Thanksgiving 2017

We started off this Thanksgiving the way we have for the past few years, with a bike ride from Kaysville to Murray (except last year, when we were in Japan). Jared started this tradition seven years ago. I don't remember when he challenged me to join him--it was a few years ago--and that's when I started riding a bike again after several years of being pretty sedentary. I used to ride my mountain bike quite a bit when I worked at Novell. I frequently rode my road bike to San Francisco Bay on the Alameda Creek Trail when we lived in California. But since moving back to Utah, my bike and I mostly just sat.

I started today by driving to Kaysville with my 25-year-old and new Bianchi bikes. 

We started our ride at Weaver's house in Kaysville. 

Tanner joined us this year and did great, especially for his first long ride. This is along the Denver Rio Grande Rail Trail. The weather was nicer than it's ever been on Thanksgiving, topping at 64 degrees. 

We stopped along the Legacy Parkway trail for a snack of apple slices. 

I read just a couple days ago about the new bridge over the several railroad tracks and Jordan River in Salt Lake. Until now, the trail ended (if going north) at 2nd South and picked up again next to the Utah Fair Park on North Temple. In between I had to ride 2nd South, 10th West across the railroad tracks, sometimes waiting for trains to pass, and west on North Temple past the Fair Park. So this was the first time I've seen or ridden over this bridge, and I was really impressed.

We stopped here to pose for a photo in front of this Trax garage near 2100 South. 

Jared and Tanner taking a selfie. 

Our ride ended 36.7 miles later at our house in Murray. By the way, the back of my Wallace & Gromit jersey says, "Keep Up, Lad."

After a quick shower, pulling a turkey from the oven and making gravy, we headed over to my dad's for Thanksgiving dinner. 

This year is an "on year" (everybody came here instead of going to in-laws). Fifty-seven people fit rather comfortably in my dad's house--thanks to Jennifer's planning. 

This is the executive table. 

My plate. There is turkey in here somewhere. 

I don't know for sure how many total pies people made (I think Janet made eight or nine), but we had eight different kinds of pies: pumpkin, of course, lemon merengue, apple, banana cream, pecan, mixed berry, mincemeat (Janet always makes this, and I think she and I are the only ones who eat it, but it's one of my favorites), and the pumpkin cheese birthday cake that Janet made, because today was also my 65th birthday. 

Posing with the pies. 

Blowing out the birthday candles. 

Kali and Chieko. Kali enters the Missionary Training Center on Wednesday to study gospel stuff and Japanese before she heads to Sapporo, Japan, on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 

Emi, Stanton and Annie in the tree. 

Here's the whole group who came for dinner. It's easier to say who isn't here than who is: John's family (in Wisconsin), Daniel's family (in Colorado), Jason (climbing a 17,000-foot mountain in Ecuador), and Amanda (in Vernal). 

Bear River Bird Refuge

Today I was planning to ride my bike to Odgen, about 50 miles. I do this ride often on Saturdays. The weatherman said we'd have mild temperatures, 45 to 50, and rain after 5 p.m. That's perfect. I was planning my ride in the morning, beginning about 9 am. However, while I was eating breakfast, the weather woman said it was already raining in Ogden. So instead of a trial ride I did 1-1/2 hours on the bike on our patio using Zwift--I ended up climbing a 2,000-foot mountain in Europe--and headed to the Bear River Bird Refuge in the Sequoia to see what blue herons and other interesting birds I could see. However, I forgot to pay attention to hunting seasons. We're in the middle of duck hunting season, and the refuge is apparently open for hunting. That's a pretty poor refuge, if you ask me. I saw quite a few ducks and a lot of pickup trucks with boat trailers filling every parking spot on the refuge's dirt road. Mud road, actually, on this raining day.

Anyway, here are a few pictures I took.

Grass islands.

Most of the ducks were fishing. Here's one making his dive. 

Look closely at the duck on the right. He just surfaced from diving, and you can see he has a fish or worm in his beak. 

Notice this duck's reflection in the pond.

Here's a water-level view of some reeds growing in the shallow water with an island in the background. 

Whoever heard of a wild fire in a swamp? Well, this is one. And the fire appears to have been very widespread, and it smelled like a recent burn.