Antelope Island–My World Tuesday

In August I promised to do a post on Antelope Island for My World Tuesday. Finally, here it is.

Although I have been to Salt Lake City many times for conventions for my business, I had never been to the lake.  This time my family and I made a point to spend part of a day there, and we chose Antelope Island. Wise choice. We will go back every chance we get when we are in  Salt Lake City.

We really thought the lake would be pretty non-exciting and smelly. It smelled a little, but was not bad. It might be worse at different times of the year.

We drove the 17-mile length of the island and took one hike. There are thousands of birds there as well as antelope and buffalo. (We only saw buffalo.) What a beautiful place. (Most pictures can be enlarged when clicked.)

The water was such an icy blue.

We hiked through these boulders, then I just sat and absorbed the view.

The boulders had many areas where the girls could play and hide.

Part of my view from atop a boulder.

We saw quite a few buffalo, but the bird on the back of this one makes it my favorite picture.

The terrain of the island as we drove from one end to the other.

This is the view one direction from the causeway as we were leaving. The number of birds along the causeway was astounding. And the colors and reflections captivated me.

My World is a weekly meme in which participants are virtual tour guides. Go check it out and see the worlds of others. Or better yet, take a look at the guidelines, and do your own My World Post!

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Cedar Breaks National Monument — My World Tuesday

My memory does not tell me why I got side-tracked last summer with presenting my summer vacation, but I did. Now is the time to finish it. (And who is going to complain about some warmer-weather pictures?)

I left you at Red Canyon, outside of Bryce Canyon. From there we went to Cedar Breaks National Monument.

We go to this place every single summer. I have a convention every summer in Salt Lake City which is why we take these family vacations to western National Parks. The very first year we passed through Cedar Breaks, and we always return because it is so beautiful. The wildflower meadows are a place that we must get a picture of our kids each year. The times of year we have gone have varied which means the flowers have varied at lot when we have been there. But it is always a wonderful sight, and perfect for pictures of little girls.

(I must warn you that friends and a fellow blogger have been there as well and have not had the spectacular weather we seem to be blessed with. The elevation is over 10,000 feet, so weather can be unpredictable, but it has always been spectacular for us. There is a big ski resort in the area for winter visits, but leaving toward Salt Lake would scare me to death if the roads were bad.)

This is the big attraction--the "breaks." It reminds me a lot of Bryce Canyon, but not so many hoodoos. This is looking right into the area.

This is looking left in the same area.

Thankfully they had a quick Junior Ranger program here because we are always passing through. The Junior Ranger program is really a good one. It not only teaches children about the area and nature, but about being responsible with nature.

A week earlier or later and one would see completely different colors in a field like this.

I am sure these are not uncommon, but Cedar Breaks is one of the few places I have personally seen white thistle.

The wildflowers alone would be reason enough to detour here every year, but the "breaks" in the background make it absolutely spectacular. This is one of my favorite places I have ever been.

My World is a weekly meme in which participants are virtual tour guides. Go check it out and see the worlds of others. Or better yet, take a look at the guidelines, and do your own My World Post!

 

Chickens on the Porch–My World Tuesday

When I was visiting Reluctant Farm Chik, I saw this scene that I had to capture. Let us remember that I do not live in the country (though I would love to). This looked like a painting to me, and if I was a painter, I would paint it.

click photo to enlarge

One of my bucket list goals is to live on a farm and have chickens (and goats). I am not sure I want them on the front porch because I think they might leave behind a bit of a mess. But they make a pretty picture, regardless.

My World is a weekly meme in which participants are virtual tour guides. Go check it out and see the worlds of others. Or better yet, take a look at the guidelines, and do your own My World Post!

 

New Hampshire Stone Arch Bridge — My World Tuesday

Going back to my New England trip in October. I saved this one for a post of its own, but then had too many other things I had to post, so now its turn is here.

The pictures speak for themselves. I love all the stones in New England, and this was the height of stonework I saw. All photos will enlarged when clicked.

My World is a weekly meme in which participants are virtual tour guides. Go check it out and see the worlds of others. Or better yet, take a look at the guidelines, and do your own My World Post!

 

Branson Landing–My World Tuesday

When I was in Missouri, I wanted to visit Branson Landing.

When I lived there, this high-end shopping/condo area was not in existence. I had been there about 1-1/2 years ago on a Missouri visit and needed to go back.

But not for the shopping. I hate shopping, even if they DO have some of my very favorite stores. I actually did not go inside one single store.

I went for the water show.

It's not as big as the water show at the Bellagio, but it is still very nice. When it is hot, children sit and play at the edge of the water and get drenched. (It was not hot on this day!)

I will admit to being slightly disappointed because it was only hourly in late  November, and there was only one song. (It lasted 15-20 minutes when I saw it before, and I think it was more frequently.) But it was the best song because there was lots of fire with the water.

