I have two books to talk about. The first is Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the second is Through the Looking-Glass. Both of them are by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson who published them under the name Lewis Carroll. I read them in an edition called The Annotated Alice which had a lot of notes and interesting comments. The edition also has the original drawings from the first publication of the book.
When I started reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland I was disappointed. I had no patience for Alice and the story was uninspiring. However, the book cleaned itself up and by the end I was liking it.
For the sequel Through the Looking-Glass, the actions of Alice and the characters she meets are represented as if she is in a chess game. The opening of the book has a chess board and a list of moves which match up with when Alice meets characters such as the Red Queen or the White Knight in the story.
While some of the nonsense in the books was whimsical and enjoyable, much of it came across as annoying and pedantic. I was reminded of someone I know who often criticized my language. He would apply the standards of formal logic to what I said in everyday situations. He dissected my words and phrases to the point where I did not want to say anything to him. A lot of the characters in the story have the same problem. They think they are smart or funny by taking what someone says literally, but they are really a bunch of jerks.
The story has a lot of poems or songs in it that are parodies of well known children's rhymes of the time. Since these are not familiar to today's readers they lose their creativity and meaning. It was only through the copious annotations I learned about them.
I would say the weaknesses and strengths cancel each other in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The book nets to neutral. Through the Looking-Glass was better, but I would not recommend either of them. Maybe if I read them when I was younger I would have liked them more.
Wonderland is a great place to explore and has a good cast of characters to build a story. I think derivative works could be better and more interesting than the book.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
A laughing matter we pay for
I just finished the book Parliament of Whores by P.J. O'Rourke. The book is best explained by it's subtitle: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government.
I first heard about this book in high school when my AP Government teacher gave everyone a section of it to read. The book was published in 1991. The best way I can describe the book is funny, relevant, and sad. I laughed out loud many times reading it. The book talks about how government actually works or at least how it spends money but does not work.
To illustrate O'Rourke's humor, here are a few of the section titles:
"Why God Is a Republican and Santa Claus Is a Democrat"
"The three branches of Government: Money, Television, and Bullshit"
"Would You Kill Your Mother to Pave I-95?"
"Our Government: What the Fuck do They do and Why Does it Cost so Goddamned Much Money?"
The last one is a really good question. On my last trip to Washington D.C. I saw the Department of Education building but I did not see any evidence of children being educated on the premises. I did park in front of the Internal Revenue Service building where all our money goes but the only thing I saw it being spent on were traffic officers who would ticket cars that parked in front of the building after 4 PM.
Even though the book is 20 years old, some of the passages are still valid nearly word for word. In one section he talks about environmentalists and their complaints against President George Bush (George Bush Sr. that is). If a W. were added to the passage it would describe complaints against him a decade later. We also learn Senator Joseph Biden was a source of comic material even 20 years ago.
Sad and Relevant
Unfortunately the relevant and sad parts of the book often go together. There is a chapter talking about the Savings and Loan Crisis of the late eighties. There are a few parallels between that and the subprime mortgage mess of a few years ago. Both times taxpayers spent hundreds of billions bailing out bank managers and investors who made reckless decisions.
While O'Rourke's suggestions are often comic hyperbole, sometimes they sound like sensible policy. In one chapter he talks about farm policy. He cites programs that were established decades ago and asks if they are needed today or were even needed decades ago. Some programs pay farmers to help them farm while other programs from a different agency give people money to buy food because it is so expensive. While this is bad, I suppose it is better than paying farmers not to farm, which is a different program.
O'Rourke also does some math and has a few interesting conclusions. He asserts for all the money spent on aid to sheep to help domestic production of wool they could be sending all those sheep to Swiss boarding schools.
If you are a follower of government, I think you will enjoy the book. As said in the Preface, the book is written from a conservative point of view, since conservatism favors the restraint of government.
