Squaw Peak Conditions

I live near the mouth of Provo Canyon, and on my way to run some errands I drove up to see how the Squaw Peak road looks for Kenny's ride tomorrow. It was around 20 F when I left the house 10:30 am. I was pleased to find:

The road dry up to the gate.


And past the gate it's covered with packed snow. The snow was solid enough that I couldn't break through it, even when I stomped on it. And I didn't see any ice - just grippy, hard snow.


And the lower parking lot is plowed.


I called Kenny to report the conditions and learned he rode his bike part way up last night. Kenny confirmed that the same conditions exist up as far as he rode. Conditions should be excellent for riding tomorrow. See you there.

I leave you with this:



It stands over 15 feet. Yes, those are 2x4 arms. The super-tall top hat is a nice touch.

My neighbor built it. He said he thought his back was going to go out lifting the 2nd ball on top of the bottom one. And it felt like he was going to have an aneurysm when he lifted the 3rd and 4th, even when he used a 2x4 ramp to roll the balls up higher before lifting. But it's a Dad thing: risk personal injury for your kids.

Jingle Bear Bells

I bought a bike accessory for Jolene and I as a stocking stuffer for Christmas - a bear bell.



TallSteve has one on his bike and told us about it. He rides solo a lot in American Fork Canyon where there have been a few bear incidents. And while a bike makes a fair amount of noise, a bell makes sure a bear knows you're coming so it can move away. A reasonable precaution.

But the bell is used more frequently to warn people. I can't count the number of times I've startled hikers as I've come up behind them on my bike. I try to make noise (cough, squeal the brakes, etc.) but they often don't hear me. Steve says hikers usually hear the bell and it doesn't startle them so the encounter is more pleasant.

I wish I would have had it for my bike ride yesterday as I came up behind 4 groups of people and none of them heard me coming. Their ears were covered and the crunching of walking on the snow was too loud. The bell is installed on my bike now.

This bell has some nice features:

• The velcro strap attaches easily to handlebars.
• The jingle bell makes a pleasant sound that is about the right loudness.
• The mesh bag slips over the bell when not in use with a magnet at the bottom that attracts the clapper and stops it from ringing the bell.

This bear bell is made by Coghlan and I bought it for around $3 at C-A-L Ranch, but it's also available at REI and Campmor. Coghlan has another bear bell in colors that uses a strap for the magnet instead of a bag - seems like it should work for biking too.

Rolling Snow

My last ride was 16 days ago - seems like an eternity. And Mark's Arizona riding is agitating me to ride. It was a fairly nice day, so I went.

Hopped on the mountain bike, pedaled the mile on the streets to the gravel water tank road - went up and out to the end and back. The city plowed it not long ago so the riding was pretty good. Mostly snow-packed, with several spots of loose snow kept it interesting. I enjoyed the ride - it felt good to be on the bike.

It was 35 degrees when I left, 30 when I returned. The water in my CamelBak hose froze. Didn't need much water for a short (but sweet) 8 mile ride.

Looking over at Cascade Mountain.


Looking up at Timp.


A section of looser snow.


A winter wonderland.


A nice day, in a wintry way.


Around that corner I hit a patch of loose stuff coming the other way and slid out.


The luge run down.


Mark, see what you could be riding back home? Arizona's overrated.

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all enjoy the holidays.

The photo is from our Fish Lake vacation this year.

Our 2006 Christmas card was a picture puzzle - give it a try, if you like. The answers are hidden below. (Hold down the left mouse button as you move the cursor over the area below to highlight and see the hidden text.)

1. Kade is wielding a sword
2. Kara's shoes are blushing
3. Rachel's glasses are darkened
4. Jamie donned dangly earrings
5. Color changing eagle on the garbage can
6. There is a flag on the far right spire
7. Jolene is perched on the tall tower
8. "Krismas" spelling
9. Small window missing on the left tower
10. Dumbo soars in from the left
11. Kris emerges from the moat
12. Nosack symbol on the left banner
13. Mickey's golden ears grew!

Listening to the radio on my way to work this morning, NPR reminded me that 40 years ago today there was a live broadcast from Apollo 8 orbiting the moon that enthralled the nation. During this mission the famous Earth Rise photo was taken.



The poet Archibald McLeish wrote the following lines that were printed in the New York Times the next day (Christmas Day):

To see the earth as it truly is, small and blue in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see riders on the earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the eternal cold—brothers who know now they are truly brothers.

Seems an appropriate Christmas message.

Tour de Christmas Lights

We tried to drive around and see Christmas lights yesterday, but too many city streets still had too much snow. The old van wouldn't make it up the hill to our prime objective. But we tried again today and made it to the Holdman Christmas light display.



This is no static light display - it's animated and set to music (tune your FM radio to 99.9 Mhz) and must be seen in action to appreciate, so check out the video below.




There are more videos - the techno Amazing Grace was pretty good.

The display is in southeast Lindon (northeast Orem) and will run through New Years Day. Read about hours, directions and etiquette.

After we watched the display for all 4 songs, we took a meandering route back home to see more lights. We went by Bruce Bastian's house (co-founder of Word Perfect) and stopped to gaze at his huge display. I know the guy who manages his properties and he said it takes weeks to put all those light up in the trees.

It's beginning to look (and feel) a lot like Christmas.

Swinging In The Snow

During the snow storm Monday the kids went out to play. For some reason they chose the swings. Looks fun.







Then Jamie and Kade built a snowman.



Rachel and Kara were in another neighborhood making a snow fort.

Even though the snow has made my drives to/from work more stressful, I have to admit the snow makes it feel more like Christmas. And it makes me happy to see the fun my kids had in the snow.

Just Another Blizzard

The storm today has been putting down the snow. The above picture was taken at 1:20 PM. It was snowing harder earlier today.

The wind packed 2 inches of heavy snow onto the dish for our wireless Internet, causing it to go out. I had to get up on the roof and remove the snow.

The drive home is sure to be a circus.

Here's a little video for Mark so he'll feel better about his riding in Arizona.



On the plus side I went out with Kade and Kara to do a little sledding Saturday. They were both on cheap vinyl tubes - the kind usually used as pool toys. These are usually faster than other sleds and tubes. The kids had loads of fun even though the hill is small. There was a small jump. I added some spicy by pushing them down the hill, then later I added a spin - they loved it.