Ghost Falls

The Wasatch Front has to be the place on earth with the best ratio of big city proximity to mountains and recreation.  Today, my friend Nathan and I hiked to Ghost Falls along the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, the entrance to which is in the middle of a neighborhood of homes in Draper.  Here are some views of the valley while we hiked:

Unbeknownst to me, but knownst to Draper City and unannounced to me by them, the main trail to Ghost Falls was closed today for a bike race.  Closed to hikers, anyway.  So we had to go around the long way, which was awesome.  Better exercise and better views.

Because it was cold Saturday and Sunday with lots of rain in the valley, the mountains beyond us were freshly capped with snow.

While our part of the mountain was green and lucious.

I've hiked to Ghost Falls once before, or tried to, but couldn't find the falls.  Maybe my sister, who is a wimpy asthmatic with bad knees, and I just petered out before we got that far.  (Love you, Reb.)  But since we had to go all the way to the top of the mountain and then back down to approach the falls from behind, they were easy to find today.

I don't know what the dealio is with this.  Every since I started taking pictures with my Samsung Galaxy S2, I get this upside down or sideways problem.  It's stupid.  I rotate the pictures, I save them, they show up fine on my computer, but when I upload them here or to facebook they show up all cattywompous. 

Quit complaining and turn your monitor on its side.

Quoting movies

I like friends and family that quote movies with me.  Rebby's good at that.  Adam's good at that.  In Mexico, we quoted The Three Amigo's a lot.  He'd shout at me to, "Hold up your hat!  Higher!"  He quotes Jurassic Park with me, too.  "Some of them smell.  Babies smell!"

Once I was at the actual Field of Dreams, where the movie was shot, in Iowa.  I stood in the outfield and shouted out loud, "Hey! Is this Heaven?"  Someone shouted back, "No. It's Iowa."  Nice.

Last night was a church activity sponsored by my committee, so I was there to help set up.  We were putting paper tablecloths on the tables and taping them down.  I shouted, "Give me more unidirectional bonding strip!"  Not a single person said back, "Mr. Lightyear wants more tape."  What is with people?

Later on when I was sweeping up with a dust mop, someone was in my path, so I loudly and dismissively said, "Out of the way, peck."  Instead of a knowing smile, though, I got a dirty look.  And that happens every time I say that, which is every time someone is standing in my way.



I've decided that recognizing, using, and tolerating random movie quotes is a necessary attribute of any girl who wants to enjoy my chicken salad for eternity.  Especially if they can quote things like, "Follow me!  I'll follow you!"

Cancun

The beach is beautiful here. The combination of the soft sand on the beach, the sunshine, and mid-80s temperature of both the air and water make this what has to be one of Earth’s most perfect places.

Earth's perfect water.

It took us a while to find church on Sunday. The church’s mapping program didn’t match the maps of the city we got here, and neither of those maps matches the actual roads. We drove around a lot of the non-touristy part of Cancun asking several people. Four guys in white shirts and ties asking for directions to church. One lady asked us if we were “Mormona.” That got us excited, but she sent us the wrong direction.

Finally, one guy knew it was just around the corner. So we got there after the sacrament and during testimonies. I of course couldn’t understand anything except the end of everyone’s testimony—even Adam’s, when he bore his. Good meeting, though. A sister talked to Adam after Sacrament because she used to live in Mexico City where he served his mission. No connection other than that, but good conversations. Mormon’s are cool.

On the flight out here from Phoenix the flight attendants asked if anyone was there on a honeymoon, which I guess is a common thing on flights to Cancun. There was one couple, and we all cheered. They were at church, too. In fact, the groom had been roped into playing the piano for the hymns. We talked to them after Sunday School, and it turns out they are coming along on our trip to the Mayan ruins on Wednesday.

Monday was our first excursion. We met at the mall where a local dude, Merak, took us around in Hummers to see some Mayan ruins, ride some zip lines, swam in a natural cave pool populated with bats, and went to an interactive zoo.

That's Merak on the left.  He says that Mexico means "Belly Button of the Moon."  We aren't sure if we believe anything he said, but he was a fun tour guide.

That's Adam Harward driving the ATV.   The best part about riding the ATV through the jungle is arriving at the cenote, below.

The cenote is a natural underground pool.  Water is cooler there because the sun doesn't hit it, but the water is still clear and refreshing.  Too dark to take pictures in the sinkhole itself, so you don't get to see the bats or the zipline.

The zoo was small, and if it hadn’t been interactive it would probably have been boring. But they actually let you in to the habitats and can hold and feed some of the animals. I held a crocodile and a snake, and fed deer, birds and monkeys. Many of the monkeys are wild and just hang out at the zoo for the free food. I would do the same because free food is a motivator for me. I’m not that far removed from the monkeys in that respect. Also, I have that big gap between by big toe and the other four, and can curl them all under.

The most amazing part was the macaw. We got to feed this bird some peanuts. She’d take the peanut and softly crack the shell with her beak. Then she’d stick in her tongue and fish out the peanut, and put the shell with the other nut in her claw. Then shed hold the peanut gently with her beak, put on enough pressure to break the red skin that’s on the actual nut, and peel it! She’d drop the skin and eat the peanut. Amazing. She could get the whole peel off in a single piece. I wish I’d have video taped it.

After we came back, we went back to Tacos Rigo to get some more of their delicious tacos, and then went to see The Avengers, because why not see the biggest American movie when you’re in Mexico? It had Spanish subtitles, so we figured that was perfect. But there’s a part of the movie when the talking is in Russian. The subtitles were still in Spanish. Luckily, we had one return missionary from Mexico, one who took Spanish in school, and one who missioned in Russia. I had already seen it, so we ironed this unexpected wrinkle pretty easily.

Tuesday was a beach day. We woke up and pretty early made our way to the beach. It was warm and sunny, as it has been every day here. We rented a few boogie boards, but the waves were a little small to make much use of them. But we all spent plenty of time swimming in the Caribbean, which is gorgeous in every way.

Yesterday on our excursion we stopped by a little vegetable market and bought the ingredients for guacamole. I made that today after the beach. It was delicious, though I could do better in a full kitchen with a pantry that has kosher salt, fresh pepper, and people who like cilantro.

Then tonight, in what will probably be the highlight of the trip, we went to the ballpark downtown to see the Tigres play the team from Tabasco, whose name I can’t remember. I thought baseball in Mexico might be the same as in Japan with the extra rowdy crowds, but nope. It was almost like an Owlz game, except with cheerleaders and better food.

I cut my foot twice since we’ve been here. The first was in the cenote on Monday. There’s a zipline in it, and I rode it, dropped into the water and my foot hit a rock on the bottom. Then yesterday we went to a flea market thing to buy a few souvenirs. I got three cool looking tshirts. I stepped on a big crack in the sidewalk in my flip flops, cut my foot on the jagged concrete and fell down. I brought bandaids, but it’s a bummer to be here at the ocean with an open sore on my foot.

Today was no ocean, however. It was another excursion day and we went to see Chichen Itza and Tulum, to famous Mayan ruins with temples and stuff. Our tour guide was Helaman, a member from down this way who’s been a tour guide for thirty years or so. He told the story about how he’d always been showing people around these sites, but when he got a call to teach seminary and was reading the scriptures more and more, he decided he should specialize in touring LDS people. He thought he could show people like us how the Mayan ruins and culture are consistent with the Book of Mormon.

Chichen Itza.

That's Tulum, with its main temple in the background.

We looked at the design of Mayan temples and he showed us how similar in design they were to the description of Solomon’s temple in the Old Testament, which was based on the Tabernacle from Leviticus. The Mayan calendar I almost the same as the calendar as Leviticus describes also. We learned about the symbolism of figures on the Mayan ruins and he pointed us to scriptures that explain them and show how the Mayans traditions are described in the Book of Mormon.

We’d actually look up the scriptures right there, since many of us had our phones with us. It was awesome. We also planked and Tebowed at the ruins, which was cool.

We all love Tim Tebow.  We're respecting him, not mocking him.  Or, we're just acting like goofs.

It was so hot out there away from the water. We were inland, but it was still very humid, and we all sweated plenty. When we got home I took a dip in the pool and made fruity frozen drinks.

Thursday was another beach day, with tacos in the evening.  That might sound boring and routine, but in Cancun the routine is relaxing and refreshing.  And AWESOME!  More time in the pool than the beach today, mostly because of the open sores on my foot, which aren't getting better.  No worries, though.  The pool is fun for its own stuff.  Like, I found out I can beat Adam at HORSE when we play in a pool.

We played some Texas Hold-em that night, and I won at that, too.  We just played for M&Ms and Jolly Ranchers, and in the end everyone ate it all anyway. (Except the Jolly Ranchers.  Who buys Jolly Ranchers to bet with in poker?  Devon Ellis, that's who.)  I ended up with bragging rights only.

Friday we rode SeaDoos on an Ocean Safari, which is properly named only if you consider safari to be synonymous with riding SeaDoos.  We did park in the sea and jump in with snorkels for about 20 minutes near a reef.  There weren't a ton of fish, but there were some, including a school that kind of followed us around.  There was also a sea turtle.  I only brought my phone as a camera, so I have no pictures of anything under the water, but the Caribbean is as clear as the air.

When we came home the next day I couldn't walk from riding the wave runners, so it was just as well that we sat on airplanes for seven hours.  By the way, US Airways sucks.  I guess all airlines suck, but at least the others don't try to push a credit card application down your throat on every leg of the flight.

The vacation was perfect in every way, including the length.  A week away from real life is just right.  I got tan enough, rested enough, and energized.  Now I'm ready to get back to work with gusto.  Everyone should spend a week in Cancun.  I'd like to do it every year.  Maybe next time with a girl.

Please?

Or not.

Lawsuits that suck

We went to an interactive zoo here in Cancun, which illustrates a major difference between Mexico and the U.S.  In Mexico, there seems to be less fear of stupid lawsuits, so you can have more fun.