I would tell you more of his ideas, but then you might get mad at me and write comments condemning the ideas and me. Instead I will tell you to read the book and then you can write angry letters to O'Rourke instead. I am sure the Postal Service needs all the money it can get.
I will leave you with a comment from the Preface that sums up the book nicely. "I'm not sure I learned anything except that giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."
I first heard about this book in high school when my AP Government teacher gave everyone a section of it to read. The book was published in 1991. The best way I can describe the book is funny, relevant, and sad. I laughed out loud many times reading it. The book talks about how government actually works or at least how it spends money but does not work.
To illustrate O'Rourke's humor, here are a few of the section titles:
"Why God Is a Republican and Santa Claus Is a Democrat"
"The three branches of Government: Money, Television, and Bullshit"
"Would You Kill Your Mother to Pave I-95?"
"Our Government: What the Fuck do They do and Why Does it Cost so Goddamned Much Money?"
The last one is a really good question. On my last trip to Washington D.C. I saw the Department of Education building but I did not see any evidence of children being educated on the premises. I did park in front of the Internal Revenue Service building where all our money goes but the only thing I saw it being spent on were traffic officers who would ticket cars that parked in front of the building after 4 PM.
Even though the book is 20 years old, some of the passages are still valid nearly word for word. In one section he talks about environmentalists and their complaints against President George Bush (George Bush Sr. that is). If a W. were added to the passage it would describe complaints against him a decade later. We also learn Senator Joseph Biden was a source of comic material even 20 years ago.
Sad and Relevant
Unfortunately the relevant and sad parts of the book often go together. There is a chapter talking about the Savings and Loan Crisis of the late eighties. There are a few parallels between that and the subprime mortgage mess of a few years ago. Both times taxpayers spent hundreds of billions bailing out bank managers and investors who made reckless decisions.
While O'Rourke's suggestions are often comic hyperbole, sometimes they sound like sensible policy. In one chapter he talks about farm policy. He cites programs that were established decades ago and asks if they are needed today or were even needed decades ago. Some programs pay farmers to help them farm while other programs from a different agency give people money to buy food because it is so expensive. While this is bad, I suppose it is better than paying farmers not to farm, which is a different program.
O'Rourke also does some math and has a few interesting conclusions. He asserts for all the money spent on aid to sheep to help domestic production of wool they could be sending all those sheep to Swiss boarding schools.
If you are a follower of government, I think you will enjoy the book. As said in the Preface, the book is written from a conservative point of view, since conservatism favors the restraint of government.
I would tell you more of his ideas, but then you might get mad at me and write comments condemning the ideas and me. Instead I will tell you to read the book and then you can write angry letters to O'Rourke instead. I am sure the Postal Service needs all the money it can get.
I will leave you with a comment from the Preface that sums up the book nicely. "I'm not sure I learned anything except that giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Books and a Machine
After Christmas I ordered a few books from Barnes and Noble. I had a few gift cards on my desk and I was waiting for their Barnes and Noble Classics buy 2 get the 3rd free sale. This is my haul of books.
In case you cannot read all the titles, they are The Complete Sherlock Holmes in two volumes, The Conscience of a Conservative, Frankenstein, Machine of Death, Nicomachean Ethics, This Side of Paradise, and Enchiridion. I am also excited by this picture because my desk is clear for the first time in a long time.
Of the 8 books I bought, their average length is 336 pages and average time since publication is 595 years. To say that another way, the average book was published in 1416.
My only problem now is reading them. They have to contend with dozens of other books in my house as well as any of three library systems I have easy access to. However, I have read one of these books already.
Machine of Death
This book first came up when it was read by Amanda's still unnamed book club. The book is a collection of short stories built around a common idea. There is a machine that can determine a person's cause of death by analyzing a blood sample. The machine is always right, even when people try to outsmart it. However, some of the predictions are vague or open to interpretation. For example, "old age" could mean dying when you are old of natural causes or being killed by an old person.
