Utah Valley in the Snow

We had our first major snowstorm of this season on Thanksgiving, more than a foot in some places. I was out shoveling snow amazed at the beauty of the trees and the amount of snow on the driveway. Driving has been a challenge, but with an all-wheel-drive Subaru and off-road tires, we haven't had any trouble so far. However, whenever you drive in Utah Valley you need to be very aware of the other drivers. Red-light running is endemic and worse when there is snow.

Calle Hilanderas, Segovia, Spain

This narrow street in Spain is one of the best examples of the contrast between the old Spanish cities and those in the western part of the United States. This street likely goes back to Roman times and the paving stones may actually have been used up to a thousand years ago. Here where I live, they tear down old buildings (with a few exceptions) and repave roads regularly. There is a huge cultural gap between living in my condo and those who live on a street like this. But the difference is likely that I have spent years of my life living in places like this photo but it is unlikely that the people who live on this street have spent years of their lives living in condos in Utah.

Kokanee Salmon spawning

Every year, the Kokanee salmon run up the Strawberry River and other rivers in Utah to spawn. They are protected by law and if you catch a kokanee salmon anywhere in Utah — from Sept. 10 to Nov. 30, 2019 — you must release it. We travel to the U.S. Forest Service Visitor Center at the Strawberry Reservoir in September to see the salmon run. It is an amazing sight.

Juniper Swirl

Some juniper trees can live for over 3000 years. This one could be over 1000 years old. It is amazing how these plants and many others have adapted to the extreme temperatures and periods of drought in the desert Southwest. This is beautiful and fragrant wood. When I was young, we called these "cedar" trees.

The First Bridge, Rock Canyon, Utah

There are five numbered bridges over the Rock Canyon Creek if you don't count the one at the mouth of the canyon that crosses the creek to the Shoreline Trail. This photo is bridge #1. In the Summer, the water in the creek only runs down the canyon to about this location so crossing the creek without a bridge would not be much of a problem, but in the Spring, there can be a lot of water and it would be moderately dangerous to try a crossing. Some of the bridges are more elaborate. The bridges have become goals for hiking up the canyon. The complete hike to the Rock Canyon Campground is about 5.5 miles up and back from the mouth of the canyon. You gain about 1,700 feet in elevation if you go all the way to the campground. The trail is heavily used on weekends when the weather is good.

Willis Creek Slot Canyon, Utah

If we lived long enough, we would eventually visit every slot canyon in the Southwest. But, of course, that is virtually impossible because some of them are so inaccessible and unknown that we would never see them. But we have chalked up quite a few over the years. This is Willis Creek, one of the more accessible and easily located of the many slot canyons in Southern Utah. We had a lovely hike through the narrows section and the only difficulty was wet feet.

To the Point

Perhaps you know who designed this sculpture in Amsterdam near the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. We live in a city with very few statues or monuments. There are a few on the campus of Brigham Young University but elsewhere not so many. Amsterdam has hundreds of statues, monuments, and memorials. We saw hundreds of them. There seemed to be more than we saw in Washington, D.C.

A Pelican in Arizona

Pelicans are most commonly associated with the ocean. Finding a whole flock of them in Arizona was a novelty but not entirely unknown. This is an American White Pelican or Pelecanus erythrohynchos. Here is an interesting fact about pelicans:

The pelican can hold up to 3 gallons of water in its expandable throat sac. If a fish is caught in the pouch with the water, the pelican will tilt the bill downward to drain the water out so they can swallow just the fish. See "American white pelican/Rough-billed Pelican"

This photo was taken in January at the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch, one of my favorite places. 

Cedar City Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Cedar City Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was dedicated on December 10, 2017. The Cedar City Temple was the 17th Temple in Utah. Quoting from the Church News website:

President Thomas S. Monson announced construction of the temple at the Church’s April 2013 general conference. Ground was broken for the temple August 8, 2015, at 300 South Cove Drive in Cedar City. The free public open house ran from October 27 through Saturday, November 18, 2017.

The End of Life as we Know It

One of the fixtures of the old western ranch or farm is an abandoned vehicle or piece of farm equipment left to rust in a field or even in the front yard. I have wondered if the comparative prevalence of these abandoned vehicles is due the lack of trees or if the West is somehow different than the East. Both of the above vehicles would seem to have some value but that value has to be less than the cost of transporting these vehicles somewhere to have them repaired. What I have seen is that the owner buys a new car or truck rather than repair the old one and then just neglects to get rid of the older vehicle. On this particular ranch, we counted about 18 abandoned vehicles some dating back almost 100 years.

