Arches National Park

This is our anniversary week - 43 years ago I was getting ready to walk down the aisle to marry my high school sweetheart.  We had both just finished college and Butch was getting ready to start medical school.  Wow... what can I say ...  time flies!!

To celebrate this year, we planned a trip from Montana to the Grand Canyon, with as many stops along the way as we had time to do in the one week we had scheduled.  We left Big Sky right after church and drove south through Idaho, Salt Lake City, and then headed back east to Price, Utah. 

The road to this little town is a beautiful drive.  The further east we went, the more mountain cliffs we saw!  Just outside of Price, we drove through a high mountain pass and could see a coal vein running through the rock.  Sure enough, at the end of the pass was the coal-fired energy plant, one of three in this area and a major employer in the region.  We had driven about 450 miles, and had a nice hotel room waiting for us in Price, so we had a good meal, a good night's rest, and started out the next morning for our 1st National Park destination - Arches National Park - just outside of Moab, Utah.

Years ago, I flew from Dallas to Salt Lake City late in the day, and could not take my eyes off the brilliant red rocks over which we were flying.  It was really an amazing experience - eerily spiritual.  Since that time, I had always wanted to see this part of the country from the ground. 

Arches National Park is the land of red rocks, but that's only part of the story.  This area is a virtual pancake stack of rock, miles thick, each layer representing a different environment that existed here in the past.  A layer of limestone might represent the presence of an inland sea; a section of sandstone indicates a period of wind-blown dunes from a drier time, and a layer of shale tells of a swampy river floodplain ruled by dinosaurs and huge trees.  Indeed, there were many times during this day that I could vividly imagine myself in the valley of dinosaurs roaming through this land.

I knew of the vast inland sea that once covered this third of the country.  What I didn't know was that over the billions of years that this planet has evolved, there have been some 30 seas that have risen and fallen in this area.  Each time, another layer of rock has been deposited, and every year since, the wind has eroded the sandstone layers to form these beautiful arches.  It's a living geology museum through which we wandered for the entire day.

The red rocks, as one might suspect, are deposits of iron that have oxidized or "rusted", and it is the predominant color of the arches in the park.  The Delicate Arch in this picture is the must stunning example of this process of oxidation and erosion.

But, this view of the Fiery Furnace, in another section of the park, shows many other colors.   The white to tan threads in the rock indicate  an accumulation of organic acids dissolving the iron and bleaching the rock.  The turquoise-colored rocks were created when volcanic ash settled into a large alkaline lake - an environment with very little oxygen.  This tapestry of colors is frankly stunning!

In addition to the arches, two other formation types are created by the process of wind erosion - spires and fins.  At Park Avenue, aptly named for the canyon of skyscrapers one experiences when standing on Park Avenue in Manhattan, a series of fins stand like giants, reaching 1,000 feet into the sky.  Wind and water in the form of ice have worn away once thick rocks into these formations.  With time and the continuing process of erosion, these fins will be the arches of the future/
.

In another section, spires and balanced rocks present more evidence of the effect of time and natural forces on this landscape.  This balanced rock, precariously perched on a thin spire, was at the beginning of one of our favorite hikes.  From the base of this rock, we hiked up to the North Window arch, then around to the South Window arch and on around to the back side of both arches.  Most of the trails are paved, but this hike around the back side of these arches was just a foot trail marked by rock cairns and we only met a handful of other hikers on the trail.  The quiet beauty of this landscape was a wonderful treat.

Driving out of the park, we caught a nice view of the Moab Fault, a 2,500 foot displacement in the earth through which the main road from Price to Moab now runs.  Just a few miles to the east is the rather touristy town of Moab, but we managed to find an excellent new restaurant with a beautiful patio and waterfall, and wonderful menu.

On to the Grand Canyon tomorrow!

Bluegrass in Grand Targhee - Day 2

Saturday morning - crisp, cool, clear blue sky.  Headed up to Targhee for day 2.  This could have been called "The Day of the Mandolin".

