I went on some hikes up in the Silver Lake area this Fall, they were only a few weeks apart, but the difference in the colors is pretty amazing. I also ran into some friendly fauna whilst admiring the flora.
Well hello there Mr. Moose. I used my telephoto lense on the moose, because even though he was just mildly munching, they have signs all over the place about being wary of charging moose. I wasn't in the mood to be trampled to death that day.
I also saw some skittish deer.
Yes there is a deer in this picture, can you spot her?
More munching. I was less afraid of being charged by this particular little guy.
Same scene, a few weeks later. Check out all the yellow. Those are the aspens. Soooo pretty.
And a bonus shot from my trip to the Symphony last weekend. This was taken from the first tier balcony at Abravanal Hall. The Dale Chihuly sculpture which we got during the SLC Olympics is just breathtakingly beautiful in my opinion, but I also love how you can see the lit up Salt Lake Temple across the street.
Whew....I just got done uploading 392 pictures from my trip to Shutterfly. Now I need to figure out which of those get shared here, but until then I thought I would do a very quick recap of my Summer up until the time I left on my trip.
These pictures are out of order also, sorry. I wish Blogger had an easier way of managing pictures, but they don't, and I don't have enough time to monkey with them.
I drove into California and my car registered 105 degrees. I drove out in a torrential rain pour and my car registered 41 degrees (scroll down for pictoral proof of 41 degrees). How's that for some extremes?
On my way I decided to stop at Donner State Park. It was so beatiful, that I had to take a little hike/walk around the nature trail.
Did you know that Walt Disney was the Chairman of Pageantry for the Winter Olympics held in Squaw Valley? I didn't. But this flag pole has taught me otherwise. You just never know where you will find a little gem of knowledge.
This monument stands 200 feet tall (I think) and represents how high the snow was during that fateful winter.
Ahh, here it is.
I spent some time with my favorite girls.
Kylie Chillin.
Delaney dressed up.
3 Cowgirls. Yee haw. I like the rakish angle that Kylie has chosen for her hat.
I finally learned the name of this sculpture in the Salt Flats. It is not the Tree of Life as previously thought, but it is actually called - Metaphor: The Tree of Utah. Yah I don't know either. It is a bad metaphor if no one gets it...I am guessing.
My dear, dear friend Jenny got married. Isn't she so pretty?
I attended my beloved Highland games.
I went to a few concerts.
Keane
The Shins
I saw some baby ducks.
And a pretty tree.
The end!
(soon to be followed by too many pictures of Denmark and Sweden, rest up)
Hooray for the Olympics! I hope you all plan to watch the opening ceremonies tonight.
Here are a few thoughts I have been having about the Olympics today.
First...To dip or not to dip? That is the question. Honestly, even Olympic historians cannot agree on why in 1908 the flag bearer for the United States Olympic team refused to dip the flag as he passed by the King of England. Most say it was because he was of Irish descent and he was trying to make a political gesture. For whatever reason, it CAN be agreed upon that in subsequent games the flag was dipped. But not always. Obviously not in 1936...because of Hitler and all...but sometimes...in other years...who knows? Anyway, it is not necessarily an American tradition as some have been erroneously saying. My two cents....the Olympic games are not the right venue to get your political message across. Also, it is just good manners to acknowledge and honor your host. So I for one would not be offended to see some flag dipping tonight. Also, I am now craving some chips and dip.
Second...did you know that in years past there were literature competitions as part of the Olympics. With Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals being awarded in things like poetry, art, architecture...right along with wrestling, rowing, and soccer? I didn't know that, and I consider myself to be somewhat of an Olympics expert. :)
Here is the Gold Winning poem from the 1948 London Games, by Finnish poet Aale Maria Tynni’s.
“Laurel of Hellas”
Laurel of Hellas noble-born,
most celebrated tree,
gazing to your lofty crown
the mind must dazzled be.
Third...I am not a big Michael Phelps fan. Sorry. Ryan Lochte...now that is another story.