Wagon Wheel with a Saw Blade

Ranches and farms in the western part of the country probably do not have any more junk laying around than those who live in more moderate climates. But the dryness of the desert preserves metal and wood far beyond the automatic rust and mold of the East. Someone leaned that saw blade against the wagon wheel ages ago. It looks like it could have been there for over a hundred years and it is likely to be there another hundred. It gives you pause about the importance of material things in our lives, or it should.

Matterhorn with Clouds, Switzerland

I thought I would throw in another photo of the Matterhorn. Most of the photos you see of iconic places are "tourist" photos made to promote travel. Obviously, they do not want to show adverse weather conditions or whatever so 90% plus of all the photos you see of the mountains in Europe etc. have blue sky and sunshine. I live in the mountains and yes, there are days of blue sky and sunshine but it is a lot more interesting when there are clouds.

Standing Still

We often equate the deserts with the wilderness. Some of the words associated with the desert are arid, desolate, barren, waste, badland, lonely, dreary, and other negative terms. My experience with the desert is entirely the opposite of all those terms. I think of beauty, solitude, majestic, open, inviting, lovely, special, home, and all of the other positive terms we associate with the outdoors and other beautiful places. The West Desert of Utah is one of those special places that provide all of the positive associations. The birds are American avocets or Recurvirostra Americana.

Night View of the Desert

This is the time of year that we would frequently visit the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona. One of the highlights of the visits was the beautiful display of lighted areas in the Garden and the traveling artistic displays. Lights at night highlight the sculptural form of the desert plants, including my beloved cactus.

Fall sunset through the trees

I am used to wide vistas of sunsets, but we do live in an area with lots of trees. This was a lovely sunset but it was gone before I got out of the trees. It was a very lovely day but unfortunately spent mostly indoors.

Land of Rocks

Most of our favorite campsites are in Northern Arizona or Southern Utah. We have been camping there for over fifty years now. My first major camping trip was about 62 years ago when I took a trip to the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the Havasupai Falls. I have now been down that trail three times and now the fees for an entry permit, camping permit, and environmental permit run $100 per person per night. All of the camping reservations for Havasupai are taken on the first day the registration is opened. We have moved our favorite campsites to stay away from the crowds and now stay at the end of rather long dirt roads. By the way, you will have almost the same trouble finding a campsite in almost all of the National Park campsite areas.

Interior Space

The Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah is a wonderful workspace. Most of the Library is underground but this open atrium entrance to the Library avoids any issues with claustrophobia. This night shot is not typical since, during most of the day, the Library is busy with hundreds and sometimes thousands of students. The only time we really see all the students is during a fire drill or a real fire someplace in the huge building. This night shot was taken with an iPhone 11 Pro Max camera.

Ready and Waiting for Winter

There is beauty all around. Here is a poem by Robert Frost called Nothing Gold Can Stay.

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Source: https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/nothing-gold-can-stay-by-robert-frost

We may think of some plants as weeds, but this golden bush belies the term.

Coral Pink Sand Dunes, Southern Utah

Even though I have photos of many places around the United States, Canada, Europe, and Central America, I always want to come back to Arizona and Utah for beautiful photos. This is the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in Southern Utah. The state of Utah spends a lot of money advertising its National Parks but the State Parks are less publicized. There are 43 State Parks in Utah. Occupancy and use of the State Parks vary with the weather and the vacation seasons especially school breaks.

Château Gütsch, Lucerne, Switzerland

This is a hotel in Lucerne, Switzerland called the Château Gütsch. It was purchased by a Russian company in 2012 and turned into a luxury hotel. The original building was built in the 19th Century. Looking online, rooms in this hotel run about $185 a night which is not very expensive for luxury hotels in either Europe or the United States. 

Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge) and water tower, Lucerne, Switzerland

The Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge) and water tower in Lucerne, Switzerland built in the 14th Century. The bridge burned down in 1993 but has been restored to its original design. On the other side of the river, you can see part of the stone Wasserturm (Water Tower) that is believed to have once served as the lucerna, or lighthouse, after which the town was named. We were walking in intermittent rain and sunshine when we crossed the bridge. This is a better copy of another photo I posted previously.