First on the schedule this morning was Mike Marshall and anybody and everybody else who played the mandolin.  Mike Marshall must have every type of mandolin ever played.  He started off the morning playing duet with Caterina Lichtenberg.  He was playing the mando-cello and Caterina a 16th century lute-type mandolin.  These two mandolin masters were a delightful treat to start the morning.  Marshall has mastered classical, jazz, bluegrass and Latin genres.  Caterina, who teaches at Cologne University of Music, currently holds the sole Professorship of Mandolin in the whole of Europe.  Not bad - classical mandolin for brunch at Targhee!!

There's always a new discovery at Targhee each year.  This year it was Sarah Jarosz.  This 19-year-old has a clear, pitch-perfect voice and was complimented by fiddler Alex Hargreaves and bass player Paul Kowert, 18 and 22 years old, respectively.  These three are ridiculously talented!!  Mike Marshall has recognized their talent and cut a CD with Hargreaves and Kowert - called the Mike Marshall Big Trio.  Kowert studied under Edgar Myer at the Curtis Institute, Jarosz is currently a student at the New England Conservatory and Hargreaves was admitted to the prestigious Berklee Global Jazz Institute.  Bluegrass is definitely in good hands, and Mike Marshall seemed to enjoy playing with them all.  Oh... Sarah plays the mandolin as well as guitar and banjo!

The girls from Alaska and East Tennessee, Bearfoot, were there again this year.  Always a crowd favorite, we feel like we know them now.   They recently set up permanent residence in Nashville, rapidly becoming a hotbed of talent for this year's Targhee festival.

And.... FINALLY.... the main attraction for which we had all been waiting the entire weekend - Sam Bush!!  The "Father of Newgrass" took the stage at 8 pm and played without a break until well after midnight.  Good Lord - what a show!!  You can count on him to deliver every time and give the audience all he's got.  His stellar band, particularly banjo player Scott Vestal, are up to Sam's pace and talent.  They absolutely rocked the house.


I've heard it said that Targhee is what Telluride used to be before it became the crowded venue it is now, more to see and be seen than it is about the music.  

At Targhee, it's about the music, and this year, more than ever, the stars of bluegrass and the up and coming inheritors of these stars shine brightly.  No one could be more proud of them than Sam Bush, who invited them all on stage for a final mandolin and fiddle love fest.  Great end to a great weekend of bluegrass!

Bluegrass in Grand Targhee

First of all, let me say that this is some of the most beautiful country in the world.  The drive from Big Sky down to Grand Targhee passes west of Yellowstone Park and heads further west into Idaho, then south into the little village of Tetonia.  Tetonia rests in Teton Valley in the shadow of the spectacular Teton mountains.  This is the view to which I awoke this morning!!

We quickly moved bags and coolers into our room, then headed up to Grand Targhee Resort to listen to bluegrass.  This venue is a ski resort in the winter, but turns into a fabulous bluegrass amphitheater in the summer.  The stage sits at the bottom of the beginner ski run and hundreds of bluegrass lovers spread out blankets and set up camp chairs all over the hillside.

We have been to this festival many times before and heard some great groups.  In its 23rd year, Targhee has this year attracted some of the top bluegrass bands and performers and the first day was spectacular.

The afternoon started with Punch Brothers.  The leader of this group is Chris Thile, who started playing mandolin with his family band Nickel Creek at the age of 8.  When Chris was 12 he won the national mandolin championship and debuted his first solo album when he was 13.  Now, at the age of 29, he leads his own band of 5 playing mandolin and singing impressive lead vocals.  Most of the band have southern California roots, but they relocated to New York City a couple of years ago where they "hang out" at the Living Room on the Lower East Side when they are in town.


Collaboration practically defines bluegrass - musicians coming together to create new sounds and harmonies.  Chris Thile has collaborated with both Edgar Meyer and Béla Fleck - the big names on the schedule for Friday.  I had never heard either of these in concert and my intense anticipation of this performance definitely exceeded my expectations!!

These two musicians have collaborated for so many years.  I was aware of their work with Mark O'Conner, YoYo Ma and others.  I was not aware of their recent collaboration with Zakir Hussain, the amazing percussionist and virtuoso of the tabla.  Take a look at this video and realize that the only instrument being played is the tabla - I had to look at the other musicians to confirm that they were not playing.  Hussain uses every part of his hands to make these amazing sounds - almost a one-man band!

