42

photo credit

 

 

 

"The answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything"

 

 

 

I turned 42 today.  I am lovin' this age and I can't wait for this year to get underway!!

 

 

Here are some awesome things about 42:

 

1. I've now got the answer to a long-forgotten question.

 

2. 42 is the angle rounded to whole degrees for which a rainbow appears.

 

3. 42 is a (2,6) perfect number.

 

4. '42' is a track on Coldplay's (my fav band) Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends

 

5. On page 42 of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry discovers that he is, in fact, a wizard.  (I verified this by checking my first-edition copy of the British version that Dad gave me for my birthday, a few years back.)

 

6. The element Molybdenum has the atomic number 42, and is the 42nd most common element in the Universe.  It is used in steel alloys where it gives great strength and heat resistance.

 

7. There are 42 illustrations in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

 

8. Toy Story character Buzz Lightyear's spaceship is named '42.'

 

 

We celebrated my birthday by hiking one of my favorite trails in RMNP, in the Wild Basin area.   Dean took the day off and my dad joined us, so it was the seven of us on this adventure.  We had a great time.  Owen and Colin were wandering every which way - much like Billy does in the Family Circus cartoon, by Bil Keane.



 



Our destination was 1.8 miles up the trail: Calypso Cascades.  It was coolish, and rain threatened from time to time.  We stopped for lunch along the way, and stopped another 30 or so times to get wandering kids back on the trail.

 

 

 

After we hung out at the falls for a time, the skies looked very threatening, a cool wind blew and we put on our rain jackets.  And then it began to pour.  And pour.  And pour.  I didn't mind - I think it is kind of neat to hike in the rain.  But - it did get chilly, and by the time we were within a 1/4 mile of the car, Owen was on his last legs.  His hands were cold and he was getting miserable.  "I just don't like this trail much anymore..."  :(  We got in the car, peeled off wet rain jackets and shoes and socks, and were sorta warmed up by the time we got home.  Luckily we had already made plans with my mom for dinner, so we just changed out of wet clothing and headed over for a yummy beef roast dinner and birthday cake for dessert.  I couldn't of asked for a happier day!