Smelling Spring

Trying to smell spring out the window and trying a bite of a flower, plus just being silly kitties.

Adieu Salt Lake City...

Last Friday (June 3rd), Man joined us for lunch at the Garden Room Restaurant on the 10th floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. The fish and chips were the best I've ever had. Delicious. And because the waiter forgot to give us the discount with the coupons we had we ended up with a bonus – free desert! The crème brûlée was to die for!



There were outstanding views from the observation areas:





The Temple.



Looking towards the southwest.



Reflections of other buildings...

But the interior of the building was magnificent:





The carpeting approaching the east observation area on the 10th floor.





There was even live music in the lobby.



And, gorgeous chandeliers.

My time here in Salt Lake City and the Family History Library has come to an end. Yesterday (Wednesday, June 8th) was my final day of research and I'm heading east back to Indiana. I've had a terrific research partner while here who has been willing to let me “bounce things off of her” and who has helped figure out a few things when my brain went blank. There have been ups and downs. We've laughed, we've even shed a few tears. We've gotten frustrated when we couldn't find something we knew was there. And we've both had occasion to do the Happy Dance. Not just once, but several times!



We've had a good time photographing the flowers in Temple Square; it was our “chill out time” which was sorely needed some days. The excursions to Antelope Island and Park City with Carol and Man were also necessary and fun too! It was a pleasure to get to know Carol and Man a little better and to meet the fur kids - Gallagher, Tilly and Cappy. (It's taken me more than two weeks, but I think I've got their names straight and can tell who is who!)



And what fun it was to meet the You Go Genealogy Girls too. And seeing Kathryn Doyle and Tim Cox was a real treat. I even introduced myself to Michael John Neill whom I've had the pleasure of “meeting” before at several northern Indiana seminars (I'm sure he remembered me. Yeah, right!). Seeing A.C. Ivory again was fun too, we talked several times - the lucky kid lives in Salt Lake City!



I've made several wonderful discoveries while here, which I'll be writing about in the near future, however, the next few days will be traveling days for me so I've scheduled several “easy” posts – more flowers, of course! They really do have an incredible variety of beautiful flowers in Temple Square.



I'll definitely miss it all - I really was just getting into the “research groove” again after having not done much in the past two years – but I'm also pretty sure that I'll be back!

Zipcar... Not at All Like Bikeshare

So, we have finally signed up for Zipcar, and I thought it might be useful to share my impressions. While I had imagined a motorised version of a bikeshare program, Zipcar is a different thing entirely.



Here is how it works: First you buy a yearly membership. It is worth noting that some employers have programs for employees to try it free, which was the case with us - but otherwise it's $60 per year plus a $25 application fee (so essentially you pay $85 to sign up). You are then able to rent a Zipcar by the hour at rates that start at $7.50 per hour. The rate depends on the type of car you need. So, for instance, a compact sedan might be $7.50, but a truck or SUV would be more like $12. You can also rent a Zipcar for an entire day, and the daily rates start from $69. To use a car you must reserve it, which can be done online or via smartphone. You specify in advance the exact time you will be getting and returning the car, and when finished, you must return the car to the same location from which you got it.



I can see how this system would be useful for those who need a car for short and pre-planned trips to the grocery/ hardware/ furniture store, or for meetings with clients that are short and finite in nature. However, our needs are different and there is no way Zipcar would work for us in most circumstances.



Scenario 1: We need to go to our photo studio or to a photoshoot in a far-off location, and to bring a bunch of enormous equipment with us. We will then be staying there for 5 hours working, maybe longer - depends how it goes. And it's the weekend.



Problems: We'd have to rent the car for en entire day, because at the hourly rate it would not be worth it. Either way, the rate would be quite high, because we'd need a large vehicle. Additionally Zipcar's weekend rates are higher than weekday rates, which would make the fee greater still. Car rental makes more sense than Zipcar.



Scenario 2: There is an urgent situation and we need a car right away.



Problems: We check the Zipcar reservation site and there are no cars available in any locations within 2 miles from us for the next hour and a half (This is true: I just checked). We also do not know for how long we need the car - could be 45 minutes, or could be 3 hours.A taxi makes more sense than Zipcar.



So... since 90% of the times we need a car, it is one of the above scenarios, Zipcar is not really the right choice for us. However, I think that if Zipcar worked more like a bikeshare program, it could be more useful for everyone.In many areas, there is a dense grid of Zipcar locations - so why not make it so that a car can be checked out from one location and returned to another? I am sure there are good logistical reasons why this is not done, and as always no system is perfect. I hope this was useful for those considering a Zipcar membership and wondering how the system works.

