Just a quick update

   Our drive from Yakima was on one of the sunniest spring days so far and we enjoyed some beautiful views along the way. In particular we stopped at a pullout and got this shot of Rainier from the eastern side.
   Then it was on to meet Jey-hu's sisters and mother and we had a delightful time in Tukwila - all these native names are tongue-twisters for me!
  

 We arrived in Everett on Monday afternoon as the sun was setting and in spite of the threat that Jey-hu had left his keys inside the house, we were able to get in and get the car unpacked.
   Today the sun is shining (for a little while anyhow) and I took a shot of the porch to try and see if I could get a shot of the mountains hidden behind all those glorious tall fir trees, but as you can see, it wasn't about to happen. I think if I can convince the neighbors to trim a few branches we might have a better view... well, that's a project for another day.
    Meanwhile, I'm getting ready for another photo adventure - to take shots of the heart-shaped lake nearby and perhaps a few of the wildlife. Yesterday I saw an eagle soaring overhead, but I didn't have my camera with me.

The adventure isn't over yet....

Yakima, WA first stop in the state

   Our departure from Park City was slightly delayed due to trying to squeeze everything back into the Murano after having unloaded much of it during the week. It did finally all fit, and we had a very cool (30 degrees!) and bright morning start.

   Apparently not many people were on the road this Saturday, so we made very good time out of Utah and into Idaho. We arrived in Boise in time for tea with D and J and D's son also came over to join in some of the hilarity.

   After a couple of hours, it was time to head further west to try and make Washington state before nightfall. We managed to make it to Yakima, but it was well after dark by the time we settled in for the night.

Getting ready to roll again

   After a lovely week in Park City, Utah, Jey-hu and I are packing up the car for an early start on Saturday morning to go off to Boise, Idaho, my former stomping grounds. Then on Sunday we will be in Washington State and attending his family's "Mother's Day" dinner gathering for his mother. 

   Yesterday we took a drive up Lamb's Canyon and then across the Interstate into Little Dell's Canyon which led us to Emigrant's Pass, where the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) made their journey into what is now Salt Lake City. It was a bright and sunny day, with a few puffy clouds and a very cool northerly breeze.

 While in Lamb's Canyon we had a picnic lunch and Jey-hu tried to capture a few butterflies on film - well, not film anymore since we both use digital cameras. 

We also had a squirrel stop by to see what we were doing.

   The day before we did a short trip to Antelope Island, a three-mile wide, almost seven-mile long island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake, which has become a nature preserve. As we passed over the causeway, the smell was pretty intense. And the bugs were even more invasive on the northern end of the island. At first we wondered why no one seemed to be getting out of their cars. We are quick learners! The founders named the island after antelope found there, but there were none to be seen on this trip, although we learned there are supposed to be some still in residence. Instead we found ourselves in the middle of the Bison herd with lots of very cute calves bounding around.

 A couple of women were standing outside their car taking pictures, completely unaware of the potential danger if the herd spooked. 

Fortunately the bison were intent only on crossing to get to the greener grass and followed the leader. 

We could truthfully say we shot a lot of bison and left them on the road.

Chlorophyll helps with altitude effects

   Our digs in Park City overlook the base chairlift for this mountain resort. We have also learned that the lobby is at 6,800 feet of elevation. As we are at the next-to-top floor of the hotel, we estimate we are closing in on 7,000 feet and it's taken Jey-hu a little longer to adapt to the lower oxygen levels. We went to the local health food store on Day Two and found some liquid chlorophyll combo which, when added to water, helps to increase red blood cells and the effects of drinking more water are also helpful at this height. The consultant warned me not to be alarmed if the solid output developed a green color. I think it's now green enough it could be used for fertilizer... I feel like I've been chewing cud in an alfalfa field.

   We decided to take some time to explore the area and chose to drive up past the 'old' town of Park City up into the mountains surrounding it. Where there once was a mine, a new hotel or village is under construction with what appears to be a cable car track up the mountainside. 

   There is still snow at the higher elevations, and we made our way up into some pretty posh neighborhoods. Some have ski runs that go right past the house so that the residents can slap on the boards, slide to the next lift, ski all day and glide home again. Southeby's, a high end reseller of resort property, has a number of signs up, but not as many as might be expected. Perhaps the owners have a little more resiliency in the leaner air... 

   Before sunset we headed back down into 'old town' to see what our dinner options might be. Although the feel of an old western mining town has been preserved, seeing retail outlets for Rolex, Chanel and other shops for the rich and shameless took away some of the illusory charm.    Without too much discussion, we ended up eating at some place with 'bistro' as part of its name. The only conclusion we could make is that restaurants with fewer than 10 letters in the name are quite inclined to have menu items with foreign names at higher prices. The food was not as remarkable as hoped. Still it was fun to be out and about and watching the locals, although fewer in number due to this in-between period of winter and summer for commerce.

A Rainy Ride to Utah

   The drive from Colorado to Utah was cloudy to start and then the rain started coming down. All plans to divert from I-70 to see the Arches or Moab were discarded as being pointless since the rain was rather heavy with no likelihood of letting up.

   The last night in Colorado was not at all delightful as we were tired from driving and selected a no-star resting spot which was depressing, to say the least. But up and at 'em early on Saturday, we made good time and arrived unscathed in Park City, Utah before tea time. If you click on the link and look at the mountain webcam for the base, you can see our view from the room we had. If you don't look at it soon, the snow will be all gone. This mountain resort has very little snow left as of today and is getting ready for the summer season. 

   Many of the shops are closed and few restaurants are open for business. But looking up the slopes made me want to plan a winter journey back here, except that the elevation (almost 7,000 feet!) leaves me breathless (literally!).

   A trip to Salt Lake City and Bountiful after a couple of days brought us to my St. Augustine friends and we found a fairly new Mexican restaurant in a nearby town which had very fresh and tasty fare for our lunch. It was nice to get down off the mountain and into some sunshine, even if only for a little while. Those clouds you see off to the left in the picture on the right soon gave way to more with a light rain. We're here in Park City for a few more days and if the weather holds, we might try to see some of the tourist treats before we head off for Idaho and Washington.

   

Garden of the Gods - Colorado

   After several glorious days with a relative in Boulder, CO, it was time to head south to Colorado Springs to meet up with friends of Jey-hu and we discovered a park nearby called "Garden of the Gods." The unique sandstone monuments carved by wind and weather have drawn photographers and rock climbers from all over. (If you click on the link I've established, you can learn all about the red rocks and how they developed.) We spent several hours walking around and taking pictures. It seemed as if no matter what angle you looked at a rock structure, there was something about it that made you want to capture it.

   Dinner with new friends is always delightful, but it was more fun for Jey-hu to make contact with a couple he hadn't seen for over 20 years! D and S live in Canon City and were kind enough to drive up to Colorado Springs so we could enjoy some time together.

   The next day it began to rain and got much cooler, so we opted to save a trip to the Royal Gorge for another, sunnier day and instead headed northwest toward Breckenridge over the 11,500 ft. summit. Then it was on to Frisco and a little repeat driving past Vail toward Utah. We ended up stopping for the night in Grand Junction, which turned out to be considerably less grand than expected.