughousing episode with his father. On second glance, I view this poem as a frightening experience--the boy being beaten by his drunken father--childishly turned into a more pallatable experience or the "Papa's Waltz." There are several litotes, understatements such as "such dancing was not easy" or "could not unfrown itself" that not only are intended as understatements, but I believe imply that the opposite is actually very much the truth. In addition, the words like "death," "beat," "clinging," "caked hard," and "held my wrist" seem to imply a sense of desperation, or not being in control. Despite these evidences, I don't think I was able to convince anyone that this poem did not describe a charming childhood memory.

Ah well, I guess that upon reading this poem nine years later, I can safely say that my opinion about its meaning hasn't changed, except that I feel even more strongly that this poem shows a child's attempt to make sense of a scary situation by putting it in the context of a dance. Is that a good thing? So much for my Walt Whitman stance that a poem should change my view for a day, if not for a few hours.

Furguson Canyon (and Top Five list)

This last weekend I went hiking with my dad and one of my brothers up Furguson Canyon, just south of Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was just a short hike, a couple of hours, but enjoyable to do a little mountain hiking so early in the year. I was amazed how quickly the canyon descended on us, how soon the rocky cliffs seemed to form around us. I grew up looking into this canyon, and never realized how navigable it was, as I was always more focused on the larger Cottonwood canyons. The house I grew up in had a swing set in the backyard, a real park-style swing set with tall metal poles that were buried in the ground. To unwind after school, I used to take my walkman out and swing on the swings, facing east, looking straight into Furguson Canyon.

I had been up this canyon before with my dad, when I was 8 or 9 years old. I remember the rock climbers there--there are some excellent beginner rock climbing spots not too far up where it's not too difficult to reach the top of the cliff through other means and secure the ropes before the climb. There were rock climbers there again, and it looks like a lot of fun. Made me think I need to start developing additional upper body strength if I'm going to attempt that.

During our hike, we each discussed our favorite Utah hikes. I am not a huge fan of top five lists because I dislike picking the last two and leaving everything else off the list, but my brother pressed me to come up with a list of my top five Southern Utah hikes. Here's what I came up with on the fly:

1. Fiery Furnace, Arches National Park
2. Chesler Park, Needles District, Canyonlands National Park
3. Devil's Garden primitive loop, Arches National Park
4. Bell's Canyon/Little Wildhorse Canyon loop
5. Peekaboo/Navajo/Queen's Garden, Bryce National Park

I had forgotten about Calf Creek in Escalante, which really should be there as it is an amazingly fun hike. Also, I'd have to do Coyote Gulch and Upper Muley Twist Canyon in different weather/hiking conditions to see how I'd fare when more prepared.

Photo Shoot, Downtown SLC

The marketing manager at work scheduled short photo shoots with everyone for our new company website. I had mine a couple weeks ago, and the pics are in. Incidentally, I think they chose to go in a different direction for the site, thinking it would be too personal to have our photos and bios posted publically. It was fun to get these taken, though, and it gives the area around my office a more artistic look. When I look at these, I can almost forget that bums go to the bathroom in our stairwell.

April Flowers at Temple Square

Oh my heart is in bloom like a lilac tree

And my heart like the sunlight gloweth

She has but to glance and my lilac tree

And lo, into blossoms it goeth

And my soul has the wings of a nightengale

It lives with the lilac flowers

In extasy singing its wondrous lay

Of joy in its perfumed bowers

F. Schumman