BC Temple fever

I've been following the construction of the BC Temple pretty closely. It's been insteresting to see all the buzz due to all the social networking sites and blogs out there. For instance the day they put the East steeple up word got around and it was so packed downtown Brigham City that it cause traffice disruptions on Main Street. It's a town of about 20,000, that's about as exciting as it gets. I can only imagine the masses that will be there when they raise the Angel Moroni up (rumored to be July 15th?).

I usually walk to the site every time I'm in town to see the progress (it's 2 blocks from my mom's house). I've taken some pics.

It's located across the street from the Tabernacle. It makes for a dramatic scene with the two buildings facing each other.

The design reminds me of a cross between the Salt Lake (minus 4 spires) and the Nauvoo. I heard the granite was quarried in the same canyon as the Salt Lake's but it is white instead of gray.

I don't know about other days, but it is a very popular spot for families on Sunday evenings. We've walked the neices and nephews in the family there a couple of times. They are very excited about the progress.

I have a few ancestors that pretty much took part in the building of most of the major buildings back in the day in Brigham City. My great granpa Pett was an archetect and designed a lot of buildings and bridges and stuff around the area. I have ancestors on both sides of the family that helped build the Tabernacle. Back in the day everyone pitched in time and labor to build churches and tabernacles and stuff. Even though I've left BC, I have always felt part of the town because of that. All the building and moving stuff is hired out now, I'm hoping I can volunteer to do some last minute cleaning or maybe some planting around the grounds when it comes time for that stuff. I'd really like to carry the family tradition on and take part some how. If nothing else I'd like to volunteer during the open house.

Another excellent Tour de Cure. The weather this year was fantastic. At least for the 25 miler. I was originally going to make this my first full century ride, but I'm a fair weather biker. All the rain this spring kept me indoors when I should have been ramping up my miles. It was sunny but cool.

I don't understand why I can never find a single person to ride with though. Maybe because most of my friends don't really ride bikes often. I always kind of wish I had someone to ride with though. The nice thing about the Tour de Cure is that it's a fun ride and not a race. You can go as fast or slow as you like. Since I was alone I just took off as soon as I could get around the crowd and went for speed. I can't lie, it's really fun to pass lots of people going much faster than them.

To the handsome gentleman who took my picture for me, took the time to learn my name, then cheered for me by name through the ride--thank you. Call me.....

Oh, another reason I'd like to ride with some people is so I don't act like a baby right before the race start. Seriously, every year I get all teared up and almost start crying in public. So dumb. Diabetes just really sucks and has done bad things to people I care about, so I just get all internal and think about that before the start and blubber up. So embarrassing. Showing emotions. What's that all about?

As I said I went for speed. A few miles out from the 1/2 point rest/turn around spot, I could count all the bikers ahead of me. 9, then 7, then 6, 5 for a while, then 3. Most people take their time at the rest spots cause they have food and stuff and it is a fun ride so no hurries. I put down my pb&j and some dried fruit, drank lots of water, then got back on my bike. I guess I could have fratanized with the other riders, but I decided to just get 'er done.

There were 3 riders ahead of me. Then 1. Then none. For like 15 glorious moments, I was the lead rider in the 25 mile bike ride (that started at the regular start time, some people start early and I did see some of them headed back on my way to the turnaround ahead of me). Mind you all the more serious riders who could have left me in their dust were probably riding the 65, 80, or 100 mile rides. And it's not a race so there's no first place, but for a short time I was totally first place. Then my bike chain jammed up when I shifted. Boo. Probably a dozen riders passed me while I got the chain back on. I did end up passing most of them.

For a non-competitive fun ride, I think I was about the 4th or 5th person back. There was actualy a crowd at the finish line that were cheering pretty good as we came through. I can't lie. I like me some cheering crowds.

The Tour de Cure is an excellent ride for beginners or serious riders who are looking for a nice flat course. The century has a good "hill" (Golden Pass) to go over, but it's basically flat, farm countryside. It's got some good sponsors, it's a good cause, lots of volunteers help out, and the directors of the event do a great job.

Note to self--next time I ride or run and start with a long sleeve on, remember to put the sunblock on first. Burned my back pretty good after I took my shrug off.

Dirty Dash 2011

Last September was the first ever Dirty Dash race. I was so excited for it and put 2 teams together. I did the Camp Pendelton Mud Run when I lived in CA and it has been one of my favorites for years. It was actually the race that probably started my addiction. I'd run occasionally for a couple of miles but I remember thinking I could never do a 10k. But I did and so much more since then.

From way back in the day, 2002 Camp Pendleton Mud Run (those are kilts)

So a few weeks before the race last year, I broke my shoulder. No Dirty Dash for Amy. Everyone I know ran it of course and said how it was the funnest race ever. Since it was so popular they put on a 5k this spring. Actually they now have races in Boise, Seattle, and I think even Spokane. I wanted to do it but it sold out the day before I planned to register.




I got on the waiting list but didn't really want to start after 3:00 PM because no one I knew was going to be there then. However, my friend Suzie asked if I was doing it last minute and we went over and got 2 spots. I'm so glad we did too. It was pretty fun. I'm sure it would only be more fun with more people I know, but Suzie and I had a lot of fun regardless.




It wasn't really a 5k though--more like 4 miles or more. I didn't mind. Some of the obstacles were hay bales, pipes, walls, tires, mud pits, a giant water slide, and the final pig pen mud pit. I didn't have to crawl through the pipes because I'm so petite, I was able to crouch and walk through very fast. There were spots where spectators could throw water balloons at you. Fortunately I was able to get over the walls on my own. Any taller and I would have been in trouble though.

Actually one of the craziest parts is the start. It's straight up a hill that they keep nice and wet so it's totally muddy. Everyone starts running and mud starts sploshing everywhere. Keep my mouth closed is all I'm saying. Because of the vast number of people who want to participate, they start in waves every 20 mins. We were one of the last ones, but it really didn't make a difference to me. I rather enjoyed not getting up at the crack of dawn to get up there.


Temperatures were just about perfect for the race. The free showers were a tad on the chilly side. More like a tad on the hyperthermic side. I had to go in and out because I couldn't stand it long enough to get clean. Not that you really get clean. There were huge piles of shoes and socks people threw away after the race.

In hindsight, it would have been smart to bring towels. We did not. Cause you have to ditch your clothes before returning home. When we arrived there was a lady changing in the parking lot. Her exposed backside is burned into my memory. I'm ok getting down to my base layer in public at events like this, but I'm personally not in favor of showing off my birthday suit. I wore a skirt (somehow I always wear skirts in mud runs...) and it was fairly clean so I used that for cover up as I changed clothes. If we get a group this fall I am taking my shower tent and a bunch of old milk containers with warm water. Warm showers and somewhere to change.

Dannon drinking yogurts, and yes, I did drink one (after I cleaned the rim off), yummy

I've never been to Midway before but it's a really cute little town up in the mountains past Park City. I could definitely go back and explore. When I'm not filthy. If this sounds fun, hit me up so we can all sign up together. Join forces with me and we'll take a grill and tail gate, have warm showers, a place to change, and more fun than your heart could imagine. They also have a piglet plunge so it's a family friendly event.