This summer, this trio launched its Melody of Rhythm Tour and Grand Targhee was fortunate to schedule them.  They finish in one week in Aspen.  This collaboration began in Nashville when Fleck and Meyer, both based in Nashville, were commissioned for a trio concerto.  They immediately chose the Indian tablist Zakir Hussain as the third musician, and it debuted in Nashville in 2007 with the Nashville Symphony with Leonard Slatkin conducting.


Here's an NPR clip of these three world class musicians.  They are simply indescribable - "beyond category" as Duke Ellington would say.  Béla Fleck, virtuoso banjo player, has earned Grammy nominations in more categories than any other musician in history including pop, country, bluegrass, jazz, classical, spoken-word, composition and arranging.  Edgar Meyer is a classically trained bassist who has won both the coveted Avery Fisher Prize, given once every few years to a classical instrumentalist and a MacArthur Fellowship, otherwise known as the "genius grant".  

What a wonderful treat to hear these three geniuses together - each with over 30 years of experience in which to hone their musical talent and sensitivity.  It's a wonderful collaboration and I will definitely be adding their CD to my list.

The collaboration continues today with the Mike Marshall Big Trio and the Sam Bush Band.  My greatest hope is that some of these guys will join Sam on stage tonight for a grand collaboration!!  Send good thoughts my way!

Wedding on the Bluff

June 26, 2010 - Jimmy and Soeung were married on the bluff in Monteagle!  They exchanged their vows at 3 in the afternoon under VERY SUNNY skies and 90-degree temperature.  The joy and happiness that was shared by family and friends almost made us forget the uncomfortable weather conditions.

Soeung, in her vows, compared their marriage to the pear tree which they recently planted in their yard: the roots represent the families from which they come who love and support them, the trunk is their strong relationship, and the branches and fruit the things that they accomplish together.  For Jimmy, he simply said, "For a long time there was darkness and now there is light - you are that light".

Large family contingents from both Texas and Sparta were there.  My brother and sister-in-law, Charles and Carol and their son and daughter-in-law, Adrian & Gina and daughter Ashlyn came in from Texas, as did Jim's brother and sister-in-law, Bob and Reba.  Jimmy's cousin Valerie and her family - also from the Houston area - joined the Texas crowd.  From Sparta, Stanley, Marla and Shelby, and sister-in-law Pat made the trip.  And, of course, Marci, Ryan and Malenda were there and so excited to welcome Soeung into our family.  Being surrounded by family on a day like this is just wonderful!

Both Jimmy and Soeung graduated from Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences (CSAS), the excellent magnet school where Soeung now teaches.  Jimmy was in the first graduating class in 1991, and so many of his and Soeung's classmates made the trip from all over the country to share this special day with them - from Seattle to LA and New Mexico to Kansas City and Virginia Beach - they were all there.  In fact, 5 of the 6 wedding party are connected with CSAS.  Many of them arrived early on Friday to help with wedding preparations - everything from flowers to signage to table setup.  What a testament to the bond that was formed through this school!

The children, Will, Miles and Camille, were an important part of the ceremony.  Will (7) and Miles (9) were ring bearers and Camille (7) was the flower girl. I was so proud to have all four of our grandchildren there.  Malenda, now 10 months old, was a real trooper for the whole day.  She arrived on Dad Ryan's back and seemed to fully enjoy all the festivities as she was shared among many friends and family.

After the ceremony, approximately 200 guests walked through the woods to the reception.  Soeung's family prepared the most wonderful food - including egg rolls, sushi, lo mein - delicious Cambodian cuisine!

Many Cambodian traditions were a part of this wedding week, including the beautiful Tea Ceremony which took place on Wednesday, June 23.  In this ceremony, the groom travels to the home of the bride's parents, with flowers in hand, to ask for her hand in marriage.  His task is to coax the bride out of her room where she is "protected" by her girlfriends.  The groom must pass several tests, usually in the form of questions which he must answer correctly.  The final question - posed by one of the bridesmaids who also happens to be a math teacher - was to correctly repeat the quadratic equation.  With some help from one of Soeung's high school cousins, Jimmy answered the question, and Soeung was allowed to exit her room.