I did not even notice how much the fire reflected in the water until I uploaded the pictures.

The fire adds so much when being there in person. It has an exciting look to it, the sound is cool and it is warm.

My World is a weekly meme in which participants are virtual tour guides. Go check it out and see the worlds of others. Or better yet, take a look at the guidelines, and do your own My World Post!

 

An Afternoon at the Farm–My World Tuesday

Let’s be clear. My family is a city family. I am the least “citified” of all of us, but we are pretty much city folks.

When we visit Missouri, I revel in being in the country and having space. My girls love it, too, and this time they were so lucky to visit two farms during the trip. I have pictures of only one visit (I was not along for the other one), and here are a few that you  might like, too.

This is a really blurry picture (it was nearly dark, actually), but Chicklet was going for a little tractor ride, and in the background, one of her farm friends was playing on the choicest playground of all: "The Poo Pile." (My girls may be city girls, but they're not sissies. They were climbing on the pile with everyone else. Prince Charming was more concerned than anyone else about it.)

This was the reason for our farm invitation--a 1-week-old minature donkey. He is standing next to Chicklet who MIGHT be 3-1/2 feet tall.

This baby was so small, he was a little lap donkey. I think I want a lap donkey! (I heard from the person holidng him yesterday, a week later, and he barely fits in a lap now.)

Really, how many things are cuter than this? If they didn't grow up, I'd housebreak one and keep it myself!

My World is a weekly meme in which participants are virtual tour guides. Go check it out and see the worlds of others. Or better yet, take a look at the guidelines, and do your own My World Post!

 

Heading East

As if I am not absent enough from this space (and yours), today I am heading east for a few days. The official reason is a stamping event, but the real reason is that I will get to three states I have never been to before (thus making me three states ahead of Prince Charming on the count, a position where he will likely never pass me–47 total). Going east in the fall is not exactly a stupid thing to do, either. Although I realize I am going to FREEZE, I can hardly wait to see the colorful leaves.

And to add icing to this lovely cake, I will be meeting Mrs. Chili and O’Mama during my trip. How exciting!

It is unlikely I will do much blog visiting, but in the event you came here to see something for

or

I am leaving you with a picture of my recent sky and the one tree I have that gets pretty in the fall.

Sunrise two days ago. The sky was amazing in every direction. (I say that too much, don't I?)

This is some kind of ash tree in my front yard. It is still small--maybe 2-1/2 times as tall as me--but it really is pretty in the fall.

Hopefully I will have some things to show you when I return (and I never finished my Utah trip in the blog.) Have a terrific weekend!

 

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta–My World Tuesday

As promised here are a few pictures from the Albuquerque International  Balloon Fiesta we attended last weekend. (For the first post and the best sky shot, go here.)

Lots of pictures, so I will just put captions with them to keep this as brief as possible.

To go to a "Mass Ascension" one usually arrives early--well before sunrise. There is a looooong strip of things similar to the midway at a state or county fair. Plenty to eat and buy.

After the weather experts determine if it is a good day for ballooning, balloon crews put their balloons out on tarps. Sun is still not up, but it is light. Notice all the people. The field is open to spectators to be anywhere they want as long as they do not get in the way of the balloon crews.

We were next to the "Moo Crew" who often put up a cow-shaped balloon. Wind conditions that day were not conducive to "special shapes," so they put up their regular, round balloon. This is just at the beginning of inflating the "envelope."

The Moo Crew's balloon is almost inflated. I love the fire, and this is the closet shot I got. (Because I was too lazy to walk closer to the balloon.)

The Moo Crew's Balloon is up! Notice the referee on the ground. It amazes me that in a place where usually a minimum of 500 balloons are going up and crowd control is limited or none, that they pull of the ascension in such an organized manner.

One of my favorite things to see is just "piles" of balloons as they are inflating. (Note the sun still hasn't come up. We have a mountain that obscures sunrise, and there was a large cloudbank emanating from that as well that day, so we got an extra late sunrise.

This is a replica of the first hot air balloon to go on a flight. That was 1903 in France.

This is one of the few "specials shapes" balloons that actually went up, and it doesn't have lots of appendages. I included this for my German friends.

It was not yet light enough to get a good picture of this (and I was too lazy to run to get closer), but I cannot leave out an alien balloon since I am in New Mexico!

These bees are always together. The weather conditions did not let them go up together that day, but the nice crew inflated them anyway so everyone could look at them.

The sun is up! I loved this balloon. I think the writing on there says "Lithuania," except that it's in their language, not mine. One thing I love about Balloon Fiesta is that it is truly international.

I just thought this was a pretty grouping, and the sky was nice.

This balloon took off not far from me but went directly overhead. I love to look inside.

Another "must have picture." This one did not go up, either, but I am really glad it inflated so I could see it. It is the 70th Anniversary of "The Wizard of Oz."

