Month: June 2007

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Little Wonders

Little Wonder Cafe

In the small town of Richfield Utah on 101 main street there is a little green-roofed restaurant that if not for a classic storefront sign jutting over the sidewalk would be easily dismissed. But that red and white sign beaconed out. As it was approaching 1 and this looked like a salivary adventure, we took the opportunity to stop.

It wasn’t a stinky, oily fast food dump. It wasn’t a schmaltzy hotel cash sponge. It wasn’t on the side of the highway with a big plastic cow and wagon nailed to the roof. It was clearly a local diner with a home-town feel and full of locals and home cooked food.

Little Wonder Cafe Billboard

On the other side of the building there is a dilapidated sign which looked as old as the founding date printed on it: Since 1929. Even the original Dick and Mac McDonald’s place didn’t open until 1940.

The potato salad is fantastic as are the burgers. You can substitute meat patties with veggie ones which is perfect for us.

What also drew our attention were hand crafted wooden signs posted around the walls:
“Stephen King sat here”
“Tommy Lee Jones sat here”
“Robert Wagner and Jill St. John sat Here”
“Kurt Russell sat here”
… and others

We inquired about these signs. The waitress mentioned with a smile that there are a good number of films made in Utah. Sometimes a private airplane breaks down or needs work and people end up in Richfield.

It’s easy to understand the almost magnetic energy that draws famous actors and actresses, directors and writers to such a restaurant. It’s quaint, it’s cozy and it’s personal. It’s full of imagination and inspiration … and as the sign says: “home-style food when away from home.”

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Freebie Friday

Freebies and the way of the internet have changed over time. For example, back in the mid 1990’s you could get free packages of JellyBelly just for filling out your mailing address (no email was harvested to be sold to spammers). JellyBelly doesn’t do that anymore, but that gesture still rings loudly for large family penny-pinching dads.

Most results when searching for freebies online take you to participation businesses. You sign up for 9 credit cards (along with your soul) and they (just might) give you an iPod. I’ve been instructed to be wary of such ventures.

Fortunately, there is a site which tracks down the old fashioned freebie forms, though most forms require eMail these days. Absurdly Cool Freebie Finder provides a list of sites where you generally enter in a short form and wait for the goods to roll in. Just like the good ol’ days.

It’s even cheaper than the $39 Experiment since you don’t spend money on postage, though Tom Locke gets double-snaps for his humor and creativity. Someday I’ll do the same with my children to teach them the value of humor and not being afraid to ask.

What makes Absurdly Cool Freebie Finder really stand apart is that it has a mixture of free Christian resources side by side with fizzy bath tablets, McGruff (the Crime Dog) Trading Cards and a Monkey Brains (oatmeal) goodies bag. Fun stuff for kids, useful stuff for families.

Read the instructions on each site for privacy policies and restrictions. For example, there’s a limit of one Monkey Brains Goody bag per household, but each child’s name may be submitted for the McGruff trading cards.

Have Fun!

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Antelope Canyon

Last week my family went on a circle tour of some great desert locations including a stop at Page Arizona. Page is nestled against the Navajo Nation reservation where the Antelope canyon and other slot canyons rest within wind carved sand dunes. We hired a Navajo guide to take us onto their land and had a great time taking pictures.

Several decades ago these slot canyons were open and free to the public. They had been discovered by sheep herders who would inevitably find their animals resting in the cool shade during the heat of the day within these slot canyons. Over time they brought friends in to see the canyons and ultimately closed them off from the public and started charging admission. This is usually anywhere from $15 to $45 per person depending on how duration and time of day the tour takes place.

Some tour guides don’t count their guests which means people do occasionally get left behind in the desert. Strange policies are in place which prohibit any tour guide other than the one who brought the guest to drive them out of the 5 miles of burning hot desert. For this reason alone you want a reputable tour guide. We used Robert and Carolene Ekis’ company as our guides.

It should also be forewarned that they are heavy on the guilt trips when wanting to milk high gratuities from you. This goes double if they think you are a professional photographer. Tips may go anywhere from $5 for a disgruntled look to $20 for a half-hearted “thank-you”. A general guideline is at least $5 per adult and $1 per child for a basic visit. If they’re very helpful with pointing out shot locations tack on another $5 or so. Professional photographers get some special treatment (don’t know what) and it sounded like they wanted at least a $20 tip from them.

For an Indian guide to retain rights to bring tours into the canyons they have to perform a ceremony within them each year. They give homage to the earth, water and sky. Not exactly sure what that entails.

It was great fun. If I return, I’ll make sure to get special permission to sell the photos. Without that certificate the photos have to remain free and for non-profit use only. Almost sounds like open-source photography.