The gathered family and friends applauded and cheered the couple after which the Tea Ceremony began.  In this ritual, the bride and groom serve tea to the bride's elder relatives, starting with the eldest.  Soeung's grandmother was served first.  Jimmy and Soeung kneel and each of them serve 3 cups of tea to each family member.  The first two cups are poured out as an offering to their ancestors and to the divine being, and the 3rd cup is drunk indicating the relative's acceptance of their marriage.

After the Tea Ceremony at the bride's home, the group then caravans to the groom's home where tea is served to the groom's elder relatives.  Jimmy and Soeung served tea to Jim and me and to Marci and Ryan.  This custom, so unfamiliar to us, was simple and beautiful and one that I will never forget.  The Tea Ceremony is the "official" Cambodian wedding ceremony.

Another Cambodian custom is the giving of monetary gifts to the new couple.  There is no need for a wedding registry because physical gifts are not given.  Instead, the couple is asked to perform tasks, and upon successful completion of the task, they are given an envelope with money in it.  These tasks can range from the ridiculous to the sublime.  Miles, Will and Camille asked that Jimmy take off his shirt and beat his chest like a gorilla.  Yet another guest held a piece of food on a chopstick while standing on the table and Jimmy had to lift Soeung high enough for her to reach the food.  Another guest wanted each of them to say one thing that they loved most about the other, while another guest insisted that they do the "Chicken Dance" and sing Rocky Top reggae style.

Speaking of Reggae, the fabulous band, Milele Roots, played for the reception.  Founded in the late 90s, the original band members are very good friends of Jimmy and Soeung, and they are a much sought after band, particularly on the weekends.  What a special treat for all of us to have them as part of the celebration!

Jimmy and Soeung are now on their way to Cambodia for their honeymoon.  Soeung and her family left Cambodia in 1979 when she was 2 years old.  This will be her first trip back there.  She still speaks fluent Cambodian, and they will be visiting the towns where she and her siblings and her parents were born, as well as some trips planned to some of the beautiful beaches in that country.

If you are reading this, and you made the trip to Monteagle for this wedding celebration, we are touched and honored by your presence and your commitment to be there.  If you weren't able to join us, we thank you for your thoughts and good wishes on this special day.  It was and is a wonderful memory!

I've posted more pictures below - just because there were too many good ones!!

The Incredible Nashville Flood

I arrived in Nashville Saturday afternoon in the midst of an overwhelming downpour.  When I left Monteagle, the weather was clear, but our daughter Marci told me that it had been raining since 5 am in Nashville.  The rain didn't really get heavy until I passed through Murfreesboro on I-24.

What followed was just unbelievable.  My first stop was at Julie's house, which is on a ridge in Bellevue overlooking the Harpeth River.  As I drove along Highway 70 at about 1:30 pm, the water rushing off the bluff just below Julie's house resembled Fall Creek Falls.  Water was already running across the highway in an amount sufficient to cause hydroplaning unless I proceeded very cautiously.

Julie and I were working on a Camp OFA training which we had planned for the next afternoon, and decided to go to downtown Nashville to set up our meeting space.  The rain and storms continued all afternoon.  When we left downtown at 5:30 pm, the rain had not let up at all, and as we traveled west on Charlotte Pike, we observed several areas where the Harpeth was already out of its banks and a few homes whose driveways were completely submerged.

I arrived at Marci and Ryan's at about 6:30.  They had planned to go out to dinner while I babysat with Malenda - always fun!!  The rain continued to fall at a very rapid pace.  By 10 pm Saturday night, 13 inches of rain had already fallen in Bellevue.  We knew that the Harpeth would probably flood part of their neighborhood, particularly the river walk beside the river.  In fact, as I drove beside the river on Highway 70, I thought I could see parts of the river walk which was already under water.

The rain did not stop all night and when we woke Sunday morning, we began to think that this was going to be a very serious threat of flooding.  Our OFA training was to start at 2 pm.  Already the Mayor's office was urging folks to stay home, but Julie and I decided we would head downtown just in case some of the 50 people who had signed up for the event were able to get there.  At about 10:30 am, I drove over to pick Julie up and only got as far as Highway 70 and McCrory Lane when I realized that Highway 70 was completely under water, flooded by the raging Harpeth River.  The bridge over the Harpeth was barely 6 inches above the water and I began to be concerned that I could even get back across the bridge.  To say I was frightened is a massive understatement.

