Sleepless in Happy Valley Tomorrow

Thisis the Lehi Rollermill, where the Kevin Bacon character in Footloose worked and where the dance took place.

Instead of being awake at ridiculous hours here, tomorrow night, I'll presumably be experiencing the same in Happy Valley.  I won't arrive at the airport until about eight o'clock, so by the time we get to my hosts' home for the first night, it will be between nine and ten. If the children are with the parents picking me up at the airport, they'll be tired and cranky, and the whole evening will be a delightful experience.  At least their house is clean and they have an extra bedroom so I won't have to sleep on  sofa in the living room.

On Monday, we'll try to go over everything that needs to be done so that we can make a heavy dent in the work on Tuesday. With a little luck, we'll finish by noon on Wednesday, which will allow for  little leisure time. What I'm suppposed to do with that time I'm uncertain, but if it's hot, my pseudoaunt's condo, where I'll be staying on Monday and Tuesday nights, they have a private pool tht's just for their extended family, and I'll have use of it. I know it's not safe to swim alone, but I'll basically just jump in to my neck to cool off for a few minutes if no other relatives are there. I don't want to put my head in because the last time I put my face in the water in an unfamilar and overpopulated pool, I contracted pinkeye. This pool may be perfectly safe, but I'm taking no chances.

I'm glad I'm only staying one night in Lehi. They're having a critical water shortage, and I'm not even sure I'd feel comfortable using their meager water for a shower. As it is, I'll shower right before I get on the plane. Then I'll shower Monday night at the condo where i'll be staying.

Lehi, Utah, was established in an area where none of the runoff from the melted mountain snow naturally flows. They've had some sort of deal to divert water fom the American Fork River to the Lehi area, bt when water runs low,  the folks in lehi are sort oflow on the pecking order.  The population more than doubled in Lehi between 2000 and 2010.  I hate to point out the obvious, but if you build a settlement in the desert, there may not be enough water for those who eventually show up.   Residents are being asked not to watr their lawns in Lehi. From what i've been told, most of the younger families in Lehi are reasonably environmentally conscious, at least when it comes to water conservaton  -- they still average about five children per family --  but some of the old-timers are reserving the right to water their Kentucky bluegrass, which is a really sensible lanscaping idea for a desert.  The city hasn't yet enaacted legislqation to penalize those who water thier lawns until the crisis can be averted.

As a side note, much of the original Footloose was filmed in Lehi, leading to rumors than Mormons prohibit dancing, which is absolutely untrue.

Anyway, I'll be happy not to be spending my entire time in Happy Valley stuck in drought-stricken Lehi.

I don't have to leavefor the airport until about 4:00, so I'm hitting the beach tomorrow. What I'm doing there besides being a sunbeam for Jesus, I haveno idea.