Nebo Loop

Loops are cool. My parents have a loop on the main floor of their house. Visiting (and resident) kids can chase each other around and around...without ever needing to back up and turn around.

It's fun to go driving in Utah's mountain canyons. Driving on a loop, though, is cool--the scenery is never repeated throughout the whole trip!

Tricia and I drove the Nebo Loop on Saturday. It is longer than the Mt. Timpanogos Alpine Loop, and is also more gentle.

Picnic nearby the Maple Dell scout camp.


Overlooking the south end of Utah Valley


Taking a picture of my wife and myself. I think I need to practice this art.


Mt. Nebo


This was cool: called the Devil's Kitchen; it looked like a bit of Bryce Canyon or Goblin Valley teleported into the Wasatch Mountains.


This was neat: for about 5 miles on the end of the loop, there was just enough ups and downs in the road that I didn't need to step on the gas OR the brake for the whole time--and I stayed between 35-45 MPH! And no, that is not my cute frog floor mat--we took Tricia's car.


It was sunset when we pulled into Nephi. Before turning north and heading for home, we got a very good burger and milkshake at this drive-in.

earrings

Matt and I have a really fun part of our relationship: because he goes on various business trips, he tries to buy me earrings each time so we can commemorate his travels as well as our relationship in a tangible way.

Here are the earrings and I have (and where they're from) so far:

San Diego (big and dangly--I really like this for a fresh and playful look)

San Diego--Matt couldn't decide between the big ones above or these small ones (I love their texture and wear them when I'm feeling relaxed)
San Francisco--Matt made these with his cousin Sandra (for a fun-siding-on-elegant look) San Francisco--Matt also made these with his cousin Sandra (I haven't figured out the best approach for these so they're a "different" mood)
Yellowstone--I helped Matt pick these out (very small, delightfully cute, and RED)
Kansas City--Matt was assured by the salesman I would love these, and I do (I love wearing these, especially when I'm feeling attractive and cultural)

Las Vegas--Matt found these at an international jewlery tradeshow; they house Mexican miniature roses (definitely for the more sophisticated and mature look)

Park City, on our honeymoon (I love the teal, although I haven't worn them much)

Park City, on our honeymoon (Matt LOVES heart jewelry, and I love to wear these for special occasions or whenever I feel feminine and pretty)

yellowstone continued

It turns out Matt (owner of Mac) didn't have enough memory on his computer to download all our pictures, but my still-going-strong PC did. (I suppose we should consider that Matt uses his computer for work and has billions of bits of information stored on it.)

Instead of waxing eloquent, I will let you enjoy Yellowstone through our camera's eyes.

Yellowstone

I think Yellowstone is one of the most underrated national parks. I love it--all the geysers, waterfalls, rock formations, wildlife. The green mountain meadows made me realize that Utah really is a desert.

Even the human-introduced elements of the park are great. I really want to take Trish to Old Faithful Inn for one of our anniversaries. Plus, in two days we saw license plates from 46 of the 50 states. How often do you have that opportunity!?

Here Trish and I are in front of one of the falls on the Firehole River in the park last week.