My Family Cabin in the Unitahs

We went to my family cabin today to close it up for the winter. We have to do this every year so the pipes do freeze, windows don't get buried and broken in the snow and to do some light cleaning. I had not been to the cabin this year... So, I was very happy to be up there for a bit. It is a very pleasant place to be; full of beauty and childhood memories. Most of the colorful leaves were gone, but the willows have changed to beautiful reds, ambers, yellows, rusts and purples. I'm afraid the lighting wasn't the greatest, but I did manage to get a few good shots. I hope you enjoy them. (The picture to the right is from the river bottoms looking east at Gravel Mountain.)

The Weber River

The Willows

Tree below the cabin

The Weber River

Gravel Mountain - I love the sky in this picture.

The Weber River

Atlanta, Georgia - World Languages Presentation

I went to Atlanta, Georgia, for a presentation I gave and was there for the last few days of Fall Break. The presentation went well and there were some important people from several important southern universities there. I've flown through Atlanta a lot, but this was the first time for me to actually stay in town for a few days. I was busy during the day, but was able to go out a bit at night. An old buddy of mine from USU works in GA now and so we hangout a little and luckily he was fine with me taking a lot of pictures. :) A few of my favor things were the Magaret Mitchell House (She wrote Gone with the Wind), the High Museum, the Midtown skyline, the Thai food, and have a little time to unwind. Here are some pictures of the highlights from the beautiful Atlanta.

The High Museum of Art - Atlanta Georgia

These three pictures are of an awesome statue outside the High Museum. The larger figure is made up of smaller figures that look like the little wooden figures artists use. It looks incredible at night with the lighting. Hope you enjoy!

Statue outside the High Museum

Statues ouside the High Museum

Midtown Atlanta, GA

Port Angeles, Washington

My sister and her family just moved to Port Angeles, WA. It is a nice little city that is very close to some amazing natural beauty. This was our home base during Fall Break as we explored and had a great time. Apart from the great picture oportunities, I really enjoyed hanging out with my sister and brother-in-law and playing with my adorable nephews. The three pictures I'm posting are on the water front in/near Port Angeles. It was a beautiful morning and the lighting was incredible.

Port Angeles, Washington - The Docks

The morning mist hanging over Port Angeles

Out on the boat look back toward Port Angeles

Canada! Victoria, British Columbia

Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada. We took the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria (British Columbia). As we walked out of the customs house, we were greeted by three ladies all dressed up in Victorian clothing. They welcomed us the Victoria wished us a Happy Thanksgiving and even gave us some treats. It was a nice welcoming party and made me think about what kind of welcome people receive when they visit the USA. I also think it is fitting that they were wearing Victorian dresses, and that we were in Victoria, and that we soon found a statue of Queen Victoria in front of the Parliament Building. (See photo to the right)

The British Columbia Parliament Building is very stately with its copper domes and impressive stonework. It was built in 1893 and was designed by Francis Rattenbury who was only 25 years old at the time. There are totem poles that tower above the grounds and not far away there is another kind of tower… We here it before we saw it… The Netherlands Centennial Carillon (see last photo) was built in the 1960’s and has 62 bells.

British Columbia Parliament Building - Victoria

Parliament Building with Totem Pole

Netherlands Centennial Carillon (Bell Tower) - Victoria, British Columbia

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One of my favorite spots in Victoria is Beacon Hill. It is a huge park on a hill. It gets its name from the beacons that shine out to sea. It is a photographer’s and walker’s paradise. It also has a pretty cool play ground. I’m including a couple of my favorite pictures. You’ll notice that they all have a common theme which is leaves and water. They say a picture is worth a thousand words so I’m going to let these three do the talking. Hope you enjoy!

Beacon Hill Park - Duck Pond

Waterfall - Beacon Hill

Rain Drops on Leaves - Beacon Hill Park

Rialto Beach - Sharing the view...

