I Had a Day...

Arrived Thursday afternoon in Deer Valley, Utah—just up the hill from Park City, a short drive from Salt Lake City. Woke up at 4:15 am; out the door at 4:45. Drove 4+ hours to Moab. Entered Arches National Park at 9:00 am. Hiked until 1:30. Lunch at the Moab Brewery; coffee at Moab Roastery. Entered Canyonlands National Park at 3:30. Hiked until sunset, ~6:30. Drove back to Deer Valley, arriving 11:15 after all the skiers in the party had gone to bed. The day was nearly perfect: 60-65 degrees, mostly sunny. All told: 500+ miles driving; ~20,000 steps. These are some snapshots I took.

[Click pics to embiggen slideshow]

Gee, that's a GREAT looking LAKE! Wonder if it's SALT-y

Downtown Park City

Three Wisemen near the entrance to Arches NP

THREE WISEMEN up close and personal.

Contrails or Chemtrails? You decide! Tic Tac Toe above ARCHES NP.

You want to hike with me! The ledge trail on the way up to Delicate Arch.

Gee, that DELICATE ARCH seems kinda' tiny!

Delicate Arch: Astride the mountainside

Delicate Arch from underneath

Haha. Yes, I was there.

Such a poser.

Petroglyphs.

Moar arches!

Vistas for days.

DOUBLE ARCHES. [Click pic to enlarge so you can see the tiny people]

BALANCING ROCK

COURTHOUSE. Exiting ARCHES NP

GRAND MESA, otw to CANYONLANDS NP

Breath taken! CANYONLANDS NP

Canyons within Canyons within Canyons!

I may have mentioned: You want to hike with me! Scruffy Troll photobombing my picture. The path to GRAND VIEW POINT runs right along the canyon edge.

Like I said... 

Gasp! Sufficiently breathless.

For the ongoing series: Things growing on other things.

The path to Grand View Point.

Careful there, Jimbo!

View from the path.

The GRAND VIEW POINT!

Utah-ing: Galactic Disappointment

Had a chance to make a quick jaunt out to Utah. Wisdoc (ATL) and Wisdaughter (LA) wanted to meet up for a ski weekend. Now, I can ski; it's just that I have a bit of trouble stopping, and I'm getting to the point in my life where I don't really like to fall much. So I decided to find other adventures. I had hoped—and planned—to spend one night in what's called a Dark Sky Park (no light pollution) and try to take photos of the Milky Way galactic center which rises in March around 3:00 am. Unfortunately for me but luckily for the girls, it snowed every night. Did not venture out much after dark, but I found a few other interesting sites within a couple hours drive of Park City to take the cameras out for a trot.

Saltaire Music Venue near Great Salt Lake State Park. (Olympus OM-D E-M5; Olympus 17mm lens 1:1.8; polarized filter)

The Great Salt Lake

Antelope Island State Park in the middle of the Great Salt Lake—the Dark Sky Park where I was hoping to take my shot at the galactic center.

The Tree of Life: Roadside Attraction at Mile Marker 26 on I-80 going west, on the north side of the highway. (iPhone X)

Even Atlas Obscura isn't quite sure what this thing is supposed to be. 

Bonneville Salt Flats at the last Rest Area on I-80 in Utah before getting to Nevada.

Propping my iPhone X on the salt, foregrounding a rock. Bonneville Salt Flats. Click the pic to enlarge and see the granules of salt. It was a hard, solid crust.

Bonneville Salt Flat speedway off Exit 4. Flooded. Water's about 1" deep all the way to the horizon.

A group of University of Utah students doing a film shoot.

Obviously I found them to be a great subject.

Same.

Same.

Emerald colored lake. I-80.

Same with cool vanishing point.

The next day I went snowmobiling. First time. 5" fresh powder!!

Scene from 9000'.

Rest stop cabin at 9000'.

Literally the most adorable diner ever. Imported from New England. National Historic Register. Oakley, UT. Great lunch after snowmobile morning, btw!!

Wisdaughter on the streets of Park City. Last night.

I'm Back, Baby!

Hello, all! I've been away for a few days. Thus the lack of posting. Your reward for being so patient? Snaps! Enjoy! (as always, click to embiggen; mouse over for message)

Salt Lake City from the air

Deer Valley Sunset

Banksy made it to Park City, UT

Bus Stop

Bus Go

The Red Waste

A spine of the Rockies

Old dog, new trick!