All of the stories are by different people and have different takes on the machine. Each story also has an illustration to go with it. The book was originally born out of an idea from an online comic and has contributions from many online people. It is even available to download for free at machineofdeath.net.
I enjoyed it and would highly recommend you check it out.
In case you cannot read all the titles, they are The Complete Sherlock Holmes in two volumes, The Conscience of a Conservative, Frankenstein, Machine of Death, Nicomachean Ethics, This Side of Paradise, and Enchiridion. I am also excited by this picture because my desk is clear for the first time in a long time.
Of the 8 books I bought, their average length is 336 pages and average time since publication is 595 years. To say that another way, the average book was published in 1416.
My only problem now is reading them. They have to contend with dozens of other books in my house as well as any of three library systems I have easy access to. However, I have read one of these books already.
Machine of Death
This book first came up when it was read by Amanda's still unnamed book club. The book is a collection of short stories built around a common idea. There is a machine that can determine a person's cause of death by analyzing a blood sample. The machine is always right, even when people try to outsmart it. However, some of the predictions are vague or open to interpretation. For example, "old age" could mean dying when you are old of natural causes or being killed by an old person.
All of the stories are by different people and have different takes on the machine. Each story also has an illustration to go with it. The book was originally born out of an idea from an online comic and has contributions from many online people. It is even available to download for free at machineofdeath.net.
I enjoyed it and would highly recommend you check it out.
Friday, January 14, 2011
A trip to the Villa and the other Getty
On Friday of last week I was at the Getty Villa. It is a museum that was built by oil tycoon J. Paul Getty. I was there with David and his twin brother.
The museum houses a collection of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman art. However, the museum is perhaps best known for its design. The building is a reproduction of the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum, a Roman house that was burred by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79. The floor plan, gardens, wall paintings, and marble work are all based upon what is know of the villa or other contemporaneous Roman buildings.
I really liked the Getty Villa because I have a degree in Classical Civilizations. Where else can I use what I leaned in classes such as Roman archaeology, Greek civilization, Roman civilization, Latin, the Hellenistic period, the Archaic Greek period, Greek religion, the Roman Republican period, and the archeology of Pompeii?
I only took a few pictures there last week because I took several on an earlier trip. All of these pictures are from my visit to the villa in the summer of 2007. This is the main entrance to the villa. They also built a small classical style theater where I took this picture from.
This is a picture of the outer peristyle and garden from the second floor. The ocean is in the background.
This is an example of the wall paintings in the villa. I would tell you what style of wall painting they are, but as one of my professors can attest I am terrible at wall painting identification. However, they are either third style or fourth style wall paintings, if not a mix of styles. Notice the use of perspective so it looks like the walls are actually windows that show adjacent buildings.
This shot of the impluvium is presented for James. Anyone who takes Latin in high school and has a favorite part of a Roman villa is awesome. The impluvium is a pool in the atrium of a Roman villa that collects rainwater that falls through a hole in the roof.
If you ever go to the Getty Villa, you should know admission requires an advance timed ticket. While the ticket is free, parking costs $15 per car. Consult the Getty website for more details.
The Getty Center
What I described above is the Getty Villa in Malibu. However, the Getty Museum has a second location, called the Getty Center. This second place is right next to the 405 and has a great overlook of the greater Los Angeles area. The Getty Center houses the rest of the Getty collections, which includes things from the Middle Ages to the present. I was there on Tuesday with my brother so I will share a few comments.
Aside from the paintings you would expect, there are a lot of European decorative arts on display. They have entire rooms dedicated to different French decorating styles. If I remember correctly there was one each for the court, Rococo, transitional, and Neoclassical styles. I have seen all the old French furniture I need to see for the rest of my life.
I went on the garden tour and the architecture tour. I would only recommend you go on those tours if you are really interested in learning about the museum's design. My time would have been better spent looking at the collections, which are extensive. However, if you ever go to the museum with me I will fill you in on all the semi-interesting parts of the tours.
