PaRk City

We try to go to Park City every year for a day of skiing. This year, I didn't ski because of my knee and the arthroscopy I had in October. It's coming along, but if I happened to fall and bend my knee back, I think it'd be pretty painful. So we got Becky to come and ski with Scott and I tended the kids. Since it was really cold and windy on the mountain, I had more fun than they did. 

We also had some time to "pursue hobbies." Scott isn't ready to retire and do this full time, but he enjoyed a couple of evenings painting. I did some decorative journaling, and I hand sewed a quilt binding. It was a fun couple of days.

spriNgtime in sAn dieGO

Fun little trip to San Diego last week. We stayed in Carlsbad and from there went to three different beaches. Also, side trips to Coronado Island, La Jolla, and Balboa Park. Scott oil painted and sketched and I supported him lol. 

Grand Canyon 2

Today was filled with the things that make Grand Canyon the treasure that it is. History, geology, photography, native anthropology, weather, and wonder. After a good breakfast - the kind we're not used to and only enjoy when traveling - we left the little town where we are staying and joined the stream of cars entering the park. Scott happily used his Senior National Park Pass to get into the park without a fee. We followed the tourists along the main road then veered off to the south and began a long drive to an area of the canyon called Desert View...stopping along the way at pull outs and overlooks to stare and gasp at one beautiful vista after another. When I say gasp, I'm not being dramatic. Looking down over the edges of the cliffs (with no fences or attempts to protect anyone from falling) does bring gasps. I'm not height-phobic, but I had to back away several times - it was almost more than I could handle.

We made time today for Scott to put on his red apron and be an artist. He made a sketch of an incredible view with a rock formations. Then he oil painted a picture of the Watchtower (a historic stone building that is nearly 100 years old and was designed by a woman architect named Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter) and the ledges and valleys beyond the tower. The painting is beautiful.

I loved today. It was enchanting and soul filling. I sat on a hundred-year old wooden bench and wrote a little essay. Writing calmed me. I craved the solace of sunlight and warmth, so I walked along the rim and looked out to view the horizontally-striped cliffs...layers of red sandstone, white limestone, gray shale, green sagebrush, and golden grasses. (Actually, scientists have identified 16 geologic layers.)
I enjoyed watching the acrobatics of the large, black ravens as they flew across the canyons, caught the April breezes, flipped and somersaulted. They performed gracefully, as if they knew that the visitors standing on the balcony of the Watchtower were watching and shooting photographs of them.

I took this photo just before sunset. Then for the next two hours, I just kept gazing at the view in front of me. It is the kind of scene where you'd say, "If you painted that, it would look fake." The layers were so incredible.

- fields of daffodils -

If I had a free weekend and enough sky miles to get to Atlanta, I'd go there asap and drive an hour north to this magnificent place called Gibbs Gardens. I read about it in Southern Living magazine, and I'm fascinated by the story of one man's life's work. He has worked on this garden venue for years and years, and on March 1st, it opened to the public. Imagine planting over three million daffodils. What an amazing story! Plus thousands of other features that he planted and built. Here's the scoop:

*Forty-year Dream Comes True*

Jim Gibbs, the owner, designer and developer of Gibbs Gardens, is the founder of Gibbs Landscape Co., one of the largest, oldest and most successful landscaping firms in Atlanta.

Jim Gibbs traveled for 15 years covering the nation and the world viewing gardens of every style and decided that he wanted to design and build a world class garden. He spent six years looking for a suitable site with a strong source of water and beautiful mature trees covering a rolling topography. It was truly "a dream come true" when he found the most beautiful site in the nation to construct the garden. The property is 292 acres and the house and gardens include 220 acres, making it one of the nation's largest residential estate gardens.

“I’ve dreamed of creating a world–class garden in the Atlanta area for more than 40 years,” says Gibbs. “After spending six years finding just the right property and another 30 plus years designing and developing Gibbs Gardens, that dream is about to come true. Gibbs Gardens will open to the public on March 1, 2012.”

Visitors to Gibbs Gardens will be amazed by the diversity and breadth of its 16 artistically designed garden venues and dazzled by the four feature gardens:

1. Daffodil Gardens, 60 varieties of daffodils sweep across more than 50 hillside acres under a canopy of flowering dogwoods and cherry blossoms.

2. Japanese Gardens, at more than 40 acres is the largest in the nation.

3. Monet Waterlily Gardens, featuring 140 varieties of unique lilies and a replica of the bridge in Monet’s Garden at Giverny (outside Paris).

4. Arbor Crest Manor House Gardens, located on the highest ridge in northeast Cherokee County, where seven flowering terraces flow seamlessly down 150 feet of elevation from Arbor Crest Manor House to the Valley Gardens.

