2008 Trip Archive

Okay, this blog is going into archive mode. Below are links to the 5 major slideshows. On the right are links to the individual posts. I won't be updating this unless we take another Utah motorcycle trip (and I hope we do!).

• Arches National Park
• Casto Canyon
• Bryce Canyon National Park
• Zion National Park
• Road Photos
  

Office Tribute to the Utah Trip

Recently, I printed a very nice photo I took of Delicate Arch in Moab, UT. In front of it, you see a 1:18 scale model of the motorcycle I rented for the 2008 trip: a denim silver Harley Streetglide. I was able to find this on Overstock.com for $30, which is about 1/3 what they cost new.

My dad loves brick-a-brack in general, and office chachkies in particular. He has several minature V-Rod motorcycles in honor of his 2-wheel ride in DC.

Gotta Learn Photoshop

Photoshop is a powerful tool, and it has always intimidated me. I made the above photo a million times better in about 10 minutes. Here's what I did:

• I "erased" two people that were in the picture. Really, I just erased them. They used to be in the lower left corner in the distance, but now you can't tell.
• I cropped the photo to panoramic dimensions. This is easy.
• I used the "magic healing tool" to clean up some bird poop. Yes, that's right. I literally erased three giant plops of white ugly guano.

I might work on this photo and blow it up for my wall. Pretty cool.

Slideshows & Rainbows

Dad stops to put on rain gear between Heber and Price. Check out the cool rainbow!

Well, we are back in Park City and I am organizing all the photos. I have created individual blog posts below with a slideshow embedded in each. Text and descriptions to come.

There are 5 separate slideshows below. Click twice on any image to go to the entire album.

Between my Dad and me, we took 583 photos. I have put them in the following folders:

• Road Photos
• Arches National Park
• Bryce Canyon National Park
• Casto Canyon
• Zion National Park

As I write this, I am uploading those photos into Picasa slideshows to embed in this blog. I plan to do a blog entry for each of these as well. I also took a few movies; I'll put those on YouTube when I get home.

I miss Kathy and the kids.

UPDATE: To avoid confusion between my Dad's photos and mine, I have added a "-d" tag at the end of his file names. Because we have very similar cameras, the last time I consolidated photos with him there were duplicate file names and confusion. I think this will solve the problem.

Zion

Zion was a fantastic surprise. We stayed in Springdale, which is right inside Zion Canyon. When coming from the east, you must enter and leave Zion NP to get to Springdale. It's a cool town, very upscale, with plenty of Obama yard signs. Great food, especially at The Spotted Dog.

Casto Canyon

We only did one day of mountain biking, and I had selected Casto Canyon Trail. A good chunk of it is sandy and rocky--Marti and Dad didn't really like it and went on to bike around the corner. I ventured forward and managed about 8 mph on the way in and 15-16 mph on the way back. I took lots of pictures. The ride back down was really fun.

Bryce Canyon

Arches

Road Photos

These need to be organized, but here they are. Add text later.

Delicate Arch

Hotel room ethernet connections seem to be very slow, so I only uploaded one picture. Dad, Marti and I took the 1.5 mile slickrock hike to Delicate Arch. It was worth the trip. This is as close to a "logo" for the state of Utah as you are ever going to find (that is, if you aren't crazy about the Mormon "beehive" thing that's on all the highway signs).

They are both having a great time.

I just got done making arrangments for a place for Dad to do his conference call tomorrow. There is no cell service where we are going, and I just couldn't deal with the idea of him taking this call in a gas station parking lot. I called a motel and asked if he could use a room for the call. No problem, says Connie at the Whispering Sands Motel. No charge, either.

I've always been amazed at the things people will do for you if you ask nicely.

Life Isn't Fair

No, it isn't. And there are many, many pieces of evidence to support this fact, most of them gut-wrenchingly sad. Last night, though, a funny and light example occurred to me. Let me share it here.

I met my Dad at gate D13 (should there be a gate 13 in an airport?) as he got off the plane from DC. Marti picked us up out front, and we traveled to Cucina Toscana, a marvelous Italian restaurant in Salt Lake. Dad & Marti met their friends Mike & Nann there, and they are just the sweetest people. The 4 of them were kind enough to include me in their dinner.

So, unfairness? Well, as Kathy noted two nights earlier, she is the "foodie" in our house, and this meal and restaurant would have blown her away. From the gnocci and ravioli appetizer, the Babaresco wine, the Pelligrino, the wonderful duck, the lemon gelatto with Lemengello and chocolate tiramisu with ghiradelli chocolate and reduction of fresh peaches. She should have had this meal.

Okay, so maybe that's not unfair.

Well, I'm Off.

The week went fast. Now it's Friday. Time to leave.


Just about the shut down my office and go to a lunch meeting, then it's off to the airport. Funny thing about "away messages" left on voice mail and e-mail. What if you never come back? Will those be considered your last words?

Q. "Any last words?"

A. "Yes. Ahem.... I will be out of the office during the week of 9/22. I will be checking messages when I am able, so please feel free to leave me a message. I will respond to your message ASAP."

That's kind of morbid. At any rate, if the plane crashes or something, tell everybody that I want Bach's BWV 654 played at my funeral by a real organist. Here's a nice video of Ton Koopman (the guy is a genius) playing it on a Silbermann organ:

Getting Started

Today is Monday, and I am already getting ready to leave for Utah in my mind. Last night I spent an hour looking at these art poster prints of roads I have traveled or will travel next week. Powerful metaphor, roads. That's what this "temporary features" blog will be about: a journey along a road that winds through massive, impressive, and ultimately finite beauty.

This one is a road in Zion NP:



Here's the entrance to Arches NP:



And this is my favorite, a road through the White Cliffs in Grand Staircase/Escalante: