Date: Tue, 17 Sept 1996 Subject: The Saga of a Steel Magnolia in Utah

Hi All,

Been working on paperwork and not doing too much the last few weeks. However...that doesn't mean I've been home-bound.

Movies du Jour: The Island of Doctor Moreau. Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer join forces to make a truly forgettable movie. There was none of the legendary magic that Brando gave in past performances and Kilmer should have stuck with Batman. Brando portrayed the reclusive Doctor Moreau. He managed to convey the image of an obese potentate gone amock. Val Kilmer gave an inspired performances as the brilliant, but sanity challenged assistant. Actually, Val does a good crazy act. Watch out Rutger Hauer, you have competition for the crazy class. Well, the movie has a pretty girl, half human residents of the island, and a lot of action. Why didn't I like it? Why did I leave as soon as the first name in the credits rolled up the screen? Because it was a real dog of a film...no magic at all. I don't plan on seeing it again and will not have a copy in my tape library. It was a major disappointment over all. But don't let me influence you.

Internet sites du Jour: http://www.anonymizer.com (for those wishing anonymity) http://www.cdt.org/privacy/priv_links.html (more for the privacy conscious) http://www.freeflight.com (go the bottom where it says 'After Hours' and look at the two links there, if you like games...you'll love these two guys)

We went back to Mt Timpanogos and drove around the alpine loop last Sunday. We were hoping to see the colored leaves at the higher elevations. Well, this area is a desert for the most part and there aren't many trees to begin with. Up higher, the Aspens were beautiful. They are like the eastern Birch trees only bigger and sturdier. Their leaves had not begun to change, but I like them any way. The Alpine Loop is about 24 miles of hairpin turns. Last weekend there were a number of people out on the road hoping to see the 'leaf' change. :-) We'll go back again and look for it. In north Georgia, the leaves changing color is a big deal. Scarlets, oranges, golds, and all the colors of the forest adorn the mountains as far as you can see. On a clear fall day, the view from Brasstown Bald is spectacular. For hikers, the trail up the north side of Blood Mountain is beautiful, strenuous but worth it.

Sunday night it started to rain in Layton. Rain, as in water hitting the ground and staying. Usually rain out here is when water falls from the clouds and evaporates before it hits the ground. It rained all night. It rained all day Monday and the clouds were so thick that you couldn't see the mountains in any direction. Well, it stopped about 5:30 in the evening and the clouds blew off. Guess what? The mountains were white with snow. WOW!!!!!!! It was really great! The mountains are in our back yard and they looked like something out of Shangri La. But wait! Tuesday it rained again. Two days in a row, a pattern if I've ever seen one. The clouds were very thick again and they looked like a gray blanket settling over the mountain tops. Well, there's more! When I got home, there was a full rainbow waiting for me. I got Katherine and the camera and took pictures. The last full rainbow that I got to see was in the Yucatan. We were driving through the jungle...and there it was. Too good to pass up. Oh my!

Well, the Cedar Breaks trip is this weekend. Hopefully there won't be any fires or other things to get in the way. This is our last chance to get to see this particular park so I really want to go. It may turn out to be a snow camping experience for all I know. Remind me to tell ya about the 'backpacking trip from '....' someday.

We also got the sewing machine out and did the sewing thing while my hard drive got it's backup, all eight hours of it. Yuck. Katherine wants to sew and sew we will. After all, I brought my goodies with me for just that purpose. Parenting is simply survival of the sneekiest. Actually, that's the title of a future book. (big evil grin)

Take care and write when you can.

Jan Noble, steel_magnolia@mindspring.com

Back To The Home Page.

If you would like to trade stories, email me at steel_magnolia@mindspring.com

This page created with Netscape Navigator Gold 3.0