Happy Winter Solstice!

During this busy time take a few minutes each day to enjoy the lights, peace, love, and regenerative spirit of the season.

Here's the main Mormon temple that is in the center of town. It had lots of holiday lights around it that looked especially nice in the snow. Not knowing much about the Mormon faith, it was interesting to walk around and read the plaques under the statues and monuments. It's hard to believe how recently the religion was concocted. Unfortunately the place is overstaffed with Mormon volunteers who ask you at every turn whether you need help finding anything. There was no proselytizing, but it made it impossible to enjoyably walk around and soak it in. I had to leave quite quickly.

Scenes of the ski jumps and luge track outside of Park City. A majority of the Olympic events were hosted in and immediately around Park City. There are some great urban renewal projects going on in Salt Lake City, but I wonder how they are faring years after the Olympic rush has departed. Also shown is a shot of historic Main St. in Park City. It would be prettier when snow is falling and the streets are full of boisterous skiiers.

Scenes from Provo, Utah. Can you imagine your little town butting up against mountains like this? These clouds were hints of the snow clouds that were to come later in the week. And doesn't that tree look a little out of place? I've heard of those cell towers in disguise...I'm not impressed.

every bit helps...

Some of my family say I take weird pictures. This one may may provide evidence of that. It's a high pressure water tank that sits inside the water reservoir. It cuts down on water use while providing enough pressure to get the job done. I think it's a fantastic idea for dryer (all) areas. But I have to say I give it mixed reviews on performance. At least it's a start.

Views from the hotel room before and after the snow.

More pics of SLC

It was interesting to see that the mountaintops were in an alpine zone. But really there were very few trees, especially on the sunnier slopes.

The Great Salt Lake

The flatness of the GSL surrounded by 11,000 foot mountains is stunning. There was snow on the mountaintops when I arrived. These pics are from Antelope Island State Park, which allows one to see the fascinating geologic history of the mountains, GSL, and the GSL basin.

The shoreline and beaches are surprisingly sandy. Well, I guess it is a desert after all. On average, the water level fluctuates by two feet during the year. Most water comes from snow melt.
A seven-mile causeway takes you out to Antelope Island State Park, which is on the largest island in the lake. The island was settled in the mid 1800's by Mormons to be used as ranch land.
A view of the park from across the lake. The lake is about 10 miles by 70 miles with an average depth of 13 feet. The deepest parts are less than 40 feet.

Really there are beautiful views from anywhere on the island. These are scenes from the ranch. It was in use until 1981.

SLC

I am in Salt Lake City this week for work. --stay tuned--

The Waltons of Buffalo.

A few weekends ago I visited my family in Buffalo. We usually plan lots of family activites to fill the weekend. Somehow my sisters and mother were in charge of planning a fun family activity...so what did they come up with? Holiday wreath making! My brother and I were entirely skeptical at first, and my dad would not participate even though he made an appearance. But we went to the craft store and picked out our own special decorations (mine had musical instruments), and I have to admit everything was quite fun. These are some serious action shots.

Trip home.

Here is my sister Julie and niece Emily acting weird. Also a pic of all the finished products. Mine was one of the best, I must say. It's on the upper right.

Last weekend was great...lower 70's and sunny. I finally got the chance to take my fall drive to the mountains and to visit Culpeper and the environs I used to drive around. Marc went with me. Here we are hiking at Whiteoak Canyon. Most of the leaves had fallen, but when the wind blew some still came down like it was snowing. The car top was down all day and night long...might be the last of it.

I've posted pictures of this park before. I just found out recently that it's the longest 'step' type of fountain in the country. It has some European origins, but I forget now. Originally called Meridian Hill Park, it's now called Malcolm X Park. In the past it was the dividing line between a white community on one side and black on the other. People came together to enjoy the park.

On Sundays during the summer people from around the neighborhood would come together for really lively drum circles. Lots of people would dance.

Go Blue!

Team Blue scored some great victories this week, perhaps more than could have been realistically expected. I was hoping Dems would gain control of just one house, but it now appears both MT and VA have elected Dem Senators. Given the blatant rubber-stamping of the Republican Congress for the past six years, I think it is probably best that a balance of power always exists. Let's hope that Pelosi's words to create an honest Democratic Congress come true.

The major downside to the elections were the seven states that voted for marriage amendments. There's no excuse for writing fear and hatred into any constitution. Who has the right to tell their neighbor they can't have all the freedoms and opportunities they themself have? Extending rights to any minority only serves to strengthen society as a whole; it never detracts. The one surprising ray of light was AZ voting down their amendment. Let's hope this is a sign of positive change.

I hope the elections of the past six years inspire more people to vote. If a candidate wins by a few thousand votes, that's proof that your vote counts and that one person can make a difference. Hopefully people are interested enough to learn about the issues and aren't voting solely based on what their pastor, spouse, or parents tell them.

Finally, I must admit that I did not vote this year (I did in the primary). My mayoral candidate won 90% of the vote. Our token Representative and Senator have no vote in Congress, therefore there was really nothing for us to vote on. It's unbelievable that 600,000 Americans living in this country (on the doorsteps of the White House and Capitol) have no voting representation. Some are optimistic that this might change in the next two years. Here's an article saying that it might even be considered before the end of this year.

Bravo!

Bravo to the Capitol Pride Symphonic Band! This weekend we had our fall concert: Looney Tunes and Fairytales. We played the Lord of the Rings Symphony (five very technical movements) and some whimsical pieces, including Sorcerer's Apprentice and selections from Wicked. We are a non-audition community band, but our performances exceeded my expectations. A friend who attended even told me we were more entertaining than the National Symphony she had seen a few weeks ago!

Here we are on stage and eager to play. And a shot of the dapper-looking clarinet section.

fall pics

This weekend was a perfect blustery fall weekend: sunny, warmish, and swirling leaves. I took some time betwen the concerts to walk around town, relax, and take the season in. For brunch I hit a restaurant that has a lot of vegan fare.