The Unmuddled Mathematician

Two hours and 40 minutes

By Chris Coray, The Unmuddled Mathematician

 

Jet aircraft and the geometry of the earth create some dramatic differences.  As you know, the winters at Bear Lake are long, even when the lake does not freeze.  Bobbie and I don’t mind the cold or even the snow so we stay home during Christmas, New Years, the Cisco Disco, and enjoy the peace and quiet with our friends.  But then comes March.  In March  the snow begins to melt and the roads on our hillside turn to mud.  Serious, thick, all cars are completely brown mud.  Sometimes we hope for a freeze just at dark or a freeze in the morning so we can get up or down the hill without adding 75 lbs to the weight of the car.  And we are tired of the long, dark nights and short days, even though by March that has changed considerably. 

Anyway, concurrent with our permanent relocation from Logan to Bear Lake Bobbie bought on the second-hand market 3 weeks of timeshares in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  It is a 2 hour and 40 minute airplane ride from SLC, straight south.  But the climate seems other worldly compared to home.  This article is being written 50 yards from the ocean, an ocean in which I can swim, snorkel, and if I want, go fishing for a really big fish (as in marlin).  I need to point out that Bobbie has to mentally psych herself up for the snorkeling.  She does great, but it takes her a couple of hours before we get to the beach to facing her ocean demons before she gets comfortable.  Then she is just fine and stays out longer than everyone else.

The temperature every day is within a degree of 86 for a high, 62 for a low, and the probability of precipitation is zero.  I did see a small cloud one day for a few minutes but it went away. The only thing not perfect about this place is the small (actually very tiny) guilt we feel when we think about our dear friends to the north.  We will do our best to bear the guilt.  It helps if you like Mexican food, fresh fish, and flowers all around.  We go 3 for 3 on those features.  We have no intention of making this an annual long-term stay.  Two or three weeks are just right.  Last year the Englands came with us, this year we had Bobbie’s sister Kathie and her husband Mark for a week.  The Browers have been here and all who have come have made our trips better and more memorable.  We even got our kids to come once.  The granddaughters really liked the flamingos.

Finally, there are two really great aspects of this annual trip, which includes a visit to my mother in California.  First, we trade the mud and ugly transition from winter to spring at Bear Lake for unrelenting sun-filled, ocean front warmth (or heat) with no mud.  Then at the end, we get to come home to the magnificence of Bear Lake and all of you.   Bob, please tell Ann that we can almost smell the aroma of the chocolate chip cookies and if you are a good boy I’ll slip one back to you from any batch that finds its way to me.

PS:

  This is not a place where you want to send your sons and daughters, ages 18-24.  Way too much skin, way too little square inches of swimsuits, and way, way too much alcohol in their hands.  The Mango Deck has no mangos.