Clouds over Jupiter Peak

I didn't have time to make a production out of this, so I just let the camera do its time lapse thing.  Fun to watch the clouds roll in with a cold front.

Much better in HD mode and fullscreen.

The Last of Fall

The last few photos I took of the fall foliage up around Guardsman Pass. Too bad the leaves can't seem to stay around any longer than they do. Switching from fall to early winter is rough when you are still in the beginning of October.

The Montage Hotel is snuggled nicely up in the ski runs and fall colors.

While perhaps too small to see, we are looking up at Park City Mountain Resort's Summit House.  Come ski season, they serve up fine dining at its most mediocre.

A Superb Political Statement

I know everyone is tired of seeing political commercials and hearing friends and relatives talk about why your view is the wrong one.  We all hate to suffer through this and we are waiting for election day to come and go.

Just the same, every once in a while I see a political piece with such creativity and high production values that I have to share it.  Warning:  this is a pro Obama piece.  If you don't like Obama and can't watch just to appreciate the uniqueness of the piece, please don't click the link below.  I'm not trying to sell you on who to vote for.

One Term More

Last Antelope Island trip this year

I figured Jasper and I could make one last photography visit for the year to both Antelope Island and Farmington Bay. We won't go again until the cold of winter, hopefully to find lots of Bald Eagles.

This first series of photos are all Avocets. They are such cool looking birds and there wasn't much else of interest along the Causeway.

The water on the north side of the Causeway was great for reflections.  The south side had too much glare and more waves.

So cool when they fly...

You probably have to double click on this one to see it, but the Avocet in the back looks like he's barking out orders to the three in front.  It reminded me of a track coach barking at his training runners.

The bison were everywhere, but this one really stood out.  He was wearing a bouquet of pretty yellow flowers on his right horn.  Although it looked very decorative, he didn't seem that happy with it.  Try as he might, he couldn't get them off.

This shot of a Red Tailed Hawk was almost an accident.  I had been trying to get a shot of him, but he flew off too far.  I was about to put the camera away when I noticed he kept flying near the moon.  He's a very, very long ways off so it isn't a great shot, but the idea worked out pretty well.

I was getting whiny because I hadn't seen any coyotes.  Suddenly one walked out onto the road in front of me and laid down.  Too weird.  My best guess is that the pavement was warm on a chilly morning.  I think he would have let me get a lot closer, but a big truck came from the other direction and scared him off

Once I found the first one, I found a lot more.  This is the closest I have come to my holy coyote grail picture of one pouncing while hunting prey.  The sot is from quite a distance, through some grass, and he didn't get much air, but it was a pounce and it was successful.

I grabbed a bite to eat at the Buffalo Island Grill, which is the only eating establishment in the park.  I finished, got back in the car, and 200 yards down the road spotted another coyote.  You can really tell that they are trading in their scraggly summer fur for their big winter coats.

In Farmington Bay, there wasn't much happening.  The ducks, grebes and herons were all too far away.  This Meadowlark was very cooperative though.

I didn't see any eagles yet (too early) but there must have been a dozen Harriers and a pair of hunting Osprey.

The fall migration is just about done. The leaves are all losing their color. The temperatures are dropping into the 20s in Park City tonight.  I think my wildlife photography will probably decrease to a few local moose until winter.

Jasper Expands His Friendships

A few weeks ago, I blogged about how Jasper has a deep relationship with the local llamas. Today we went to the Home Depot using a different route, so we got to visit a different group of Park City's menagrie.

Jasper's best friend was the zebra.  He came running over to see Jasper and followed him along the fence line.

The donkey liked Jasper, but was a little more tentative.

And a sheep. So many animals in one place.

The only downers were the bison, who simply couldn't care less about us, and the two goats who thought Jasper was a bit too bouncy for them. They watched him for about 10 minutes but would never come near the fence.

Same zebra, just a more interesting photo.

Jasper just loves the other animals and they seem quite interested in him.  Not sure where we will go next.  I know they won't let him into the zoo in Salt Lake.

Building a House

They are digging in a lot down the street, getting ready to pour the foundation.

As you can see with my size reference (60 pound dog Jasper), they have removed a large amount of soil and rock.  Of course in Park City, this is really just rock.  Quite the little quarry they have going on.

Hiking to Big Cottonwood

We got an invitation from Ron and Carol Lee to join them on their 10th annual fall hike from Park City over the mountains and down into Big Cottonwood Canyon.  Taking different routes, it was a 13 mile hike there and a 9 mile hike back.We got really lucky on the timing.  The weather was perfect and a lot of the trees were at their peak color.

It was nice that we could hike lightly loaded.  We had one person who couldn't hike over drive a car with our bags for the evening. A different person took them back for us.  Of course I loaded my backpack with a ton of camera equipment anyway..

