Sara and Mom come to visit

My mom and my cousin Sara came to visit for about a week. Mom is from Annapolis, Md. and Sara is from Atlanta. We got to enjoy a number of different activities around Park City.

We went over to the base at Park City to do the Zip Line. It covers something like 1500 feet of vertical drop. You can see Sara and Julie in the picture both dangling from harnesses. You get going pretty fast, but it isn't as scarey as you might imagine. Quite the rush!

Julie is off in the distance with a big lead. Sara is in second and I am in third, snapping shots as I go.

Julie approaching the bottom at a good clip.

Sara hops off, quite happy with the ride down. Julie appears trapped.

One day the four of us signed up for a one hour balloon trip around Park City. It is fairly expensive but everyone should do it once. The views are simply fantastic.

This was one of two balloons from another company. They took off from the same athletic fields that we did, but had a good head start.

This was our balloon being inflated. The highlight was the big smiley face that was at the top of the balloon. You could only see it looking straight up in the balloon or if you were above it somehow. You can see the image of a worker keeping things straight.

My favorite. Once the balloons were inflated, the fire gave the smiley a devilish look. I enjoyed taking numerous pictures of the smiley.

Our company had two balloons that day. They were both very large balloons and can carry about 10 people.

The Park Meadows golf course, looking nice and green.

We headed up before the other balloon from our company. Once we started heading up, we went up fast.

The view from 12,000 feet. That puts us about 5,000 feet above the ground and about 2,000 above the peaks at the ski areas.

Our partner balloon off in the distance.

Julie enjoying the flight.

The end of our ride was a bit of a problem. Seems the wind did not want us to get out to one of the fields. Instead, we dropped two very large balloons in the middle of a neighborhood. They managed to get both of them into small vacant lots surrounded by houses and trees.

We went to the Utah Olympic Park on Saturday. We got to watch a Freestyle Ski Jumping exhibition and a bit of the Nordic jumping.

Not only do they get a lot of air, they seem to be quite flexible.

I am not a ski jumper, but even I know that you don't want one of your skis to come off in the middle of a jump.

Wow! Lots and lots of air. He is about 5 stories up.

At the end, the people were going every which way.

Sara, Julie, and my mom at a Utah Symphony concert over at Deer Valley. It was a great concert, good music and well played.

The 1812 Overture just isn't the same without real cannons. There were 20 of them.

It's time for skiing, isn't it? Isn't it!!!

Just a pretty full moon we had one night.

More hummingbirds

I keep watching them and taking their pictures. They are quite entertaining. The other day I was sitting under one feeder, taking pictures of them at the other, where there was better light. They kept coming to the one over my head so that I couldn't photograph them. I got tricky and just took the feeder down and set it on the table. So, while I sit, camera in hand, one flies down to the feeder on the table and snacks. He is sitting about six inches from my hand and the camera. I think they are toying with me.

A new favorite. Even at a pretty quick shutter speed, the wings are just a blur.

The male, who thinks he owns both hummingbird feeders.

Everyone likes Christmas lights!!

A different one on the Christmas lights

Settled in a bit

Hovering at the feeder

A few days ago, Julie and I went out to watch our friend, Hannah Kahn, play in a soccer tournament. Here, Julie is sitting with Hannah's mom Carol and and her visiting cousin Adam.

My favorite! Hannah getting ready to send it.

Running the ball down field.

Hannah's putting the move on the girl in blue.

The Park City hummingbirds

Julie saw a hummingbird go cruising by the other day and suggested we get a hummingbird feeder. I spent $5 on a plastic one, hung it one night, and they were visiting the next day. Quick learners. What makes it more fun is that they don't mind you sitting out on the deck with them, as long as you stay fairly still. Makes for some cool pictures. God they are fast though!!!

This is the boss man and local bully. He took over the feeder on the second day and doesn't like others using it. While some of the photos make them look bigger, you can judge his size from the little Christmas light he is sitting on.

My favorite, taken at very high speed. It is very hard to slow their wings down.

Checking me out before drinking

Quite the hover

It must be nice to get to sit

Still at it as the sun sets

A visit from New York

We have skied with the Nickels family for the past 15 years or so. Mark and his son Cameron came out to Park City for a visit and brought Cam's friend Carson. They were only here for a long weekend but managed to squeeze in a lot of different activities.

We capped the weekend off with a nice dinner at the Kahn's, but I forgot to bring along my camera for that.

From left to right, Carson, Mark, and Cameron. This was the first day of mountain biking. We were at the top of Bald Mountain in Deer Valley. Behind the guys is the Jordanelle Reservoir.

Deer Valley has taken down its Sultan ski lift and is replacing it with a high-speed quad. We got to watch the helicopter running back and forth with buckets of concrete, pourin the footings for the new lift poles. They did all the footings in two days and the poles will be set in about two weeks.

Cameron on his bike up at the top of Bald Mountain in Deer Valley.

Carson on his bike.

For sightseeing, we drove up Gaurdsman's Pass over into Big Cottonwood Canyon. This picture was up above Empire Pass. Still snow on some mountains even at the end of July.

When you are on Main Street in Park City, you have to get your picture taken with the bear. Notice that both guys had been clothes shopping and each had a 3-pack of carmel apples.

We went to the Utah Olympic Park to watch the ski jumpers do an exhibition. The Olympic Park has facilities so that both the Nordic jumping (big hill, long ways) and the Freestyle (lots of flips and twists) can be practiced year round. Julie was with us but was sitting on a rock wall that is out of the picture.

They practice all the flips and twists on a mini tramp and a fairly complex harness. This girl was working to join the exhibition team and is a friend of Hilary Kahn's.

A twisting flip.

Lots of air and flipping as he goes.

Perhaps the best landing we saw during the exhibition.