Great Museum Idea
If you plan on going to any museum, I would suggest you pre-museum. Go online to learn everything you can about the museum, watch any videos they have posted, and get the complete story behind some of their major pieces. Look up any historical eras or important people the museum covers you are interested in. By learning the basic facts about the items and exhibits, you can spend more time looking at the objects. Things will be more meaningful if you know their context. In my experience a little knowledge ahead of time makes things much more interesting.
The museum houses a collection of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman art. However, the museum is perhaps best known for its design. The building is a reproduction of the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum, a Roman house that was burred by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79. The floor plan, gardens, wall paintings, and marble work are all based upon what is know of the villa or other contemporaneous Roman buildings.
I really liked the Getty Villa because I have a degree in Classical Civilizations. Where else can I use what I leaned in classes such as Roman archaeology, Greek civilization, Roman civilization, Latin, the Hellenistic period, the Archaic Greek period, Greek religion, the Roman Republican period, and the archeology of Pompeii?
I only took a few pictures there last week because I took several on an earlier trip. All of these pictures are from my visit to the villa in the summer of 2007. This is the main entrance to the villa. They also built a small classical style theater where I took this picture from.
This is a picture of the outer peristyle and garden from the second floor. The ocean is in the background.
This is an example of the wall paintings in the villa. I would tell you what style of wall painting they are, but as one of my professors can attest I am terrible at wall painting identification. However, they are either third style or fourth style wall paintings, if not a mix of styles. Notice the use of perspective so it looks like the walls are actually windows that show adjacent buildings.
This shot of the impluvium is presented for James. Anyone who takes Latin in high school and has a favorite part of a Roman villa is awesome. The impluvium is a pool in the atrium of a Roman villa that collects rainwater that falls through a hole in the roof.
If you ever go to the Getty Villa, you should know admission requires an advance timed ticket. While the ticket is free, parking costs $15 per car. Consult the Getty website for more details.
The Getty Center
What I described above is the Getty Villa in Malibu. However, the Getty Museum has a second location, called the Getty Center. This second place is right next to the 405 and has a great overlook of the greater Los Angeles area. The Getty Center houses the rest of the Getty collections, which includes things from the Middle Ages to the present. I was there on Tuesday with my brother so I will share a few comments.
Aside from the paintings you would expect, there are a lot of European decorative arts on display. They have entire rooms dedicated to different French decorating styles. If I remember correctly there was one each for the court, Rococo, transitional, and Neoclassical styles. I have seen all the old French furniture I need to see for the rest of my life.
I went on the garden tour and the architecture tour. I would only recommend you go on those tours if you are really interested in learning about the museum's design. My time would have been better spent looking at the collections, which are extensive. However, if you ever go to the museum with me I will fill you in on all the semi-interesting parts of the tours.
Great Museum Idea
If you plan on going to any museum, I would suggest you pre-museum. Go online to learn everything you can about the museum, watch any videos they have posted, and get the complete story behind some of their major pieces. Look up any historical eras or important people the museum covers you are interested in. By learning the basic facts about the items and exhibits, you can spend more time looking at the objects. Things will be more meaningful if you know their context. In my experience a little knowledge ahead of time makes things much more interesting.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Cookies and Cakes
My Grandma is visiting; she has been here for almost a month. One of the things this means is a lot of cookies have been baked. I have documented them below and included a few words about them.
Cut-out Cookies
Our cookie cutter designs included tree, Santa, star, dog, moon, candle, angel, duck, and bell. In previous years we had snowmen cookies as well, but I was not at home to speak up for the snowmen. At the time I was hundreds of miles away watching Larry make a real snowman.
These are some more cut out cookies including ones with colored sugar.
Sour Cream Cookies
The frosting makes them wonderful.
Russian Balls
They are like shortbread. I think they are a boring dessert compared to all the other choices.
Date Balls
These are easy to make; they are done on the stove. The coating is powdered sugar.