Stones and a Cemetery

We had a late afternoon visit to the cemetery in Oberammergau, Germany. I was frustrated that we couldn't get more photos of the headstones. After I took this photo, I realized that the large mountain outside of town was also a memorial stone of a sort. We were in Oberammergau for such a short time I was hoping I could find someone willing to photograph the rest of the headstones for BillionGraves.com.

Ornate Fountain, Oberammergau, Germany

This is an ornate fountain in Oberammergau, Germany. It is right off the main street of the town. Oberammergau is really interesting. We were not there during the every-ten-year pageant, but the visit was worthwhile none the less. It is about what you would come to expect from travel brochures but we found the cemetery interesting and some of the other not so touristy things about the town.

Dozens of Donuts

The cooks around our family sometimes make delicious desserts. Dozens of donuts for those who like them.

Sandstone and Clay

The topmost layer of rock in this image is Tropic Shale. Dropping down we find the Dakota Formation, Henriesville Sandstone, the Entrada Formation and the lowest the Carmel Formation. The softer rocks wear away and undermine the shale and erosion does the rest. This is part of the Kodachrome Basin State Park in Southern Utah.

Only in a Dream

The rock formations in Southern Utah and Northern Arizona are sometimes so strange that I can hardly believe I am not dreaming when I see them. I can't really ever get used to the variety of forms and textures. We all live in a beautiful world and it would seem that way to everyone if they only began to appreciate what they can see each day.

Rococo Interior of The White Church, Germany

Quoting Designing Buildings Wiki:

Rococo, also known as ‘late Baroque’, was an extreme, decorative development of Baroque architecture that emerged in the 18th century as a reaction against grandeur and symmetry. It was a more fluid and florid elaborate style, comprising ornate, asymmetric designs and pastel shades.

This is the interior of the White Church in Germany.

The Pilgrimage Church of Wise, Germany

There are so many interesting places in the world. You could spend all your time traveling and still feel like you had missed seeing all there is to see. But there is also a lot to be said about having a quiet routine at home. This is the Wieskirche or White Church. Here is a short explanation of this remarkable church from Wikipedia: Weiskirche.

The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (German: Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by brothers J. B. and Dominikus Zimmermann, the latter of whom lived nearby for the last eleven years of his life. It is located in the foothills of the Alps, in the municipality of Steingaden in the Weilheim-Schongau district, Bavaria, Germany. 

It is said that, in 1738, tears were seen on a dilapidated wooden figure of the Scourged Saviour. This miracle resulted in a pilgrimage rush to see the sculpture. In 1740, a small chapel was built to house the statue but it was soon realized that the building would be too small for the number of pilgrims it attracted, and so Steingaden Abbey decided to commission a separate shrine. Many who have prayed in front of the statue of Jesus on the altar have claimed that people have been miraculously cured of their diseases, which has made this church even more of a pilgrimage site. 

Construction took place between 1745 and 1754, and the interior was decorated with frescoes and with stuccowork in the tradition of the Wessobrunner School. "Everything was done throughout the church to make the supernatural visible. Sculpture and murals combined to unleash the divine in visible form".

Hohenschwangau Castle, Germany

This fairy tale castle is located only a short distance from the more iconic Neuschwanstein Castle. You might note that both castles have the word "schwan" or "swan" in their name. This is the high (hohen) or upper Swan Castle although the Neuschwanstein Castle is actually located on a much higher hill. The names of the two castles have been switched and the new swan castle or Neuschwanstein Castle is the higher of the two. Both castles are located in the town of Hohenschwangau, a major tourist destination in Germany.

The New Swan Castle, Germany

This is the Neuschwanstein Castle or, English, the new swan castle. It is better described as a 19th-century Romanesque Revival palace. The building has become iconic and for most people, this is what a castle should look like. I posted another photo of the castle but I liked this particular photo better and decided to post another one. Quoting from the Wikipedia article entitled, "Neuschwanstein Castle:"

The castle was intended as a home for the king, until he died in 1886. It was open to the public shortly after his death. Since then more than 61 million people have visited Neuschwanstein Castle. More than 1.3 million people visit annually, with as many as 6,000 per day in the summer.

I was there with at least 6000 people.