The zoo was small, and if it hadn’t been interactive it would probably have been boring. But they actually let you in to the habitats and can hold and feed some of the animals. I held a crocodile and a snake, and fed deer, birds and monkeys. Many of the monkeys are wild and just hang out at the zoo for the free food.

I would do the same because free food is a motivator for me. I’m not that far removed from the monkeys in that respect. Also, I have that big gap between by big toe and the other four, and can curl them all under.

The most amazing part was the macaw. We got to feed this bird some peanuts. She’d take the peanut and softly crack the shell with her beak. Then she’d stick in her tongue and fish out the peanut, and put the shell with the other nut in her claw. Then she'd hold the peanut gently with her beak, put on enough pressure to break the red skin that’s on the actual nut, and peel it! She’d drop the skin and eat the peanut. Amazing. She could get the whole peel off in a single piece. I wish I’d have video taped it.

Feeding monkeys and deer is one thing, but when we got to the crocodile enclosure, and the zookeeper opened the gate and said, "Come on in," I knew I was in a different world.  There was a crocodile sleeping right in the walkway.  The zoo guy drew a line with his foot a few feet behind, and then snapped this photo.

Then he picked up his tail and moved him like a wheelbarrow and we cruised on by, again, just feet away.

We signed a waiver before going into the zoo, but I think the big differences between our two countries is that when people in Mexico do something stupid, it's recognized as their own stupid fault.  In the U.S., when someone is drunk breaks into someone else's pool and cracks their head open, it's somehow the pool owner's fault for not having razor wire on top of their fence.  When my friend got a trampoline, they were so afraid of liability that they made everyone sign a waiver before jumping on it.

If someone at a zoo in the U.S. brought bolt cutters and broke into an animal enclosure, I'm sure that would be the zoo's fault.  But in Mexico, they explain the rules, you follow them, and the zoo seems unafraid that they'll be destroyed if you act like an idiot.  I wish we had a willingness to let idiots suffer back home.

Baseball in Mexico

I thought that baseball in Mexico would be more like baseball in Japan than in the US, with rowdy crowds playing music all game like the Latino section at the soccer games in Salt Lake.  Nope.

At the Tigres de Quintana Roo game this week, the atmosphere was much more like being at an Owlz game.  Since I'm a baseball nerd, this was the highlight of the trip.

First, the seats were cheap.  We got box seats for about ten dollars just next to the visitors' dugout.
 

The concessions at the park aren't sold by the team and the stadium, at least not in the way they are in the States.  Instead, small vendors sell their food, like you'd see at a small-town fair or at an outdoor Mexican market.

I got a Chorizo (like a Mexican bratwurst) from these kind folks along with some delicious and fresh churros from another vendor down the row a bit.

In the picture above you can see that the players' uniforms are sponsored.  Both teams were sponsored by Tecote, which I gathered was beer.  In that way it's like soccer.  But everything was sponsored.  Even the umpires.  Check out the logos on the umpires jersey.

And on the back.

Oh, yeah.  The team also has cheerleaders who come out and dance between innings.  I hadn't noticed.

The Tigres won the game, knocking three home runs in a well-pitched shutout of the first place team from Tabasco.  

The Avengers

I'm much too old to be going to midnight showings of fanboy movies like The Avengers.  But there I was anyway, at a 12:30 showing of a movie about people in funny costumes on a flying aircraft carrier chasing a blue energy cube before it destroys the world.  And I loved every minute of it.



The main reason I did is that Joss Whedon wrote and directed it.  Serenity remains his best movie (that he directed--the best movie he's written is Toy Story, but that's true for every person who had anything to do with that film), but maybe only because its story is easier to tell.  In The Avengers, the story has to start by bringing six main characters who've never met together in a way that makes sense, or doesn't.

Besides the blue energy cube and flying aircraft carrier, there's also portals to other worlds with gods who dress funny, giant lizard robot spaceship thingies, and a sword that controls people when you touch their chest.  And why did the bad guys go to the German cocktail party and make one guy join the Nick Fury fashion club?  I don't remember if I even understood that when I was watching it.

And it doesn't matter. Through the whole movie the characters and dialogue drive the picture.  The effects are first-rate, but not the star--the characters are.

That's Whedon's real accomplishment.  Each hero has his or her own voice, sense of humor, and role--all first among equals, all with at least one hero moment.  And the awkwardish opening half hour when our heroes are all introduced and brought together actually plays like four shorter movies.  Whedon understands each character and backstory, and the writing, lighting, and direction of each Avenger's intro plays like it was from his original movie.  I thought I could live my whole life without seeing another Hulk movie, but now I really want Mark Ruffalo to carry one.

I mentioned humor in passing earlier, but didn't give it its just props.  The movie is very funny.  The humor works even better because every laugh is so true to the character that delivers it.  The Hulk got the biggest laugh in our screening in one of the funniest moments I can remember.

The Avengers is the rare money-grubbing sequel that is more than the sum of its parts.  It is better than any of the movies that led up to it.  So go see it.  And then reward yourself by watching Serenity.  It streams on Netflix.



And then have some Shawarma.