Julie, pausing for a photo.

We had 9 people on the way over and 8 on the way back. Some of the people had done lots of these annual hikes and one other couple were newbies like us.

One of the first things we saw was a bulldozer pulling a huge mower up and down the ski runs at Park City Mountain Resort.  We all agreed that driving up these steep slopes was a job none of us wanted.  This is one of the Intermediate slopes off the King Con chair.  They also mow the steeper Expert runs.

Some of the aspens were just starting to go from green to yellow.  Others were brilliantly colored and looked like they had been painted every time the sun hit them.

As pretty as the trees were, some of my favorite pictures came from photographing the trail we were walking on.

Just a nice reminder to keep looking all around you.

As we crossed over into Big Cottonwood Canyon, we got some more wide open views.

We were a bit nervous when all 100% of the 0% rain forecast started to look ominous. Some mountain biker passing us said that it was sleeting and raining ahead.  We got lucky and never got more than a few drops.

I wish I had taken pictures at the Silver Fork Lodge.  It's mostly restaurant and a bit motel.  When we got there around 4:30, there were already a lot of people eating. This place is hopping.  There are about eight simple, rustic rooms for rent. Just perfect when all you need is a good meal and a place to sleep.  The bulk of their business is people from Salt Lake coming up during the summer and fall to escape the heat and enjoy the scenery.

The most exciting point in the trip came when one of our hikers collapsed by the hot tub, resulting in a 9-1-1 call.  It turns out that hiking 13 miles, drinking very little water, and then drinking beer in the hot tub can really mess with your blood pressure.  He and his wife had to head to the hospital, but got to go home without an overnight stay.  All is well now, but it was quite a scare.

The next morning the skies were as blue as they get.  Normally I only capture skies like this when I use a polarizer on my camera lens.  In this case, I didn't even have one with me.  The skies were just this blue.

These are the remnants of the Comstock Mine.  In addition to the obvious history, this is the area at PCMR where a locals' snow Martini bar is held every Christmas Day.

It was a nice hike with nice people.  It's a wonderful mix of a fairly long hike with the benefits of not having to sleep on the ground or carry all your belongings.  Julie and I both hope to join this group again.

Fall in a Big Way

The aspens are in full color at the top of the mountains. Today's challenge was dealing with lots of clouds and catching things as the sun would peak through and light up one thing or another.

Climbing Grand Teton

Just north of Jackson, Wyoming you  drive into Grand Teton National Park. Wandering around the bulk of the park is fairly flat and easy.  If you want a challenge, you go climb in the mountains.  If you really want a challenge, you climb Grand Teton itself.

Most people do it in two days, but those people are sissies.  The one day alternative is to get up at 1:30 am and start climbing by 3:00.  It is a 7 mile start, up 5,000 feet of vertical.  This is roughly like hiking straight up a blue or black ski run for 7 miles.  Then you do a few hours of roped-in technical climbing to reach the summit.  Then come back down it all, which for most of us is worse than going up.  You start in the dark and finish in the dark.

This isn't anything I have done. It was my seven year old next door neighbor Hannah and her parents.  If you read this blog, you know Hannah is a soon-to-be Olympian in something.  She is already running 5k races in under 8:00 miles.

Much to my dismay, this incredible little girl was able to make to all the way up to the West Summit in a one day push.  She is simply astounding.

At the end of the day, when I would be laying collapsed in a heap, she was showing people that she could do cartwheels. I wonder how much more we could all do if we didn't place so many mental restrictions on ourselves.

Two more pictures I just got.  This is the 3:00am departure photo.  Time to start the climb.

 And Hannah and her mom Sally at the West Summit.  How cute are they!

The First Snow of the Year

Today was full of dramatic weather.  Lots of low clouds and most importantly, the first snow of the year.  We didn't get any at the house but up around 10,000 feet they got a few inches.

I went out to get a tool for my irrigation system and just couldn't resist all the interesting pictures.  Jasper and I spent the next two hours or so poking around.  The cloud deck was just above Park City's famous white barn.

Heading up into Guardsman Pass, the trees are changing and the clouds were swirling.

And snow!  Jasper was romping around and chasing snowballs.  I don't know why he likes snow as much as he does.  I think he was meant to be a husky.

Even without any real sunlight, the aspens were quite pretty.  I hope to get some nicer shots of these tomorrow morning.

Looking back towards Park City, you can see all the different types of clouds.

For about 5 minutes, the sun poked through a hole in the clouds and lit up little sections. It was gorgeous!

I was trying to figure out how to get the lighting right for the clouds and the trees.  I finally decided the only way was an HDR composite.

Then I went over the top (artsy) and tried a very dramatic look.  I know it isn't realistic, but it actually does a better job of capturing the mood.

Lots of photography opportunities in the next few days!