"life not shared is not worth living"

This years European vacation took me to a place that I’ve not visited yet – London. I flew from Utah to Paris as Delta has a direct connection and from there I made my way to Krakow where I was born and where my parents live. Bill visited me while in Poland. We managed to visit a few of the sites in Poland like King’s Castle in Warsaw, summer residence of the polish kings Wilanow, salt mine in Wieliczka – the oldest still working salt mine in the world, Auschwitz – WW II concentration camp in Poland and others. After Bill left I flew to London. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I definitely didn’t expect the sea of Arabs. The city was crowded with women in black burqa’s, men in white thobe accompanied by a crowd of unruly kids – all speaking in the language I didn’t understand. I was told that the July and August brings unusually large crowds from the Middle East as the temperatures in that part of the world surge way above comfortable living. I expected traffic and I wasn’t disappointed – double deckers, limousines, taxi’s, motorcycles, bikes and even horses. The goal was to visit some of the London’s museums, pubs and get a general understanding of the city. I arrived on Sunday and after checking into my hotel I went out on the town. First stop – a local pub and a staple Fish and Chips and a pint, I made a point to drink only local brew – mostly Ale. I was at the NW corner of the Kensington Park which joins the Hyde Park. I followed the crowd and crossed both parks. Both are very nice, well maintained and heavily used buy the Londonites and tourists alike – all parks in London used to be hunting grounds of the royalty. I walked to Piccadilly Circus, SOHO, Chinatown, Leicester Square and settled down for a dinner at one of many Indian restaurants – recommended by Bill who worked in London and likes the Indian fare. By the time I walked back to the hotel it was almost midnight and I had to walk about 20 miles – it was time to settle down for the night into my room not larger than an inside of Van. I was too tired to care. In the following days I joined a couple of Walking Tours and visited Westminster Abby, National Gallery, British Museum, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace Change of the Guard and others. London didn’t disappoint – it’s an old cultured european city which could keep one busy for several days to say the least – yet for me falls in the same category as Paris, New York,Amsterdam, Munich and other large cities – not a place where I would like to live. I’m happy as a clam to be back in Park City where the view at the mountains is calming and breath taking at the same time.
I hope to visit London again and as this time I will be happy to leave it behind.
Below there are pictures I took in Poland and London –

I wanted to ride Empire Pass – it has a pretty good climb and I failed to make it last year. I rode to Jan’s Bike Shop so Mike could get a bike and we started up in the direction of Deer Valley and the Royal Street to meet Denise. Ride up the Royal Street was pretty uneventful – I’ve done it may times and knew what to expect. From there we dropped down to Empire Pass Rd and started to turn it up. It wasn’t as bad as I thought, but I was higher up on the road then last year – maybe this part is not as steep. All three of us made it and Mike kicked my ass in another sport. I’m going to remove him from my Contacts – let it be a lesson to him -lol.
I’m going to ride again tomorrow but on my mountain bike for a change – riding three days in a row – not too bad. Below is a google map of what I did – total ride 26 miles over two thousand feet up some over 10% incline. Join me if you want to kick my butt

Another ride that surprised me – from the house to 10,000 Peaks and back. The total distance 44.5 miles but 3250 feet in climbing – that’s quite a bit for a boy like me. Mona and I left on a ride in the early afternoon. I felt pretty good and didn’t expect to struggle on the ride. Mona is a very strong rider so I’m always afraid that I’m not going fast enough, I think secretly she is holding on to my seat so she can stay right behind me – lol. The steepest climb is at the end of the ride and that didn’t help much.
I managed to have a flat tire but fixing it wasn’t a problem and before I even got a chance to catch my breath we were back on the road.
Here is the a map for those like me who like that kind of stuff

With the winter season extending into June this year, for me the biking season is getting a late start. I still haven’t been on a mountain bike and did only a few road rides – Salt Lake City Century, Jordanelle Loop couple of times, Brawn’s Canyon a few times and an Oakley Loop. I’m heavier than ever and really need to get in gear to get myself into bikini shape -lol. As I write this outside is raining and the temperature is only in the low 40′s which means that at a higher elevation they are getting more of the white stuff. Deer Valley and the Park City peaks are still covered by several feet of snow which will impede the opening of the Biking Season at both resorts – needless to say it has been an unusual year.

View Oakley Loop 2011-06-18 in a larger map

I was going to meet Danny for an afternoon hike at the Entrance to Goblin’s State Park. The roads and the park were crazy busy with the Memorial Day weekend travelers getting out of town. Jim and Ed whom I met in Capitol Reef suggested Little Wild Horse Canyon and Bell Canyon Loop – coincidentally Danny had the same plan. It was a 8 mile hike up the Little Horse and down the Bell. If you plan on taking this route this is the preferred direction as going down the Bell Canyon at the end of the hike is easier. Both canyons are very pretty with LIttle Wild Horse being quite a bit narrower. It’s amazing what the wind sand and little time can do. Danny and I made a good time hiking this route and since there was no hope of finding a place to stay the night we decided to make our way all the way to Park City.

In retrospect – I had another excellent week of travels and adventure. If you are stuck at home reading this blog – GET OUT – take a leap of faith the world will not end if you call in sick for a day or two, take a leave of absence or give up the life of luxury, mortgage and car payments for while.

