Mormon Tabnacle Choir

We decided to venture out to some new places while waiting for it to snow.  We did a short trip to Antelope Island State Park, in the middle of the Great Salt Lake.   http://www.stateparks.utah.gov/park/antelope-island-state-park/about
The island is about 15 miles long and 5 miles wide and is home to about 600 buffalo and numerous deer and other wildlife.  We will go back another time to shoot sunset.

Here I am making new friends among the locals.

On the way home, we stopped for dinner and a show - a program by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  Needless to say, it was pretty fabulous.  There were about 300 voices and a 50 piece orchestra.  The acoustics were unbelievable. 

Back to Solitude

Not much happening in Park City so we went back to Solitude where they have snow and a pretty good Nordic Center.  Karol went snow shoeing to take pictures while I skied.

It's snowing - February 22

Well we finally got some snow.  Unfortunately (for me), it was all in the mountains - which is good for Karol and all the other downhill skiers.   On Friday, Feb 20, Karol met her ski buddies at Solitude, where it was snowing like crazy.  On the way there, on the 14 mile winding mountain road, we skidded and ended up sliding sideways for quite a ways.  Good thing we were going up hill because gravity finally stopped us.  Anyway, the skiing was great and Karol had a good time with her friends, Ann and Bev, pictured below.

Today (Sunday) we went back hiking up the mountain in the fresh snow.  On the way back, we came across a slightly used car and a real fixer upper. 

Apparently there are a lot of slightly used cars, houses and mining equipment up there and we plan to go back exploring and taking more pictures.

Visitors - February 13-15

We invited almost everyone we know to come visit us in Park City, and, except for family, Matt and Orchid are the only ones who showed up.  We all had a great time while they were here.  Matt took us to his favorite distillery – the High West Distillery and Saloon ( http://www.highwest.com/saloon-restaurant/ ) – where we sampled many of their wares. 

 

 Then we went skiing at Brighton, where there is actually some snow.

 

All in all, a great time was had by all.

 

Solitude - February 11

It looks like the weather across the country is backwards.  The weather in the east is snow, snow, snow and cold.  Park City has been in the 40s and 50 for the last two weeks and all the snow is gone except at the higher elevations (Park City is over 6,000 feet).  So my cross country skiing expertise is suffering – last time I skied here, I had to dodge puddles and bare spots. 

As a result, I needed something else to keep me off the streets – so I took up yoga!  That’s right, me and 15 ladies in spandex (all ages, shapes and sizes) bending and stretching in ways God never intended.

Then, my brilliant wife suggested we try other ski areas.  So…we drove down to Solitude, where the base is about 8,500 feet.  Lo and behold, they had plenty of snow and had just gotten five inches the night before we went.

While Karol went downhill skiing, I went to the Nordic Center and tried out their cross country trails.

 

 

We also found that they have a multitude of snow shoeing trails and tried that as well.

 

 

 

Of course, Karol had to stop to take some pictures...

which you'll be able to see soon at her blog:  http://shootingacrossthecountry.blogspot.com/

 

Photo Excursion to Fish Lake

We finally got out on a photo taking trip.  We went about three hours south of Park City to Fish Lake.  Here I am with my new camera – a Christmas gift.  It is a mirrorless digital camera that is small but highly capable.

 

Here are some of my first pictures.

 

 

Can you see the eagle in this tree?

Here he is!

 

 Maybe I’m just a city kid, but I just don’t see the attraction of ice fishing.  Especially when it’s about 50 degrees outside.  Nevertheless, around here it is a very popular activity as you can see below.

 

 

Champagne Toast at the Saint Regis

We were back hiking yesterday, scouting photo locations in case it ever snows again (lowest snowfall in January for 12 years) and latterly hiked over the mountain.  While in the woods, we came across what looked like bear tracks and can also confirm that it is true when they say what bears do in the woods!  We came out right at the Dear Valley ski lodge and decided to take the bus back to our car, which was parked several miles away by road.  But before getting on the bus, we decided to reward ourselves with a Hot Toddy at the Saint Regis, a high end hotel near the base lodge - http://www.stregisdeervalley.com/.  Lucky for us, we arrived just as the evening champagne toasting got underway.  It starts with one of the staff telling a story about Napoleon and then he opened the champagne bottle with a saber - a la Napoleonic cavalry officers. Pretty dramatic.  This is what it looked like.

Did I mention the best part was that they handed out free glasses of the bubbly to everyone present after the ceremony?!?!

Outdoor activities

While Karol has been skiing almost every day, I have taken up cross country / Nordic skiing.  Here is the trail I have been using and a selfie I took while out there.

Feb 1 - Lost Prospector hike

 Today we went hiking for about an hour and a half on one of the many trails in and around Park City.  There are numerous trails but, as we found out, not a lot of parking near the trail heads.  Nevertheless, here is our adventure on the Lost Prospector trail.

Here is the trail

 

 

Here I am on the trail,

 

 

Here I am with Park City in the background

 

 

 

 

and here is the view.