Birthday #39

Here are a few pictures from my special birthday weekend. Drew worked until Sunday afternoon, so I invited friend Heather to ride a nice long mountain bike ride with me. The forecast did not look good, but the weather has been rainy for SO long here, that we decided to chance it. Our gamble failed and we ended up at 8000 feet huddled under a not-the-tallest-in-the-vicinity tree for 20 minutes while what another friend called “the most violent storm I have seen in Salt Lake” blew through. We bailed off the mountain as fast as we could, but ended up very wet, very cold, and very muddy. We had to call friend John to come rescue us from a sporting goods store and drive us back up the mountain to our cars. I owe him an interior car detailing.

To top off the day, I went home to a flooded basement. The water reached all the way to our newly refinished den. It got the new carpet wet and ruined part of the pad, but hopefully the dehumidifier will dry things out.

So birthday weekend was not starting out so great, but it got a lot better when Drew was able to get home in time on Sunday to join me to wait in line for an outdoor concert at Red Butte Garden (the same garden where we got married). As soon as we got in line, the rain started.

No violent lightning and hail, but a cold steady rain nonetheless. We were prepared with full rain gear, tarps, and a cooler full of beer and picnic supplies.

The rain drove many people away so we ended up in the front row only 30 feet from performers Bela Fleck and Toumani Diabate, who played banjo and the kora, an African harp-like instrument.

Not 5 minutes before the artists began strumming, the sky cleared and allowed us to enjoy a great concert. A few fun gifts from Drew and family capped off #39.