Silver Lake, Park City, and a Picnic for William

Friday, 13 July was the final fling of the family summer extravaganza. I went with the Hastings to Silver Lake at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon. Afterwards we took the Guardsman Pass Highway over the mountains to Park City where the Hastings visited the Meyer Gallery and acquired a luscious new painting by Ashely Glazier. That evening we picked up some Sensuous Sandwiches and met in the park for a get together in honor of Will's arrival. He and our kids only crossed paths for one day. Later that evening there was some tasting around our kitchen island. Saturday morning, the Hastings headed back to Santa Fe, the Youngs headed back to the Valley of the Sun, and our house was sadly  empty. Fortunately Hank and Colette invited the SKTs and DATs for lunch at the cabin.

 A lovely sunrise on my morning walk

 Making the circuit on the Silver Lake trail

 Recreating a pose from when they were wee ones

 Silver Lake with the Wasatch Mountains

 An impressive backdrop for a Hastings group shot

 Veiw back into Brighton from the Guardsman Pass road

 Main Street, Park City

 Meyer Gallery

 Everyone approved of the painting, so it went home with them

 Honey Lavender Pavlova by Ashley Glazier

 Picnic in the park

 ATH and sandwich

 Krisy and Dickie: a study in blue

 Maren's BYU brownie wish was fulfilled

 Relaxing at Opa's feet

 The Hastings

 William Oliver and Katy Kathryn

 Libation

 Kathryn and Evy keeping the tradition alive

SKTs and DATs at the HDT Jr. Cabin

Empty-house syndrome 

The serious fun is done, but there will certainly be something going forward. This, however, is all for now.

OXO

D.

Buffalo Peak

Having lived in Provo, Utah most of my life, it is remarkable that I didn't even know that Buffalo Peak existed. It is the large, higher hump north of Squaw Peak, unseen from our part of Provo, but readily visible from the north end of Edgemont and Orem. We started our climb from the Squaw Peak Overlook, but the trail proved a little steep for the taste of some of our hikers, so Rob and Clara carried on and the rest of us returned to the car and pursued the shorter route from the Squaw Peak Road. That turned out to be a perfect hike with incredible views of meadows, mountains, and wildflowers. We arrived near the top at the same time as Rob and Clara. That evening the whole family went to Bombay house for an Indian nosh.

 The large hump on the left, just above Little Rock Canyon,

is Buffalo Peak

 Headed up the valley side of the mountain in the beautiful

morning light

 Dickie and Maren with Utah Valley below

 Provo tucked behind the mountain

 An unusual perspective of Mount Timpanogos 

 Wildflowers along the trail

 The view into Rock Canyon

 The VERY steep final push to the top

 This view is the surprising top side of Squaw Peak which is

so rocky and steep on its face, but so soft and gentle here

 Rob and the girlies with the side of Y Mountain in the center rear

 Maren's dramatic shot of Provo Peak

 The hikers waiting for me to regroup in a shady spot

 Timp framed by aspens

 Table 1

 Table 2

Bombay House is a perennial favorite

Yet another fun day with the family, with more to come. This is all for now.

OXO

D.

Salt Lake, Canal Walks, and More

Family activities typical of summer visits continued unabated, and on 6 July we took Frontrunner to SLC for fun and some school shopping as well -- I guess shopping is fun for some. We walked the canal a time or two, had lots more family dinners, and even made s'mores at Auntie Em's on a very warm evening. That wasn't the best idea, but was memorable to say the least.  The Arizona cousins, ironically, were looking forward to a good Utah thunder storm. The irony is that there was only one storm here, and in Arizona, in their absence, there were a number of HUGE storms. C'est la vie.

 Provo Central to Salt Lake Central on Frontrunner

 Salt Lake Central to City Creek Center on TRAX Blue Line

 A visit to Temple Square helped these kiddos connect to 

their Mormon roots

 An unusual perspective of Salt Lake City from the former Hotel Utah

 An eastern view of the city and my old stomping grounds 

in the distance

 Who doesn't love some shade on a hot day?

 A rousing organ recital in the Tabernacle

 Lunch at City Creek food court (Gelato at Harmon's)

 City Creek Center 

 The youngsters loved the splash pad (Clara on the left)

 Regrouped for the trip home

 North Temple Bridge/Guadalupe Frontrunner Station

 Waiting for the train

 Dinner with the kids at Strap Tank Brewery

 A late evening canal walk

 Maren is the master of large-group selfies

 I don't have my hands folded behind my back

 Dreaming of BYU Brownies

 A happy Charlie Foxtrot for several weeks

 Key lime pie for dessert

 Summer storm

S'mores with melted chocolate

Lots of fun, and there was more. But this is all for now.

OXO

D.