roadie

I love a good road trip! It goes without saying that we have amazing National Parks in Utah, I mean that is sort of what we are known for right? I somehow in 29 years forgot to discover,

moab

what have I been doing all these years? This place is incredible. You wouldn't think hiking around rocks could be so exciting, but I just marveled at the formations and the Arches and how beautiful the red rock looked against the blue sky. My photos aren't award winning by any means, especially with the storm coming in, but I am just grateful I had the chance to be there, and to live within driving distance. I am definitely making an annual stop from here on out.

 

One place we stopped was "Hole in the Rock". A couple literally bought the rock and built a house inside. So cool! I loved all of the vintage signs from the 1960's and the art structures there.




I was especially keen on this jeep, made of license plates and nuts and bolts. Ah, creativity. Love it!

 

Yay for Natural Beauty, Road Trips, and for lovely Utah!

field trip

Sometimes I get nerdy and curious, just so you know! I woke up last Saturday and decided I wanted to go somewhere and learn something about a place I have never explored. I picked the Kennecott Copper Mine that sits to the West of Salt Lake. Just as I had never been to The Great Salt Lake (previous post), I had never explored this amazing treasure. If you live in Salt Lake or are in the area I highly recommend taking a tour!

Did you know?...

• Kennecott's Bingham Canyon Mine has produced more copper than any mine in history - about 18.1 million tons.
  
• The mine is 2-3/4 miles across at the top and 3/4 of a mile deep. You could stack two Sears Towers (now known as the Willis Building) on top of each other and still not reach the top of the mine.
  
• The mine is so large, it can be seen by the space shuttle astronauts as they pass over the United States.
  
• By 2015, the mine will be at least 500 feet deeper than it is now.
  
• If you stretched out all the roads in the open pit mine, you'd have 500 miles of roadway - enough to reach from Salt Lake City to Denver.
  

Go check it out!

 

lake effect

This weekend I decided to go on a mini adventure to bike around Antelope Island. I had never been there before (crazy, cause I have lived in Salt Lake most of my life) and I wanted to see what it had to offer.

There is not much that can survive out there, and the city of Salt Lake looks tiny from the Island. We did see buffalo, and the biting gnats wanted to be my best friend. I declined.

However, the scenery was beautiful and one of these days when I am a rich teacher, ha ha, I will get an amazing camera to prove it. Until then, these pics will have to do.







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congratulations

to my baby brother Steven! He graduated from the University of Utah on Friday. I couldn't be more proud! Steven has worked so hard after his mission to get through school, and to be a great dad and husband. I admire Him so much for His accomplishments. Steven now has his degree in Elementary Education. He will be a GREAT teacher and I know His students will adore Him. Steven is also a fantastic little brother. Love you Steven!

perhaps a little bit of random...

I have this new friend Megan. She's a pretty funny girl, and I like her a lot. A few weeks ago she issued a challenge to me to go to Huntsville Utah of all places and visit one of the State's oldest Saloon. The more detailed part of that challenge was to get a picture by the stuffed St. Bernard on the wall. Who stuffs St. Bernard's? Also I was challenged to eat the famous burger at the Saloon which had not one but two hamburger patties and a hot dog. I am still waiting to go into cardiac arrest. On our way, we stopped at The Monestary in Huntsville and bought honey. I don't have pictures because we got kicked out by the monks. Rudeness...kicked out by a Monk? Honestly! I did buy some maple honey though and I am just waiting for the time to bake bread so I can try it. That might happen by 2013. No promises. Thanks to my mom and sisters, this little excursion turned out to be a very fun memory. The scenery was beautiful, we even found a lake that I am determined to swim in this summer!