On the Vine

This was a big watermelon. We guessed it at about 20 pounds. Biggest we ever raised. And it was good. The next photo down is of it cut open.

What Happens to a Tree

We go to the mountains and cut firewood every fall to use in our wood burning stove over the winter. The first photos show the trees as they look while growing.







The next photos show the tree after it dies. So why does it die? No one really knows why one tree dies and the ones next to it don't. Maybe it didn't get enough water. Maybe to much. Maybe it was struck my lightning or burned in a fire. Or just lived out it's life span. This one was a aspen tree. After it died the upper part fell off.







Then someone comes along and cuts up the part laying on the ground. Rules say you can only get the 'dead and down' wood. The part that was still standing we arn't allowed to take. Many birds and other wildlife could use it.











Then the chunks of wood are loaded into a pickup and brought home.




Here is a photo of the pile of wood after it thrown off the pickup and then we split it with the log splitter, (we are to old for using an ax any more) and afterward it will be stacked in the wood shed so it won't get wet if it should rain or snow. (you can see the woodshed behind the wood pile)






If a piece of wood is very lucky it will not be burned. If it looks like a good piece that can be turned into something pretty on the lathe that is what happens. This piece will be a vase eventually. It was still to green to finish at this point. It will have to dry for a while before being sanded and a finish put on it.

Mt. Shasta, Avalanche Gulch

Mt. Shasta had been on our radar for a while and since northern California had a good forecast, we decided to head south. It is the second highest volcano in the lower 48 (Rainier is the highest). This is the view from the trailhead at Bunny Flat (6,900'). The huge valley in this photo is Avalanche Gulch. The route starts up the left side, goes around Helen Lake (10,400') and ends up on the right side.We seem to spend a lot of time standing still and looking up. The snow was firm and allowed us to make good time. We made it above the Red Banks in time to see the sunrise. There is nothing like watching a sunrise from high up on a mountain. It was starting to get cold and windy.The shadow of Shasta is projected onto the countryside as the sun comes up. Next, we had to climb a feature called Misery Hill and a few false summits. We finally made it to the true summit.Doug and Dave on the summit. You would think that northern California would be warmer on June 25th, but it was cold at 14,162'!When the conditions are good, you can glissade about 3,000' down this route. The snow was still too firm, so we had to walk down. There were still a lot of climbers heading up.

All that was left was the long drive home. We got to see a bunch of deer, antelope, turkey vultures and about 10 more snow covered volcanoes.

It was fun to take a road trip to a new area and finally climb this giant.

Wordless Wednesday :: Nearly Ready for Liftoff

The Great Forest Park Balloon RaceSt. Louis, Missouri September 1994Copyright © 1994/.. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

Aspen Meadows

A Tropical "Paradise"

Here is my tropical fountain at night surrounded with plumerias, cycads, pygmy date palms, and an Abyssinian banana.

Caddo Lake Revisited

Tuesday, April 12th - - It seems like it has been much longer, but it was just 12 days ago that I was here at Caddo Lake State Park near Marshall, Texas. There seems to be a little more green now, which is just fine with me ;-) and the water lilies are about to burst out into bloom.



It was nearing sunset when I arrived this time, and like my previous visit the light was amazing.

Getting schooled in Chamonix.

Intitial gully of the Burnier-Vogler, N. Face of the Midi, yesterday.





A year ago while climbing in the Rockies, myclimbing partnerasked, "Where would you go to learn "alpine climbing"?



My quick answer was Chamonix. Every good alpine climber that I have admired over the years has spent some time here. And I have always thought that what they learned here was a major influence on their climbing careers.



I've been here 12 days. In that time we've had 40cm of snow, in two dumps. And as much as I know alpine climbing is all about conditions, I've generally ignored that and climbed anyway. Wallowing in cold dry snow has followed. While wearing all the clothes I own. A few interesting lessons for me already.



No Neve to be found here :) There was however lots of waist deep snow being shed off thehard, dryice.







It could be worse. But at the moment this has been the onlyresult of being slow on route. Bivy in the WC on the Midi station. Breakfast and a coffee in town followed after the first lift down the next morning. If nothing else climbing in Chamonix is sureal.

Wild Rose and Pine Forest

The skies were gray today and there was a light rain coming down throughout the day. Perfect for getting under the forest canopy and making some images of wildflowers!



Above image: Water droplets on a blade of grass after a rainy night. Shot with a Canon EF 100mm macro lens.