last photo of day #1

This was actually from the beginning of our hike on day #1. Pretty cool stuff.

more Squaw Canyon

This was our view near our rest stop.

And the view as we were almost back to the car at the end of the day.

the top of the world

This was our view as we climbed out of Big Spring Canyon and into Squaw Canyon.

The "climbing" was actually not strenuous. Even though the rock formations are so dramatic, we probably only climbed ~300 feet, so it felt pretty leisurely.

I love this perspective of Tom taking it all in.

more Big Spring Canyon

These photos are all very similar, but I couldn't help posting them. I just loved the red & white rocks, and how they contrasted with the deep blue skies.

We really had excellent weather throughout our trip.

We also appreciated the fact that since school is back in session, we didn't have crowds to deal with!

so many photos, so little time!

Our first day in Canyonlands was AMAZING.

This is from the Big Spring Canyon -- where we were simply blown away with how gorgeous everything was.

I had forgotten the thing I like most about Utah: the blue, blue sky. These photos have absolutely no adulterations.

we're back!

We have just returned from an 8-day trip through SE Utah and SW Colorado with Sherry & Mike. I've barely begun the process of editing and organizing the 400+ photos that I took! So this picture is to simply whet your appetite: stay tuned for more to come this week. (Or, be forewarned: I'm anticipating putting up a LOT of photos!)

the descent

This was King Lake, on our way back down from the Divide. We had great scenery the whole way.

day #2: the climb to the Divide

On our 2nd day, we embarked upon quite a hike. We hiked up to and then along the Continental Divide, and back down along a trail that had several lakes. As you can see, we continued to have perfect weather.

Ahhh... made it to the top! What a great place for a lunch break. The last 1/2 mile or so to get to the summit was pretty steep (or maybe it just felt particularly steep because of our packs?). If you enlarge the panorama photo, you can see the slopes of Winter Park in the distance (on the left side of the photo).

more amazing flowers

Although most of the white wildflowers up in the Rockies seem to be Cow Parsnip, I think this is Queen Anne's Lace.

I believe this is Western Bistort. Earlier in the summer they were all white -- I was happy to see that they apparently turn pink before they die.

mountain daisies

Despite the fact that it's already September, there were still a LOT of wildflowers. Lucky me!

Jasper Lake

This was our camping destination. Goregous.

backpacking with Mark & Joanna

Last weekend we had a really great (albeit brief) backpacking trip with Mark & Joanna. We went to the Indian Peaks Wilderness. We had great weather -- the whole trip was gorgeous! Our campsite was ~11,000 feet, so I shouldn't have been so surprised at how quickly the temperature dropped when the sun went down...

Of course, since our destination was a lake, Tom went fishing. Although he caught at least a dozen fish, they were all pretty small -- so we didn't eat trout that night. And, naturally... while Tom fished: I took wildflower photos.

August Journal Club/Farm Stand Dinner

August is one of my favorite times to cook.
All the farm stands are loaded with fresh stuff
and I go out of my mind trying to use it all
before fall. Including my own garden.
It's nice that I get a chance to do at least one
big dinner this time of year.

The appetizer was a fresh corn hush puppy
and a roasted garlic goat cheese.
(Sorry no picture)

We start with an old favorite, the cucumber corral.
I have had a bazillion cucumbers from my garden this
 year so this was a no brainer with local bitter
 greens and sweet beets with balsamic.

I skipped the niceties and went straight for
the gut with two entrees, The first was a smoked
green chili pork tostada with corn black bean salsa
and green chili sauce.

Second was A dish I call
"The Royal Meatball"
A bison and pork meatball stuffed
with mozzarella on a pillow of spinach
and ricotta layered polenta covered in
red sauce. I was going to make a little crown out of
baked Parmesan but I didn't have time.

Last was Elise's peach crumble with
vanilla bean mint ice cream.
Plates where clean and the guests complained
about being to full, Just the way we like It.