Before the Snows Hit, Liberty Park Gave Leave to...

But then, the snows came yesterday. And this photo further illustrates loss of riding privileges.

Yet again, off to the slopes this weekend! Alta opens Saturday.

West High School Sculptures

Maharoni Young's worker series features a carpenter, and a smithy.

You can see his art on the southside of the West High campus in Salt Lake.

One of LeConte Stewart's Great Utah Landscapes

This should be called SLC Daily Art; but here's another great painting. This is by the renowned regional artist Leconte Stewart, painted in 1922.

I love Stewart's paintings of Utah.

He lived 'til in his 90's.

Utah!

Fairbanks' Utah Harvest is so Utah in its flavor, I had to add it.

The Wasatch Mountains, the poplar trees, golden hay smelling dusty sweet with rain!

And the dusty blue mountains in the distance.

I will through eternity long for those mountains.

Protected Wetlands on Utah Lake

Looking south from Saratoga hot springs. Salt Lake and nearby towns have several hot springs.

The waterfowl abound in number and variety.

A National Geographic from the early 1940s features Utah Lake as one of the most crystal clear lakes in America.

World War II changed that.

Its strategic location as the Crossroads of the West, with roads going to naval ports in San Diego, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle, made it the perfect inland location for Geneva Steel Company, and for huge naval depots in Ogden.

With the closing of Geneva (go to the BYU Museum of Art for a photo exhibit currently featured), Utah Lake is making a significant comeback.

Along the southwest edges of the lake, the Molida Bird Refuge is an excellent field for bird, insect and botany studies and specimens.

A Beacon Upon a Hill

The Bountiful Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sits atop the hills above the city.

The view of the Great Salt Lake at sunset is stunning as you walk the Temple grounds, or jog along the Temple avenue along the Bonneville ancient shoreline.

The Cathedral of the Madeleine is coming in the next few blogs.

Salt Lake City and Surrounding Areas

In the hills above Bountiful, just minutes north of Salt Lake, are some beautiful homes with a bay-like view of the Great Salt Lake at sunset.

On the top of these hills to the south of this sector is a golf course and country club.

Field of Dreams in Murray

Nothing better than a hot dog with lots of onions and mustard in the cool evening, slurping a Coke/Diet Coke mix, watching a game of baseball under the lights.

Gardens and Designs

Earth-friendly gardens abound in downtown Salt Lake.

It truly has begun to blossom as the rose.

Catching Up on Photo Doses

The Utah State Capitol design is most like the Capitol in Washington, D.C. in its balance and elegance, according to experts.

This Photo catches it at night.

From a Front Porch, How Many Buildings?

Look closely and you can see 5 buildings, not 6.

This is the view from the front porch.

We ordered the moon, just for a nice touch.

Sunday Night's Sunset - a Desert Splendor

Grandfather Cottonwood Tree Stilling Giving Shade after 100 Years

Along the banks of a stream that flows out of Big Cottonwood Canyon stands a cottonwood tree that for over 100 years has provided shade to everyone lucky enough to live near its branches.

It draws nourishment from the stream that flows nearby.

In the spring, feathery pillows of cottonwood seeds waft in the wind, and seedy cottonballs lighter than air mount as winds swirl, or cars drive by.

For those who are visual, cottonwood seeds swirl together like the dandylion seeds in the movie Spiderwick Chronicles. They join hands like fairies to form cotton rings.

Snow in the Mountains in July

A few days ago, I promised a photo of the snow still in the mountains, but the haze from the fires in California prevented a good photo.

Then, the wind came and blew away the haze.

Yep, that's snow in that bowl on your left and snow down the mountainside in the center.

This was taken from Murray Park.

The Springville Arts Museum, Indeed a Sanctuary

Arvard Fairbanks sculpted this Mother and Child which you'll find at the Springville Arts Museum, crafted during the Great Depression for the Work Projects Administration (WPA).

During a time of deep despair, I was led to this Santa Fe style building, filled with all the great regional artists, I had learned to love: LeConte Stewart, John Hafen, Maharoni Young and Maynard Dixon.

I felt at peace there, and went frequently. Then, I learned that in his dedicatory prayer, David O. McKay, an Apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, set the museum aside as a sanctuary.

I had found it to be so for me.

I particularly saw this sculpture beautiful in the extreme. The gentle press of the mother's hand against her breast, the enchanting lines of her torso and thigh as she cradles the child in her arms, reminded me of my own children in the arms of their loving mother.

It was, at that time, such a gentle reminder of where I came from, after the divorce, and to where I longed someday again to be.

Older, I am struck at how young the mother's face looks now, for once we were contemporaries, and her youth was mine.

But now I see that she is ageless.

Just a Couple, Blocks from Downtown

Just a couple of blocks from downtown, one finds doves, bluejays and this couple of quail.

Last year a covey of quail graced the neighborhood. Making the rounds up and down 300 North on Quince Street, 24 quail roamed together. This year, I have seen only 3 or 4 pair.

I reckon they all split up and set-up household elsewhere.

Of course, here the male is watching out for his mate while she feasts on the millet. He'll stand like that for minutes at a time.

I can here him saying: Chow down, babe. I gotchyer back.

One of the "Coolest" Places to Go in SLC - Liberty Park

The spring run-off provides rich habitat for ducks, geese and gulls at Liberty Park, located at 700 East and 900 South in Salt Lake.

The trees old and tall provide shade for dogs and geese, bikers, joggers, skaters and walkers. Tall Cottonwood trees, more than a hundred years old, line the main promenade.

To a child, the trees look like a stationary family of brontosaurus lining the hallway of a great outdoor museum. Walk down that main walkway and see if your imagination doesn't carry you there too.

On Hot Summer Days We Fondly Recall the Joys of Winter

Looking south at the Gateway Mall toward the clock tower above the Olympic Fountain in January 2008.

Winter in Salt Lake is wonderful.

This year we had snow fall in the mountains in June, as winter was late in leaving - to the delight of all late-season skiers.

It is delightful to look at the mountains in the heat of July and see snow still on the mountaintops of Mount Olympus...which will be tomorrow's photo!

Anyone want to hike up high enough to catch some slush?

Where a Traveler Can Rest from Wanderings

The Joseph Smith Memorial Building on Main Street and South Temple Street.

My friend Gordon Bowen, copywriter at Ogilvy & Mather, was overjoyed when the Corporation of the President decided not to tear down the old Hotel Utah, but instead refurbished it, created office spaces, and renamed it the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Gordon was active in fighting to preserve old buildings along the Wasatch Front.

During the Christmas holidays, choirs and instrumentalists from all over the region sing and perform for many a weary "traveler." To sit in a velvet covered antique chair, with the stain glass copula above, marble columns cold to the touch, crystal chandelier and angelic young voices filling the main lobby is a Christmas joy not to be missed, if you are in the area.

The Lights on Temple Square are a delight. The Frank Lloyd Wright acclaimed Tabernacle - a marvel of pioneer architecture, the Tabernacle Choir, the First Night on Temple Square musical celebration are a must-experience for anyone tired of the commercial inebriated scuffle of the big cities.

If you are coming to visit, I have a list of serene close-by places you can visit. Please, feel free to email me.