At this point, it really hit me that this was going to be a disaster.  We decided to cancel the training - it was not going to be safe for anyone to travel.  This was already a disaster, but it wasn't over.  The rain continued to fall in torrential amounts.  By the time I got back to Marci and Ryan's house, the power was off and it is still off as I write this post.  We later found out that the power substation in Bellevue was completely under water.

As I made calls to those in Nashville who had signed up to attend the training, I heard stories of flooding all over Nashville.  Antioch, east of Nashville, was particularly hard hit with I-24 completely flooded at Bell Road and 1 death reported there on Saturday.  Cars were floating like toy boats.

The worst was yet to come for Bellevue.  From our second story window, we watched as the water rose above the houses one street away from us.  When the rain finally slowed to a drizzle, we went out to survey the situation.  The pictures in this post were made on late Sunday afternoon.  The water was within 9 houses of us - just a heartbreaking sight.  There are so many young families in this neighborhood, many in their first homes.  Many of these homes were flooded with 4 to 5 feet of water - truly devastating.  Police were going door to door doing house checks for people who might be stranded.

Ryan managed to prepare a delicious meal on the grill.   We opened several bottles of wine and lit our candles.  Fortunately, the night was cool and we slept well - except for Marci who was up at midnight walking down the street to confirm that the water wasn't reaching us.  Because Malenda has so many battery-powered toys, there were plenty of batteries for the radio, so we were able to stay informed about road closings and emergency evacuations.

There were neighbors who were out Saturday night and were not able to get back into the neighborhood.  By 8 am Sunday morning, I-40 was closed in both directions.  There were reports of trees down and flooding across the Bellevue and Old Hickory Blvd. exits to the east, and more flooding on I-40 heading west to Memphis.  All together,  60 miles of I-40 were closed.  At this point, we knew were weren't leaving for a while.  It was as if we were stranded on an island with no boat.

This morning (Monday), I took Malenda out for a walk at about 8:30.  Neighbors were walking up and down the sidewalks talking to each other.  One woman had the gas grill out on her driveway boiling water for coffee and tea and boiling eggs.  Others were grilling breakfast.  No one could get out of the neighborhood to go to work, so neighbors really had time to spend with each other and talk without hurrying to the next event or chore.  This was really quite a comfort in a challenging situation like this.

Today was beautiful - blue skies, broken clouds and NO RAIN!  The media helicopters were circling for most of the day.  I'm sure it must have been quite a view from their vantage point.  We couldn't see their footage, of course, without power to turn on our televisions.

The water had receded quite a lot.  However the entrance to the river walk was completely blocked by the flood water.  There were still parts of the neighborhood that were flooded, but now those areas were 2 blocks away.

The ongoing threat now is in downtown Nashville where the Cumberland River is cresting tonight at 52.9 feet.  Flood stage is 40 feet.  As the Harpeth flows into the Cumberland, the flooding will move there.  Buildings on 1st and 2nd avenue are evacuated, public transportation is shut down, and many downtown sites are threatened.  Opryland Hotel was evacuated last night and is under 6 feet of water.  The Tennessee Titan's stadium, LP Field, is flooded.

The worry now is for water supply.  One of the two water treatment plants is already closed and residents have been asked to cut their consumption by half.

We have evacuated to the Cool Springs area in Franklin where we have power - lights, internet access and air conditioning.  We were able to save the frozen food and it is safely tucked away in the freezer section of our Residence Inn suite.  Malenda is sound asleep and we are very safe and secure.

To add to the surreal events of the last 48 hours, we had pizza at Pie in the Sky tonight in Cool Springs.  While waiting for our pizza, we looked up and saw Scott Hamilton, Olympic figure skater, walk in with his family.  If that wasn't exciting enough, shortly following him was Brad Paisley, Kimberly Williams and Sheryl Crow and their families - a stunning ending to an equally stunning few days.