Daydreamin'

I thought Spring had finally sprung for good. The world seemed to erupt into color overnight - the mountains transformed from bleak gray to emerald; fruit trees, daffodils, tulips, and forsythia exploded with dazzling yellows, whites, pinks, reds and purples. Signs of new life were everywhere - foals nuzzling their moms in dewy pastures, mule deer replacing thick winter coats with sleek, fine fur, birds constructing nests from the remnants of winter. And I even shaved! Then winter came back with a vengeance. Temperatures dropped and snow dumped. I can't say that anyone I know here is happy about this. Enough already! I was starting to like it here again.

Yesterday's weather was so bad, no one was really able to do much work here. Poor visibility from the periodic heavy, driving snow made it impossible for L and I to survey, so in addition to doing work in the office and deconning sampling equipment, I daydreamed and planned my next getaway (sshh, don't tell my boss!).

My plans, in case you're interested, are to go to south-central Utah and explore the area around scenic Highway 12. Highlights of the trip will be doing some hiking in Capital Reef National Park and Calf Creek Recreation Area (to Calf Creek Falls) as well as doing some driving along what is purported to be some of the most scenic roads in the entire country - Notom-Bullfrog Road, Burr Trail, and Hogsback Ridge among others. Here are a couple of links to some websites that tell all about them: http://www.so-utah.com/hwy12/homepage.html and
http://www.scenicbyway12.com/.

My friend, a.k.a TC (traveling companion) or Mr. T (Testosterone Man), will likely go with me. I'm wondering what travails await us. Call me a cynic or a pessimist, but I don't think we've had an excursion yet that has not involved at least some drama. I am planning to rent a car, since my plans involve quite a bit of driving and much of it on backcountry roads. Hopefully, having a dependable car will bring us good luck and we'll have nothing but fun on the trip. I'm sure it will be eventful in any case.