Rialto Beach Olympic National Park – One of the most enchanting parts of the Pacific Coast is found in the North. It isn’t the beautiful white sand sunny surfing beach that you get in the South and it may be hard to get a good tan there, but it is an enchanting place where nature has more say over what happens than man does. Rialto Beach is a wild place where massive woods meet the endless sea. The weather and the sea literally roll by as you walk the pebbled beaches, explore the tide pools and gaze at the soaked sea stacks. After a great day at Rialto Beach I was sitting on top of a log that had to be at least 8 feet in diameter. I was sitting there enjoying the view and letting my mind wandering when I heard a pair of little lungs panting with the effort of climbing onto the log. It was my four year old nephew who was climbing up there to sit with his uncle. :) There is nothing better than a good view and someone special to share it with! Hope you enjoy!

Rialto Beach in Olympic National Park, Washington

Rialto Beach in Olympic National Park, Washington

Rialto Beach in Olympic National Park, Washington

Seattle, Washington

Fall Break 2008 - This year for Fall Break I decided to head to the Northwest and visit my sister and her family in Port Angeles, WA. I flew into Seattle where I met up with them at the Seattle Public Library. As many of you may know, I like libraries and Seattle has a pretty cool one (see last picture and one on the right). After seeing some of the city, we went to the Woodland Park Zoo. We had a great time there. I have two really adorable nephews that make going to the zoo a very enjoyable experience.

We were lucky to have great weather in Seattle. The evening pictures turned out great. I’m including pictures mainly from Pier 52; that’s where we got the ferry to Bainbridge. The first picture is of the Seattle skyline at night. The next is of the ferry with the sunset which is followed by more sunset. :) The last two were taken during the day. The waterfall is just outside the REI and was very well done; it felt extremely natural. The library was being cleaned. Can you see the guy washing the windows?

Seattle at night

The Bainbridge Ferry

Sunset from Peir 52

Waterfall near the REI and Space Needle

Seattle Public Library - Washington

NYC - MET

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is amazing. I've been to a few museums in my time and I really enjoyed the MET. About ten years ago we were in NYC on a family vacation and we tried to go to the MET but it was closed. I'm glad that I had the chance to spend a couple hours there on this trip. I'm also glad that they let you take pictures. I hope you enjoy my pictures.

This is a collection of pictures I took at the MET. I hope you enjoy!

This is one of my favorite pictures from the MET - There are a lot of layers going on

I like the lighting on this photo.

The Metropolitan Muesum of Art

New York City - El Quijote and Famous Buildings

There are some pretty nice restaurants in New York City. The nicest one I've eaten at is El Quijote which is a great Spanish restaurant. As you walk in there is a life sized statue of Don Quixote. They have the Dulcinea Room. All the art has to do with Spain, Cervantes and Don Quixote de la Mancha. The menu has specials named after the Spanish hero. It is quite the place and I think it was worth the price tag to enjoy great Spanish food in a temple dedicated to the Knight of the Woeful Countenance. :)

El Quijote - 23rd Street


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New York is famous for a lot of things... a few that come to mind are Broadway, Wall Street, cheese cake, taxis and skyscrapers. We have seen two Broadway musicals while here. The first was Young Frankenstein which was very funny. The second was Hairspray which was also very entertaining. I ate cheese cake yesterday and visited Wall Street. As for skyscrapers... Here are a few more pictures of some of the famous buildings in New York Ciy.

St. Patrick's Cathedral - NYC

Chrysler Building
"Until it shines like the top of the Chrysler building!"

Empire State Building

My favorite picture from the NYC trip!

New York City

NYC - Well, its been 12 years since I was last in New York City. It has been nice to see the city through my "grown up" eyes and to remember what it was like when I was a kid visiting the Big Apple for the first time. It's also nice to compare it to other places I've visited. It's nice to choose what I want to do and see and it's nice to get out there and have some more adventures. :)

Guggenheim Museum - Architect Frank Lloyd Wright

Guggenheim Museum - Architect Frank Lloyd Wright

Central Park, NYC

Central Park, NYC

Salt Flats

Utah has some very interesting geography. The Bonneville Salt Flats are out of this world. It is a huge flat area (159 square miles) next to the Great Salt Lake that is covered in salt deposits left by the lake. It’s makes a great day trip from Salt Lake City and lets you see what the world can be like when Mother Nature is left to work her magic.

Salt Flats, Utah

Salt Flats, Utah - I know it looks like snow, but it is actually salt.

Salt Flats - Western Utah

The Great Salt Lake, Utah