Aunt Gladys
I do not know how they got their name, but after tasting these cookies I do not want to met Aunt Gladys. Like almost anything they are better after the addition of frosting.
These are similar to the Aunt Gladys cookies, except they are stickier and have Rice Krispies. Like the Aunt Gladys cookies I recommend you bypass them and go for superior cookies.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip
My brother made these while I was in Utah. These are similar to cookies I sometimes make, but there are a few important differences. If I made cookies like this they would be called chocolate chip oatmeal. If someone is told cookies are oatmeal-something an immediate reaction is to assume oatmeal raisin. I do not want to subject people to this possible reaction for even a second. While I am not a member, I support the mission of the Facebook group "Raisins, Stay the Fuck Out of My Cookies."
Holiday Cookies
This is a non-descriptive name for cookies made with Rice Krispies and sometimes coconut. I made these before Grandma came so she would not panic as much because we did not have a dozen different types of cookies baked before Christmas.
As if these eight kinds of cookies were not enough, we also baked a few coffee cakes and a layered birthday cake.
Cut-out Cookies
Our cookie cutter designs included tree, Santa, star, dog, moon, candle, angel, duck, and bell. In previous years we had snowmen cookies as well, but I was not at home to speak up for the snowmen. At the time I was hundreds of miles away watching Larry make a real snowman.
These are some more cut out cookies including ones with colored sugar.
Sour Cream Cookies
The frosting makes them wonderful.
Russian Balls
They are like shortbread. I think they are a boring dessert compared to all the other choices.
Date Balls
These are easy to make; they are done on the stove. The coating is powdered sugar.
Aunt Gladys
I do not know how they got their name, but after tasting these cookies I do not want to met Aunt Gladys. Like almost anything they are better after the addition of frosting.
These are similar to the Aunt Gladys cookies, except they are stickier and have Rice Krispies. Like the Aunt Gladys cookies I recommend you bypass them and go for superior cookies.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip
My brother made these while I was in Utah. These are similar to cookies I sometimes make, but there are a few important differences. If I made cookies like this they would be called chocolate chip oatmeal. If someone is told cookies are oatmeal-something an immediate reaction is to assume oatmeal raisin. I do not want to subject people to this possible reaction for even a second. While I am not a member, I support the mission of the Facebook group "Raisins, Stay the Fuck Out of My Cookies."
Holiday Cookies
This is a non-descriptive name for cookies made with Rice Krispies and sometimes coconut. I made these before Grandma came so she would not panic as much because we did not have a dozen different types of cookies baked before Christmas.
As if these eight kinds of cookies were not enough, we also baked a few coffee cakes and a layered birthday cake.
I would put a picture of the layer cake on a cake stand here, but my Dad's camera uses a memory chip that sends pictures over a wireless network to a computer and server. This is supposed to make things easier because there is no need to download the pictures. However, he cannot find the pictures I want.
When it comes to computers, just say NO to wireless.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Bryce Canyon Driving and Las Vegas Eating
Raining, snowing, raining, snowing, raining, snowing, raining, and more raining. That is what actually happened to me on my last trip. The driving was some of the most scenic, dangerous, and fun I have ever done.
The driving and weather conditions
This is how I got to Bryce Canyon. It was raining as I started my driving. From Larry's house I took the 22 to the 57 to the 60 east to the 15 north. The rain and fog were all around and it was difficult to see the other cars. As I drove into Nevada the rain continued and by the time I made it into Arizona it turned into freezing rain. When I made it into Utah the freezing rain became snow and lightened up. I exited at Ceder City to take Utah 14. It was a mountain road through a forest and a true winter wonderland. It was a winding road that traced shapes I have never seen on street signs before.
After 40 miles of that fun I took US 89 north to Utah 12. As I drove the scenic route at night I could see where the road went under rock arches. I turned off at the 63 and went south until I found Ruby's Inn where we stayed.