Ryder Cup - US Team - Rickie Fowler

(Getty Images)

Rickie Fowler

Age: 21
Hometown: Murrieta, CA
Birthplace: Anaheim, CA
Birthdate: December 13, 1988
College: Oklahoma State
Turned Pro: 2009

RYDER CUP EXPERIENCE - Debut

PLAYER NOTES

Most everyone agrees that Fowler, arguably the most surprising of Corey Pavin's four captain's picks, will find victory on the PGA Tour soon. Until then, the rookie can take solace in his making 16 of 21 cuts, two second-place finishes, five top 10s and more than $2.3 million in earnings. No stranger to international team competition, Fowler went undefeated in four matches to help lead the United States to victory in the 2009 Walker Cup, and also starred in the 2007 Walker Cup, going 3-1 in Northern Ireland, where he was the youngest player on the victorious U.S. team. A two-time All-American at Oklahoma State University, Fowler won the Phil Mickelson Award as the nation's top freshman player. In his first start as a professional on the PGA Tour at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, he birdied the final hole to finish T7.

AND HERE is the UNITED STATES RYDER CUP TEAM:

Phil Mickelson - Age 40; Previous Ryder Cups 7

Hunter Mahan - 28; 1

Bubba Watson - 31; Debut

Jim Furyk - 40; 6

Steve Stricker - 43; 1

Dustin Johnson - 26; Debut

Jeff Overton - 27; Debut

Matt Kuchar - 32; Debut

Tiger Woods - 34; 5

Zach Johnson - 34; 1

Stewart Cink - 37; 4

Rickie Fowler - 21; Debut

- it's hot there -

I never wanted to be a blogger who just posted photos of family and trips - I wanted my blog to be filled with thoughtful paragraphs about philosophy and self improvement, rants on my current likes and dislikes, well-written book recommendations, favorite quotes, pictures gathered from other blogs and websites, step-by-step recipes, and tidbits of stuff I learn and want to share.

Well, all that takes time and thought and effort. When I sit down to post on my blog it's so much easier to check out other blogs and read about everyone on Facebook lol. Distraction happens. Oh well - since my blog is a form of journaling for me, it has turned into a little photo album with brief captions.

So, without further excuses, here are a few photos from a recent quick trip to Palm Springs, California. This trip came about because last year, on the cold winter night, Scott answered a telemarketer's phone call and signed up to get three free nights and a free dinner if he'd listen to a condo presentation at a Westin resort in Rancho Mirage. (We sat through two solid hours of a high-pressure sales pitch, and no, we didn't fall for it - but it took another solid hour to convince them that we really were NOT interested, and we were just there for the freebies.)

It was HOT in Palm Springs - it was definitely the off season. To cool off, we went to a beautiful little oasis in the desert called Andreas Canyon and hiked a one-mile loop. We enjoyed the huge palm trees, sparkling creek, and abundant lizards.

If there's a rock, Scott has to scramble to the top of it.


We went to a little art shop so Scott could buy some new paint brushes. And then we walked through the beautiful upscale shopping area and enjoyed some fabulous art galleries.




(An art gallery's nod to Halloween - the metal and barb wire nests were priced at $2,000.)

I walked around the corner and was excited to see an exhibit of Kent Wallis's paintings. He's President Wallis to me - our (church) stake president. I served as stake Relief Society president for three years until last month and got to know him well. I should have asked for a discount on a painting don't you think?

This is the lobby of the JW Marriott hotel. It's huge. There's a lake in the lobby with little boats that people ride in. I liked the flower centerpieces.

Free dinners!

And, finally, I have to share a photo of the full moon over the desert mountains. The September full moon is called the Full Corn Moon because that's when the native Americans knew that their corn was ready to harvest. The shades of purple and coral in the landscape beautifully complemented the gray sky and bright white moon.

climbing in the Tetons

All summer Becky, Pitt, Scott and Mike have wanted to go to the Tetons and climb the Grand. They finally found a weekend that they could all make it, and they headed to Jackson for the big climb.

Day 1. Pitt (the experienced climber and leader of the trip) is trying to decide what to do. Unfortunately the vertical sections of the Grand were icy - with snow on top, so they were advised to not climb that mountain.

They decided to hike to Amphitheater Lake while they waited for the weather to change.

Becky was so excited about the climb. She has spent the whole summer getting ready.

Deer and quail on or near the trail.

And a huge black bear, only 30 feet away.


Playing at the lake.

Looking up at the mountains to be conquered.

Oh, yes, and someone had to stay home and tend little Emmett. That was my job. I loved it.

After a day on the trail they camped and decided to climb the mountain next to the Grand - Teewinot - because no snow and ice on top.

Teewinot Mountain is the sixth highest peak in the Teton Range, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.^[1] The name of the mountain is derived from the Shoshone Native American word meaning "many pinnacles".^[2] The peak is northeast of the Grand Teton and the two are separated from one another by the Teton Glacier and Mount Owen. Teewinot Mountain rises more than 5,500 feet (1,675 m) above Jenny Lake.
Day 2. The trail to the top of Teewinot.

Sunrise in the valley.

A fellow climber took their photo at the top.

Becky and Mike - yea they made it!

Pitt at the peak.



Scott celebrates!