I thought this one looked like a quilt. I liked it because it had similar colors to many of the balloons, but the pattern was so unique.

This is "Wally," not "Nemo." Wally is from Wisconsin and did not get to go up that day. (Weather. The weather was very borderline.) But again grateful for his being inflated so my kids could see him.

There is no way to show the enormity of that many balloons ascending within a 1-2-hour timeframe. On this day the wind was pretty strong, so they moved out quickly. This just gives you a small taste of a sky filled with balloons.

My World is a weekly meme in which participants are virtual tour guides. Go check it out and see the worlds of others. Or better yet, take a look at the guidelines, and do your own My World Post!

 

El Rancho de las Golondrinas (Sort of) — My World Tuesday

Today I am taking a break from my Utah trip more than a month ago to show you a place we found this weekend due to letterboxing. We have been hunting boxes for over two years and started planting boxes this past spring, but we had never been to a letterboxing event before. This one was nearby, so we went, and what a good time we had!

El Rancho de las Golondrinas is a place I might have never known about were it not for this event. (The way a lot of places are–we find the COOLEST places by letterboxing.) We arrived late, and I am not terribly into people pictures, so this post just shows a little of what I saw. Because we were late, we really only had time to find boxes, not explore the museum, but we will go back; it is a very cool place.

This event also brought me face-to-face with the first person I have ever met through blogging. I actually knew of her family before blogging due to letterboxing, but that connection made us notice one another in the blogging world. So I met Rapunzel from Laughing Orca Ranch as well as her children. She has a picture of that (I pray she does not post it; I’m horribly non-photogenic!), but I did not get one. But for a much different (and more thorough) view of this incredible museum, go to her post here.

So here is what I saw of the museum in the midst of my frantic efforts to find 12 letterboxes in a very short amount of time.

This flowerbed with zinnias was right inside the entrance. I liked the picture having the flag in the background.

This is probably my favorite photo from the excursion, but unlike Rapunzel, I LOVE fall! (Although her grudges against it are reasonable.)

I have no idea what kind it is, but I love the blue underneath this lizard. (And I always try to get lizard pictures when I see them.)

The area had water, thus it was greener than where I live, and had big trees. Lots of good trees to climb. My daughters loved it!

This is the view in one direction from a hilltop. It was quite picturesque. (I should have taken pictures every direction, but we were in a hurry.)

This is a working mill. (Not working the moments we were there.) My daughters were smitten with the frogs in the mill pond. I was smitten with the building.

Wildflowers always require a picture. I saw these only in one small area. I believe the are "Butter-and-Eggs," Linaria vulgaris.

I believe this is a Viceroy butterfly. If I had a butterfly book I would look up its range. I know Monarchs; I grew up where they were abundant, and have several pictures of them, and this one just did not look exactly like a monarch to me. Please correct me if I am wrong.

This cottontail arrived when I met Rapunzel. Apparently it was RIGHT behind me, but I missed that part. I liked the sun through its ears.

There were two old churches at this place. The history of the entire place is quite interesting.

My World is a weekly meme in which participants are virtual tour guides. Go check it out and see the worlds of others. Or better yet, take a look at the guidelines, and do your own My World Post!

 

The Last of Bryce Canyon–My World Tuesday

In my last post I said that it would be my last SkyWatch post from Bryce Canyon National Park, but many of  you thought it was the last post about Bryce. My apologies for that. I have to do one more. I could do ten more, but one is necessary because I have not yet shown you my favorite overlook.

When visiting Bryce Canyon, one can go to an overlook for every major amphitheater and see all of it in just a few hours. However, we spent 2-1/2 days there and did not have enough time to do all we wanted. The overlooks only made us want to see more. One day we will return and go backpacking in the bottom. (If you know anything about me and camping, you would KNOW it is an incredible place for me to even consider such a thing.)

Paria View--looking left (click photo to enlarge)

My favorite overlook was Paria View. I cannot tell you why it was, but something there just moved me more than all the other places. (I honestly loved them all, and some close seconds were the Upper Inspiration Point and  Bryce Point.)

Paria View--looking right (click photo to enlarge)

What amazed me at this place is that there were chipmunks on the ledges running around like it was nothing. Of course it was nothing to them, but I wonder if they ever mis-estimate a jump or something slides and they fall. (My children wondered this as well, and I emphatically told them OF COURSE THAT NEVER HAPPENS!) If they fell, there would be nothing below until the canyon floor hundreds of feet down. It made my stomach a bit queasy watching them.

Since in the last post so many of you said that sunset was a terrific way to say “Good-bye” to Bryce (and it was; it was our last night there), I decided to include a close-up of the same sunset at the end of this post, the real “Good-bye.” (For now at least.)

click photo to enlarge

My World is a weekly meme in which participants are virtual tour guides. Go check it out and see the worlds of others. Or better yet, take a look at the guidelines, and do your own My World Post!