Ruby's Inn was more than a hotel; it had a restaurant, general store, liquor store, equipment rentals, laundromat, barber shop, photo place, and tour reservation center. In the general store, they had a lot of gifts. One of them was a glass with an expression on it. What would be your first thoughts on reading it?
Then I went on a trip to Zion which I covered in an earlier post.
The Departure
The morning we left Bryce Canyon it was snowing. I planned on taking the same route back I had taken to get there. As I turned onto the 14 it was not ploughed as well as the 89. However, the gates were open so I determined the road was open. As I drove the conditions became progressively worse. I could see where a tree had fallen into the road and had been cut by a chainsaw to clear the road. There were fresh tire tracks in the road, so I was not worried.
About a quarter of the way through this 40 mile road the path narrowed. There was only one ploughed lane. Then I came across a car that was going the other way. Since there was over two feet of snow on the ground and only one lane was ploughed we had a problem. We got out of our cars and conferenced with the drivers of the two trucks that were following me. I learned a service vehicle was stuck on the road ahead and the car in front of me had turned around because the road was impassable. The other people suggested I back my car out until the road became wide enough to turn my car around. A helpful local person I talked to said this was one of the worst storms he had seen in the last 30 years of living there.
I started backing my car out, but it was difficult for me to follow the road. I asked Peter to get out and walk the route so I could follow his black jacket instead of white tracks in white snow. After half a mile of this and almost running over Peter a few times I decided to turn the car around. I slammed the back of the car as far as I could into one side of the road. I did not get very far because the front tires got caught in the snow. I cleared the snow but the tires were still spinning. The other driver, Larry, and Peter pushed the car as I slammed on the gas. After some maneuvering and coordinated pushing, the car was successfully turned around.
After backing my car up for over half a mile I had a new appreciation for driving forward in the normal way.
A Detour to a Detour
Since Utah 14 was closed I needed to find an alternate route to get to the 15. After talking to the kind person who helped me turn my car around and a friendly gas station employee, I learned the snow became rain only a short distance to the south. I headed south and planned on taking Utah 9 through Zion National Park. I had driven to Zion a few days earlier so my entry fee had already been paid.
The snow turned into rain as I was traveling south on the 89. I turned on the radio for Zion travel information. The radio said part of Utah 9 was washed out in the park due to heavy rain and the road would be impassable for several days. I made a detour on top of the detour. I drove south and in Kanab took 89 A (an alternate 89) to Arizona where I hopped on Arizona 389. This undivided highway (or single carriageway) had wonderful landscapes. There was nothing except desert and mountains in the distance.
Arizona 389 became Utah 59 and that dumped me onto Utah 9. I followed it to the 15 and then stopped in St. George for some food. A 72 mile trip that should take 1 hour and 18 minutes became a 123 mile and 3+ hour jaunt into the deserts of Arizona.
In Arizona the 15 follows the path of the Virgin River. This is the same river that runs through Zion. The river was a raging torrent with all the rain and it was fun to drive the curves in the road following it.
In Las Vegas
Eventually I made it into Las Vegas where the cloud cover was thick and the rain unabated. As I was driving it looked like the Imperial Palace was going to be washed away; there was a lot of water rolling out of their parking structure. It ended up OK even though the river I drove through was featured on the news that night.
While in Las Vegas we went to the Palazzo and saw Jersey Boys. It followed Frankie Valli and the singing group the Four Seasons. I am not familiar with the people or the music involved, but I did recognize the names or parts of a few of the songs as songs that were popular once upon a time. Larry said if they made a musical like that about the Backstreet Boys it would make more sense to him. Even though the music was not meaningful for me, I enjoyed the performance.
For dinner one day Peter made spam musubi. He did this during our last trip. Like last time, he cooked rice in a pot and managed to burn the rice and really mess up the pot. In spite of this, the food was good and I furnished a picture of it below.
