Utah

As you can see, this post is pretty lengthy, but that is only part of the reason it took so long for me to get it posted. A while back my photo editing software quit working. I found a different one to get me by, but it did crazy things like throw me back to the beginning everytime I edited or deleted a picture. I took over 500 pictures while I was gone, so that wasn't going to cut it. I finally got the other program working Saturday, and spent the rest of the weekend editing and loading pictures to blogger. I had a good time with Christy and her kids. We saw lots of stuff and did way too much walking (for me anyway). It may not be humid out there, but 100 degrees is still hot. I flew in on Friday the 25th. I left my house at 8:30 a.m. and arrived in Salt Lake City at midnight my time. I was suppose to get there around 8:30 p.m. my time, but my flight from Atlanta to Dallas was delayed which caused me to miss my flight from Dallas to Salt Lake. I'm just glad there was another flight, and I didn't have to spend the night in the airport.

Here are a few highlights from my trip. On Saturday, we took the kids on a shopping spree. Sandra had sent them some money, and I decided to go ahead and buy them stuff for their birthdays and Christmas since I don't get to see them then. Here's a shot of the mountains from the Layton Hills Mall parking lot. Monday was Aiden's birthday, so we had a party. Here are the cupcakes Christy made. Avery enjoyed the icing on his cupcake.

Aiden and his friends had fun with water balloons on the trampoline.

Later evening, we drove out to Antelope Island. Did I mention that the sun doesn't set until 9:30 or 10:00 p.m.? Anyway, here's a shot of the island across the Salt Lake. There were several fires burning which made it very hazy.Walking up to the visitor's center, we saw these birds. Look closely at the nest(bottom center). It looks like it was made from cement.
We also saw lots of huge spiders and their webs.
Here's a close up of one that came down the wall next to us. Very creepy.
We saw some antelope.
This buffalo looked like he was trying to pull up the sage brush with his horns. We even saw some baby buffalo.We got out and walked around the ranch on the island. There were lots of dragon flies flying around.
As we were leaving, the car in front of us had stopped and was looking at something up on the mountain. The sun was setting, so all we could capture was a shadowy image. I'll bet Lee would love to hunt that buck.
The sun set over the Salt Lake as we were leaving.
The dark spots you see in the water at the bottom are birds. They were all over the water on that side of the road, but there were none on the other side. I don't know why. Oh, and the Salt Lake really, really stinks.

We were driving up to Ogden, and Christy decided we should drive up to this place called Snow Point or something like that. They have a gondola that goes up the mountain. To bad they are only open on the weekend during the summer. (I think this was Tuesday.) The kids decided to seek shade under the moose statue. That's the gondola in the background.
Here's a shot of the place from the parking lot.
Did you know there's a Huntsville in Utah?
I took lots of pictures of the mountains.
Here's a shot of the reservoir that catches the water as the snow melts.
It looks like there's a cave near the top of this mountain.
I was surprised by how much of the mountains are rock.
Here's a waterfall in the Ogden canyon.I guess this is some kind of pipe line. I thought it was weird how it was just hanging their above the road.
I got a crooked shot of the Ogden Temple as we drove by.

We started our day at Temple Square with the Conference Center.
There's a really neat fountain in the lobby.
This is what you see looking up.
This is the top part of the fountain from the second floor.

The lights were really low inside, so my pictures didn't turn out. You can still get and idea of how massive this room is.

Here's a shot of the Church Office Building from the roof of the Conference Center. We went up to the 26th floor observation deck that you see on either side of the building.
This is part of the waterfall that goes down the side of the building. It wasn't on while we were up there for some reason.
This fountain is also on the roof of the Conference Center. The tour guide told us that the roof covers 4 acres.

This is the Joseph Smith Building. It use to be a hotel.
Here's a shot of the Temple from the roof of the Conference Center.
Here's a shot of the front of the Conference Center.

Here's a shot of the Temple from street level. It doesn't look as big in person as it does on TV.

This is a mural inside the Church Office Building. The tour guide told us that Christ's left foot follows you where ever you go in the room.
Here's a shot of the Utah State Capitol from the observation deck of the Church Office Building.

Here's a shot of Temple Square.
The Conference Center from above. That big grassy area is on the roof too.
There are lots of fountains.
One of the many bronze statues on the beautifully landscaped grounds.
A statue of Joseph and Emma Smith

Another pretty fountain.
This is the ceiling in the lobby of the Joseph Smith Building.
This is the Assembly Hall next to the Tabernacle. They have concerts and stuff here.
Here's a shot inside the Tabernacle. It seems so big on TV, but it's really not that big. I can see why the Conference Center was built.
The doors of the Tabernacle are huge.

Here's a bride and groom taking pictures on the steps of the Temple.
Here's a shot looking up at the Temple. I guess this is the back side since the Angle Moroni is on the other side.

Here's a shot of the front and another fountain.

Here's the Tabernacle from ground level.
They eventually turned on the waterfall on the Conference Center.
This is the Christus statue in the North Visitor's Center. It's the building with the dome next to the Tabernacle in the pictures from the observation deck.

This beautiful stained glass window is in the Museum of Church History and Art.
Here's another one.
They have an interesting display on the construction of the Tabernacle. I've never really thought about how they went about building it.
Of course, we had to drive down to the campus of BYU.
As you can tell, the Ogden and Provo Temples are twins.

This is the new Gordon B. Hinkley Alumni Center.
I had to get a shot of the "Y" on the mountain.
Here's another pretty mountain picture, but you can also see what kind of damage the cold weather does to the roads. All of those squigly lines are cracks that have been patched. We don't have that problem around here. Just pot holes.
You won't find a sign like this in Alabama.
This is going up to Bridal Veil Falls. See the smoke? There was a fire burning up there.

So this was as close as we could get.
Christy thought I was weird for taking a picture of these grain cylos. They are massive. I've never seen anything like this around here. And yes, these are owned by the Church.
We also visited Hogle Zoo. Here's Aiden and Lidia with the white alligator in the background. He's not an albino, he's just white.
All of the animals looked hot, but I felt sorriest for these guys.
Even the peacock was seeking some shade.

Avery and Tristan had to try on some of the masks for sale in the gift shop. This was one of the few times Avery took off his BYU hat he got at the bookstore on campus.
We went and check out the Weber County Fair. It was no National Peanut Festival. It was mainly livestock and a few pitifull rides. They didn't even have a ferris wheel. The kids enjoyed it anyhow. Here's Lidia brushing a cow.
Here's a newborn baby goat. It still had a dried up piece of it's umbilical cord attached.
This goat was a bully. He would jump on top of the others trying to get to the people with food. I don't think they feed them except when people buy food to give to them. They all acted like they were starving.
This picture is looking up and out the second story window in the foyer of Christy's house. That white thing on the over hang of the house is an electrical outlet. There's a switch by the front door that turns it on and off. People in Utah are serious about their Christmas lights.
Well, Brooke wants to know what I thought of Utah. It's pretty and hot. It's a nice place to visit, but there's no place like home. Oh, I couldn't believe that milk was only $2.50 a gallon at Wal-Mart in Utah. I was paying $4.15 at Wal-Mart here before I left. It had come down to $3.98

buy the time I got back, but that's still a huge difference.

P. S. Did you know that trampoline was an Olympic sport? I never knew that until I saw it on TV just now.