Utah, weeks 3-4

It's hard to imagine, but I've just finished up four weeks out here in the Beehive State. The first two weeks dragged, but it seems like things are finally starting to speed up a bit. I've been having a blast, though, and I couldn't be happier about my decision to take a seasonal job out here. Each day on the job is different, researching birds, bats, flying squirrels and pikas. My boss is pretty cool, for the most part, although lately he's been getting on my nerves...it's frustrating when you work for someone who knows less than you (or at least, has less common sense), and it drives me nuts when he doesn't answer my questions or forgets important things...he's lucky to have me to remind him of everything! But I digress...overall, it's been a good time.

Nate came out for a visit last weekend, and, even though he wasn't up to par, we managed to do a ton of things. He flew in Thursday night, and we drove halfway out to the Salt Flats before deciding it wasn't worth it. Then we came back to Salt Lake City and attempted going to Burt's Tiki Lounge, which turned out to be even more grunge and scary than the one in Albuquerque...it's insulting to even use the term "tiki" in the name, in my opinion. Then we ate dinner at Red Rock Brewing Company...more typical brew pub fare, but it's always a novelty to have beer in a state like Utah, so we had to try it. To top off the night, we played a round of mini golf at Cherry Hill. Good times.

On Friday, we drove up to the Golden Spike site outside Brigham City and took lots of pictures. Then we had lunch at Ruby River, which also brews beers...I tried their homemade ginger ale which tasted like cleaning solution. Bleh. Then we went to the Hill Air Force Base Aerospace Museum, which was incredible, before checking out the museums at Union Station, which, sadly were about to close. From there, as Nate was feeling less and less well, we decided to do a few things in town and take tomorrow easy. So we headed south and played mini golf at Liberty Land, the home of that powered roller coaster - Nate was accosted by a spider that was dwelling in one of the holes, so that was freaky. Then we drove through American Fork, admiring the town, before heading back up to Sandy, UT where we ate at the Casa Bonita-esque Mayan restaurant, a heavily themed, multi-story spectacle, complete with cliff divers. I had a fantastic margarita, but the food was a bit much.

On Saturday, we stayed in for most of the day, going out only for lunch at Arctic Circle, and later for a trip to Antelope Island, the largest island in the Great Salt Lake. It's known for its herd of bison and diverse wildlife...in fact, I was out there a few weeks ago trapping burrowing owls! We drove all over the island, seeing lots of antelope, and eventually we headed over to the shore where I decided to take a dip. As I approached the water, I noticed a father and daughter running and yelling - they were engulfed in a cloud of some sort...and then I noticed a number of other clouds lower to the ground. Brine flies. I was hesitant to approach the lake, but the brine flies were actually pretty harmless, mostly flying away from you as you approached. It was wild to hear them sizzle as they fled. I pushed my way through them and entered the lake. It wasn't nearly as nasty as I'd been told, although the salt does burn any cuts you may have, so don't shave before swimming!! It was extremely shallow, and I had to wade pretty far out to even get to knee-depth water. Once I did, I attempted to float, and you really are as boyant as they say! It was a trip, and I'm so glad I tried it!

On Sunday, Nate was feeling marginally better, so we ventured out a bit more. Since it was Sunday, many things aren't open, so we had to focus out outdoorsy stuff. We drove down to Bridal Veil Falls and then drove the loop past Sundance and up to Timpanogos Cave National Monument, where we did the boardwalk trail...I've been to this N.M. twice now and still haven't seen the cave! Hopefully next time. We decided that was enough for the day, and crashed back at the hotel. Nate left early the next morning for NM.

This week, I finally started some flying squirrel work. We trapped out in the Uintas, and sadly, we didn't catch anything but a red squirrel thanks to traps that aren't touchy enough. We witnessed an incredible thunderstorm, saw some beautiful countryside, saw an extremely out of place antelope, and I saw two moose! I would move to the Uintas in an instant if I could. So gorgeous! Kevin's family came down to stay with us in our two-room cabin the second night. That was a bit trying, especially when they wouldn't call off their four year old. I was trying to eat, and she climbed into my lap and spat in my face. It was disgusting. Is there any wonder I usually can't stand kids? Those two have tremendous patience, and frankly, that isn't a good thing...those kids need discipline...the 4 year-old was honking the horn of our work truck, and Kevin let it go on for about 20 minutes before saying anything. I wanted to pop someone!!

In other news, the truck broke down on the way home, and it's lucky we had two cars with us. I, of course, had to drive it solo while Kevin drove with his family. When I asked him what the worst case scenario was with driving the thing, he was all, "Oh, you could lose control, flip and die," yet he still expected me to be ok with driving it. I was pissed. Needless to say, we got it to the shop without dying, but I'm not keen on risking my life for this job...I like the job, but I don't NEED it, so don't try me.

And there's nothing I hate more than people questioning my intelligence. Especially people that are less intelligent than me. Despite the fact that I'm on top of things and do things well before I'm ever asked and have wonderful suggestions that make our lives easier, he's constantly expecting me to do things wrong, which I don't get as I've NEVER done anything wrong here. I think he's projecting his ineptitude on me, and it's pretty infuriating. Don't get me wrong, he can be a good guy, but just keep it up, buddy...

So yeah...besides that, Thursday was Pioneer Day, a state holiday, and I went to the Hogle Zoo, which was "meh," and then off to Snowbird for some adventure. I rode a 40 minute chair lift, an aerial tram, did some hiking, rode the zip line, rode the alpine slide, jumped on the bungee trampoline, and climbed a rock wall. It was an awesome day, and it felt so good to be outside and active. I even saw pikas for the first time ever! That's especially good since I'll be studying them soon...

And that's life 'til now. Phew. I'm looking forward to going home, but I'm also looking forward to the adventures to come...I'm out here to live life, and that's just what I intend to do!