Spam Musubi
This recipe is imprecise. It is the type of thing that is best shown instead of written down. However, I want you to be able to experience this if you wish so here is my description of what Peter did. Consult the Unnamed Geniuses and look at a few pictures online to get an idea what the final product looks like.
Rice
Seaweed paper
Spam
Mr. Yoshida's Sauce
Cook the rice as indicated on the package or your own way. Cut the spam horizontally so you have several pieces the same size as the top of a spam can. The pieces can be as thick as you like. I think Peter made them less than 1/4 inch thick. Boil the pieces of spam in water for a few minutes. While I do not think the boiling is necessary, it helps get rid of some of the sodium. Next, fry the pieces of spam in a pan with some Mr. Yoshida's Sauce. Let the spam soak up the flavor of the sauce and flip them over to get it on both sides. Remove from the pan.
Take some rice and mold it on top of one of the pieces of spam. I would guess half an inch of rice on top of the spam would be good. Then wrap the rice and spam in some seaweed paper leaving the ends open. The seaweed paper we used worked well after it was cut in half. If you are making it and any questions come up you can give me a call.
To finish off the route, I took the 15 to the 60 west. On the 60 I got into the carpool lane and stayed there for my next 3 freeway changes. I took the 57 south to the 5 south to the 55 south.
In case you were not keeping track, the entire trip took me through four different states multiple times. I went California - Nevada - Arizona - Utah - Arizona - Utah - Arizona - Nevada - California. This trip was 1356.8 miles, which makes it the longest road trip I have ever driven.
The driving and weather conditions
This is how I got to Bryce Canyon. It was raining as I started my driving. From Larry's house I took the 22 to the 57 to the 60 east to the 15 north. The rain and fog were all around and it was difficult to see the other cars. As I drove into Nevada the rain continued and by the time I made it into Arizona it turned into freezing rain. When I made it into Utah the freezing rain became snow and lightened up. I exited at Ceder City to take Utah 14. It was a mountain road through a forest and a true winter wonderland. It was a winding road that traced shapes I have never seen on street signs before.
After 40 miles of that fun I took US 89 north to Utah 12. As I drove the scenic route at night I could see where the road went under rock arches. I turned off at the 63 and went south until I found Ruby's Inn where we stayed.
Ruby's Inn was more than a hotel; it had a restaurant, general store, liquor store, equipment rentals, laundromat, barber shop, photo place, and tour reservation center. In the general store, they had a lot of gifts. One of them was a glass with an expression on it. What would be your first thoughts on reading it?
Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we may be in UtahI thought it implied being merry did not happen very often in Utah. Before I could voice this sentiment, a person who overheard me reading the glass chimed in "I was born in California and then rudely brought to Utah when I was a few years old, and I emphasize rudely brought."
Then I went on a trip to Zion which I covered in an earlier post.
The Departure
The morning we left Bryce Canyon it was snowing. I planned on taking the same route back I had taken to get there. As I turned onto the 14 it was not ploughed as well as the 89. However, the gates were open so I determined the road was open. As I drove the conditions became progressively worse. I could see where a tree had fallen into the road and had been cut by a chainsaw to clear the road. There were fresh tire tracks in the road, so I was not worried.
About a quarter of the way through this 40 mile road the path narrowed. There was only one ploughed lane. Then I came across a car that was going the other way. Since there was over two feet of snow on the ground and only one lane was ploughed we had a problem. We got out of our cars and conferenced with the drivers of the two trucks that were following me. I learned a service vehicle was stuck on the road ahead and the car in front of me had turned around because the road was impassable. The other people suggested I back my car out until the road became wide enough to turn my car around. A helpful local person I talked to said this was one of the worst storms he had seen in the last 30 years of living there.
I started backing my car out, but it was difficult for me to follow the road. I asked Peter to get out and walk the route so I could follow his black jacket instead of white tracks in white snow. After half a mile of this and almost running over Peter a few times I decided to turn the car around. I slammed the back of the car as far as I could into one side of the road. I did not get very far because the front tires got caught in the snow. I cleared the snow but the tires were still spinning. The other driver, Larry, and Peter pushed the car as I slammed on the gas. After some maneuvering and coordinated pushing, the car was successfully turned around.
