The Utah Memoirs.

Little Cottonwood Canyon

Darren and I just returned from an amazing trip to Salt Lake City, Utah last week! The intent was to partake in some spring skiing, explore the area, and just take in the general vibe of the city. Well, I will start by saying that the attempt at skiing was pretty much a debacle. We had designated the first few days for exploration and to take care of some planned business. But with a forecast that predicted sunny and 60 for the duration of our trip...this would leave the latter half of the visit free and clear for the slopes! As it turned out, Mother Nature had other plans. With a last minute change of weather, we were left to deal with downpours of rain on our remaining ski days. And that is all I will say about that.

Utah is beautiful. The Wasatch Mountains are incredible. Unfortunately, I was hard-pressed to view them outside the context of an over-developed, over-populated Wasatch Front, which is literally busting at the seams and is now sprawling up many a mountainside. I have, in my naturalist mind, a hard time reconciling this. But get up in those mountains and you truly leave the world behind. The Cottonwood Canyons are awe-inspiring, and our many drives through them, are etched in my memory.

A delish plate of raw food at Omar's:
Curry Rice & Dandelion Greens Salad

As for the city itself, Salt Lake City and it's suburbs, are far-reaching, to say the least. It's breadth was wide beyond my expectations. The city itself is clean, and current with the times. The restaurants are great, if you can weed through the sea of chain venues. In fact, it seems Salt Lake City has a growing Vegan/Raw Food movement. We dined at Omar's Rawtopia (http://www.omarsrawtopia.com), in the south end of the city. A fabulous restaurant with delicious organic Raw Food options! I wish we had something like this in Connecticut.

Sugarpost! A Metal Art Studio we
discovered thanks to a Geocache
skillfully hidden in this gate

A light rail system and some interesting retail zones have convinced me that a good groundwork was set when this city was planned. Oh, and planned it was! Around a temple. A giant Mormon temple that sits on 10 prime acres, smack dab in the middle of the city. Literally. It certainly is an amazing piece of architecture, set in a gated square so full of fountains, sculptures and luscious garden beds, that it rivals the city squares of Europe. And as we learned from a local, the extensive street numbering system that is carried throughout all of Salt Lake City, is based on the streets' relationship to this temple (i.e. the streets are number based on how many blocks, north and south, they are from the temple at ground zero).

The Church may number the streets, but the State monopolizes the vistas. The Capitol sits high atop Capitol Hill, overlooking the downtown area in grand splendor. The main thoroughfares, wide enough to turn an ox-cart, have been laid out such that they each terminate with a magestic view of the Capitol. Quite beautiful, and quite a thing to discover over a few days' exploration.

Many mysteries and curiosities about Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Mountains were solved for me on our trip, although some remain. Like... Does the Great Salt Lake really stink? Why do all the Mormon women wear skirts in Temple Square? Is Utah powder really the greatest snow on Earth? I do not know. But I do know that Utah has not seen the last of me.

A Wedding Anniversary

Two years ago today, Darren and I stepped out into the cold Wyoming night and walked hand in hand across the Jackson Town Square to be married beneath a starlit sky.

Simply enchanting.

On this day, we are celebrating our anniversary on the east coast. We are skiing in Vermont. As I look out our icicle framed window and watch the snow slowly fall, I am transported back in time to Wyoming. It feels so much like the time of our wedding, at moments I am actually convinced we are 2,000 miles away! I have concluded that it is not merely a trickery of ice, snow and a ski gear littered hotel room that create this illusion. Rather, it is a trickery of the heart. The way my heart flutters when I see him, how we giggle like kids at the silliest of things, and how we love each other... just as we did two years ago. This is enough to transport me back to a different time and place.

It is crazy how much has changed in our lives since that magical evening on Jackson Town Square.

Even crazier is just how much has managed to stay the same.

I Like Birds!

In the words of the great Eels. . . "I Like Birds"!

I really, truly do. Not sure what it is about them. I got my first Sibley's about three years ago, and I would just thumb through the pages, looking at the photos and reading about these lil' creatures. I was hooked. And then.. . I went on my first organized bird walk with the Audubon, and I was REALLY hooked. Birdwatching is truly an art. I loved seeing how the old-timers would scan the landscape for birds, standing super still and quiet so they could listen for calls. Now that i think about it . . . I think I like watching the birdwatchers.

I remember my first bird walk. We had paused where the woods opened up to a pond (Great Pond in Simsbury, Connecticut, to be exact). A veteran was standing quietly next to me, scanning the scene. He said he saw something across the pond, that looked just a bit "off". . ."off" enough to get the scope on it. That day, I saw my first Osprey, in the scope! I was amazed. Shortly after, I also saw my first Grackle in the scope. And as far as I was concerned, that was the most sparkliest bird I ever saw. The old timers politely explained that a Grackle was no great shakes; barely a step up from a Crow. I didn't care, that was the prettiest dang bird I ever saw.

And to this day, even knowing what I know about a lot of birds in this world. . . the Grackle is still my favourite bird.