I arrived late and there was no place available at the park campground. Even each camping site was very big and it would be very easy to setup more tents. As I drove into the campground I spotted two guys looking over a topo map. I asked if they would object to sharing the site with me and they said’ “Nope – you are in”. That’s how I met Jim and Ed two college professors, Jim from Main and Ed from North Carolina. Both are avid hikers and travelers I think Jim mentioned that he hiked in over 35 countries. Since the school was out boys were playing. In return for their hospitality I drove back to Torrey’s only grocery store and picked up stakes for dinner. Y’all know how I like to cook!!!
The highlight of the evening was a presentation by the traveling astronomer of the video about the Saturn which was followed by him setting up three 12 inch telescopes so we could take a look at the Saturn and other planets, stars and celestial objects in person. The next morning Jim Ed and I went for a short hike overlooking the Park, after the hike I continued on with my drive to meet Danny at the San Rafael Swell.

From Bryce I headed over to Escalante. The state campground at Calf Falls was full so I stayed “in town” . The next morning I was planning on hiking the Calf Creek Falls. It was a short hike along the Calf’s Creek. The vegetation along the creek is plentiful and contrasts with the red walls of the canyon. To my amazement the creek was loaded with trout – note to myself – fishing for lunch could be nice.
The canyon was used by the local population for hunting and farming. There are numerous granaries built into the cliffs of the canyon where corn and other food sources were stored. All that happened before the local population was “displaced” by the the LDS missionaries. The falls were very picturesque and provided a welcomed reprieve from the heat of the day multiplied by the red stoned walls of the canyon. I should have go for a swim but there were children present.
I left the Calf’s Creek and drove to Burr Trail where on recommendations from Alyssa from the Burr Outpost (link ) I took a quick hike to a slot canyon not marked on the trail map – it was very nice – I hope to be back to follow Alyssa’s other suggestions – she was very pleasant and helpful.

I continued my drive NE to Boulder and on to Capitol Reef NP.

I left Joshua Tree I headed back to my favorite state – Utah and Bryce Canyon was my first stop. I found camp site at the North end and near the Sunrise point. It was a good location. Next morning I hiked down to Queen’s Garden and back up the Navajo trail. It was an easy hike and fairly popular. The Bryce Canyon may be one of my favorite lately destinations – the colors of the trademark Hoodoo’s are amazing from white through yellow to pink and deep red. There is no shortage of trees and flowers as well which only adds to the charm of the canyon. One thing that I found interesting in the park literature is: “Paiutes were displaced by the emissaries of the Church of Jesus of Latter-day Saints who developed many small communities in Utah.” That must be politically correct way of saying ” The LDS church members kicked local indians ass and took over their land” – either way the place is beautiful. The next day I hiked Fairyland trail which was the best hike I did on this trip – approximately 8 mile hike to the bottom and back up to the rim of the canyon. If you haven’t done it I highly recommend it. I’m going to be back to do more exploring of this area. Maybe backpack the Under the Rim trail.

I left PC on sunday morning. I knew the trip to Joshua will take about 11 hours – well – I didn’t know but Betsy my trusted Road Bitch – Garmin GPS knew it and again she was right. Plan was to hike the park for a day or so and visit friends in Palm Springs. Drive was pretty uneventful but I learned couple if things – traffic in CA is SLOW – like 15 mph on the Interstate slow, and everyone has to have vanity plate on their car – it’s the LAW. Again following Danny’s suggestions I camped at Hidden Valley campground. He is like a personal guide – when in doubt – call Danny. Next morning I went for a bike ride – rode to the Keys Viewpoint where from you can see Palm Springs and the San Andreas Fault – pretty impressive view. Even the ride was only 15 miles rounds trip it was a perfect start. Then I went to hike around the Hidden Valley. I just missed blooms of most of the cacti and the Joshua Trees – desert was desert like. Apparently Joshua Tree is not a tree but a variety of Yucca Next morning I drove to Rattlesnake Canyon and also to 49 Palm Oasis. It was a nice hike to the oasis – it’s a popular hike – so popular in fact that some people feel compelled to carve their name into the palm trees – just to distinguished themselves as as a pure A-holes – ignorance is alive and well. Weather in CA was nice but fairly cold – down to low 40′s at night which I guess is not that unusual in the desert at this time of the year. Visiting friends in Palm Springs didn’t work out as planned so the next morning I headed out back to Southern Utah – Bryce Canyon to start with. Along the road there are extensive salt flats where calcium chloride is polluting a vast area of California desert.

Most people that I know are not that excited about a long car trip – not me – I love it. Following the black ribbon of asphalt to an unknown destination brings a lot of excitement. I also like the fact that I’m alone, able to listen to whatever I choose – even if it is the same song over and over again, it also gives me time to catch up with my favorite shows that I download to my iPod without being able to listen to them. On my last year trip to Alaska my iPod and the downloaded podcasts kept me sane as above certain latitude there is no satellite radio reception hence no Coffee Shop or NPR or Stern. This trip was no exception. I’ve listened to most of my newly downloaded podcasts of my favorite NPR show – This American Life. If you are not familiar with Ira Glass and This American Life you need to be. I’ve listened to many shows but this one in particular struck a cord with me. Listen to the act #3 and see what it does for you. You can also download the podcast on iTunes. I grew up in a middle class family in Poland, even neither my parents nor I would often verbalize the love for each other I felt loved. I don’t now what it is in polish language that the words like “i love you” don’t play a prominent part in our vocabulary. When I speak english I’m not afraid to use those words, but in polish I can’t remember when is the last time I said those words to anyone including my parents. I never said “thank you” -either for giving me the best childhood they could. I left home when I was young first to go to college and then for good. My folks are in their mid 70′s now and I often think what will happen when one of them dies. They have been together for over 50 years and it would be very hard for either one of them to be alone. I know they wouldn’t be interested in coming here to live with me. I’m going to go and visit them again soon – I think there are some things I want to say to them.

Think about your own experience – is there anything you need to say?