After backing my car up for over half a mile I had a new appreciation for driving forward in the normal way.
A Detour to a Detour
Since Utah 14 was closed I needed to find an alternate route to get to the 15. After talking to the kind person who helped me turn my car around and a friendly gas station employee, I learned the snow became rain only a short distance to the south. I headed south and planned on taking Utah 9 through Zion National Park. I had driven to Zion a few days earlier so my entry fee had already been paid.
The snow turned into rain as I was traveling south on the 89. I turned on the radio for Zion travel information. The radio said part of Utah 9 was washed out in the park due to heavy rain and the road would be impassable for several days. I made a detour on top of the detour. I drove south and in Kanab took 89 A (an alternate 89) to Arizona where I hopped on Arizona 389. This undivided highway (or single carriageway) had wonderful landscapes. There was nothing except desert and mountains in the distance.
Arizona 389 became Utah 59 and that dumped me onto Utah 9. I followed it to the 15 and then stopped in St. George for some food. A 72 mile trip that should take 1 hour and 18 minutes became a 123 mile and 3+ hour jaunt into the deserts of Arizona.
In Arizona the 15 follows the path of the Virgin River. This is the same river that runs through Zion. The river was a raging torrent with all the rain and it was fun to drive the curves in the road following it.
In Las Vegas
Eventually I made it into Las Vegas where the cloud cover was thick and the rain unabated. As I was driving it looked like the Imperial Palace was going to be washed away; there was a lot of water rolling out of their parking structure. It ended up OK even though the river I drove through was featured on the news that night.
While in Las Vegas we went to the Palazzo and saw Jersey Boys. It followed Frankie Valli and the singing group the Four Seasons. I am not familiar with the people or the music involved, but I did recognize the names or parts of a few of the songs as songs that were popular once upon a time. Larry said if they made a musical like that about the Backstreet Boys it would make more sense to him. Even though the music was not meaningful for me, I enjoyed the performance.
For dinner one day Peter made spam musubi. He did this during our last trip. Like last time, he cooked rice in a pot and managed to burn the rice and really mess up the pot. In spite of this, the food was good and I furnished a picture of it below.
Spam Musubi
This recipe is imprecise. It is the type of thing that is best shown instead of written down. However, I want you to be able to experience this if you wish so here is my description of what Peter did. Consult the Unnamed Geniuses and look at a few pictures online to get an idea what the final product looks like.
Rice
Seaweed paper
Spam
Mr. Yoshida's Sauce
Cook the rice as indicated on the package or your own way. Cut the spam horizontally so you have several pieces the same size as the top of a spam can. The pieces can be as thick as you like. I think Peter made them less than 1/4 inch thick. Boil the pieces of spam in water for a few minutes. While I do not think the boiling is necessary, it helps get rid of some of the sodium. Next, fry the pieces of spam in a pan with some Mr. Yoshida's Sauce. Let the spam soak up the flavor of the sauce and flip them over to get it on both sides. Remove from the pan.
Take some rice and mold it on top of one of the pieces of spam. I would guess half an inch of rice on top of the spam would be good. Then wrap the rice and spam in some seaweed paper leaving the ends open. The seaweed paper we used worked well after it was cut in half. If you are making it and any questions come up you can give me a call.
To finish off the route, I took the 15 to the 60 west. On the 60 I got into the carpool lane and stayed there for my next 3 freeway changes. I took the 57 south to the 5 south to the 55 south.In case you were not keeping track, the entire trip took me through four different states multiple times. I went California - Nevada - Arizona - Utah - Arizona - Utah - Arizona - Nevada - California. This trip was 1356.8 miles, which makes it the longest road trip I have ever driven.
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