Fourth...I will cheer for another country in some cases. I am not so USA patriotic that there isn't room in my heart for a few other people. Case in point...Roger Federer. I hope he wins a gold. Love him.
Fifth...I wasn't sure I liked the official London 2012 song by Muse (and I LOVE Muse) until I saw it set to this video, now its growing on me.
Finally...I am sad I will miss all of the games since I will be in the Netherlands starting tomorrow for 14 days and then in Denmark and Sweden for 4 more days. I hope you will all double your efforts to watch every little sport (and yes that means trampolining too) to make up for my absence.
I have accomplished and experienced many, many wonderful things in my life. But I can count on one hand the moments in my life that have really changed me as a person. One of those experiences was volunteering for the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics. I am not sure I can even articulate how much this experience meant to me. I worked very hard to be a part of it for one...12 months of training, language tests, background checks... all while working and going to school full time. I worked before, during, and after the Olympics for a total of about 23-25 days of volunteer work. I even spent the night in an Olympic vehicle in a parking lot so that I would make sure to be awake in time to drive a double gold medalist to the airport on time. As a side note, you really can accomplish hard things if you have the drive to do it, no matter what your circumstances.
Maybe it was because these Olympics were just months after 9/11 or maybe it's just the Olympic spirit in general (I suspect it was both), but these games were blessed. I know they were. I could feel it all around me every day, with every interaction.
The City of Salt Lake has been celebrating the 10th anniversary of the games this month, and it has given me a moment to reflect on what was in every aspect a beautiful and deeply fulfilling experience for me.
I thought I would share some photos from 10 years ago (again with the scanner), and some from a few days ago as my small tribute.
"The Olympic symbol, better known as the Olympic rings, consists of five intertwined rings and represents the unity of the five inhabited continents (America, Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe). The colored version of the rings—blue, yellow, black, green, and red—over a white field forms the Olympic flag. These colors were chosen because every nation had at least one of them on its national flag. The flag was adopted in 1914 but flown for the first time only at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium. It has since been hoisted during each celebration of the Games." ~ Wikipedia
My almost all access pass.
My pass to the Closing ceremonies. I was an athlete escort.
A lot of the tall buildings in SLC had these incredible banners draped over them with different images of Olympic athleticism.
The flame.
The Olympic Athlete Village Avenue of flags.
My spotlight in the Volunteer newsletter. You probably have to double click to be able to read it. There was also a spotlight of me in the Swiss Olympic committee newsletter, but the picture is hideous so I can't share it here. You will have to come to Utah to visit me to be able to see it.
There I am posing in front of the Swiss House (each team establishes a few restaurants/meeting spots around the area where their people can congregate) in my lovely Norwegian SLC 2002 Olympics sweater.
My boy Simon Ammann, double gold medal winner in the Ski Jumping events. Lovely, lovely young man. I got to drive him around to all of his press conferences. He even gave me flowers.
The letter Mitt Romney sent to all of the Volunteers after 9/11. Not one person quit their volunteer spot after 9/11.
Speaking of Mitt Romney, here is a very blurry picture of him speaking to the crowd last week at the Stars on Ice tribute to the SLC Olympics. Say what you will, but this man is very likely to be the next GOP nominee for president, so that he took precious time off during his campaign to come to SLC for this occasion, was very much appreciated. I have met him, and I can say with authority he is a very nice man. And no matter what anyone has said in the news about his Olympics time, he absolutely saved the SLC Olympics, which were the first Olympics games to actually make money in decades and decades. Also, the Winter Olympics that almost everyone who would know, says is the best they have ever been to. So kudos to Mitt for that.
This is me trying to photo bomb former Governor Mike Leavitt. (wearing my uniform jacket)
Finally shaking hands.
The mascots amuse me; look at the expression on the rabbits face. So silly.
I love this quote by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympics.
"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."
I think that is a good motto to follow in life as well.
