Moon and Wind Turbine — SkyWatch Friday

I actually don’t have blue skies today, and I do not believe I have had most of this week.  So I went into my archives of a picture I missed last summer. I believe this is just entering the mountains going east off the interstate that goes south out of Salt Lake City.

I love wind turbines, and I always love the moon. And I am just about as tired as winter many of you are, so I thought a summery blue sky would be nice.

To see LOTS more terrific sky pictures or to find out how to participate in this meme, head to the SkyWatch blog.

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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!

 

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!

 

Bryce Canyon, Sunset Point at Evening–My World Tuesday

On August 1 we embarked on our annual trip to Salt Lake City where I go to a Convention each summer. Since moving to the desert Southwest, we have always made this trip as a family and spent some time in interesting places–usually a National Park, but sometimes a National Monument, and often both.

This year we spent 2-1/2 days in Bryce Canyon National Park. It did not disappoint, and like all such places we have been, we only want to go back. Will there be enough time in our life to do what we want in all of them? We can only try.

We arrived in the evening, but since our time was short, we wanted to take a peek right away. Not knowing anything at all about the park, we decided to go to Sunset Point since it was right about sunset. This might not be my choice in the future because it seemed like everyone else in the park was doing the same thing, and I am not really enthused with crowds.  But it was beautiful and definitely worth the view.

The pictures below are of Bryce Amphitheater from different angles–mostly taken at or near Sunset Point. Let it be noted that this is near the park entrance, where the altitude is the lowest–over 8000 feet. We were  little chilly as darkness came to the beautiful place. It really was never hot there at all during our stay.

A traditional view of the amphitheater. (Click photo to enlarge.)

A photographer getting a different view.

The same photographer is in this photo, but it gives an idea of perspective.

I loved the tenacity this tree growing in territory that should have been hostile to it. (Click photo to enlarge.)

The same tree is in this picture.

Bryce Amphitheater from near Sunset Point looking toward Inspiration Point. This is an enormous area. Several stops along the route will give a different view of this icon of Bryce Canyon. (Click photo to enlarge.)

To not overwhelm you with pictures (that may all look sort of alike), I will cover Bryce Canyon over several weeks.

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!