Yellowstone

When my sister heard we were visiting Yellowstone, she told me she thinks Yellowstone is the most beautiful National Park in America. I was so captivated by Yosemite a few years ago, I couldn't believe Yellowstone could outdo it for scenery; but she was right. Yellowstone is gorgeous and diverse.

They called this the grand canyon of Yellowstone. James commented that it wasn't Grand Canyon-like to him; I pointed out a canyon just needs to be deep, not rocky. This valley spread for miles with emerald green grass, dark green fir trees and yellow and red rocks.

I was trying to capture all the different colors in this landscape. The mustard yellow of the bacteria in this pool contrasts with the bright blue of the sky and water with the deep green of the grass in between, the brilliant white of the snow-covered mountain in the background. This photo does not do it justice.

Yosemite may have tall waterfalls, but they can't compare to the power of these falls.

This photo was shot from above, my first view of the falls. The splash from the water rushing over the falls rose hundreds of feet in the air. Can you see the rainbow created in the sunlight?

Down the road aways was the view of the falls from below. See the little platform on the right side just above the head of the falls? That is where we were standing when I took the first photo.

I can now say that Yellowstone is the most beautiful, and interesting National Park I have seen,and I have visited many National Parks, most west of the Mississippi.

You Light Up My Life

Here are photos of some of the light fixtures we admired in Salt Lake City.

 My sweetie posing next to a magnificent fixture.

Loved the details on this one, especially the finial on top.












The one below hung from the ceiling of the Tabernacle.

All these fixtures were in Temple Square.

The ones below were seen around town in public
places.

This art deco sconce on the outside of a building really caught my eye. I have always liked deco style.

Morman temple

We flew into Salt Lake City and decided while we were there we would tour the campus of the Latter Day Saints, which takes up about a square mile in the center of the city. We were not particularly interested in Joseph Smith or the Mormons, but we did hear an organ concert on their immense pipe organ in the Tabernacle. It was a good show with lights and a interesting selection of music.

We spent a little time touring the grounds. Those Mormons sure know architecture.

We admired the buildings, the lights, the sculpture and even the hardware on the doors.

Salt Lake City

We visited Salt Lake City briefly. It is a lovely town; clean, great architecture, lots of green space. I expected it to be very conservative, but we found lots of interesting, contemporary venues-and great bakeries!

I especially enjoyed driving through neighborhoods, looking at the houses and gardens.
We happened upon this nice neighborhood near Liberty Park, a huge park with a pool, tennis courts, playground, amusement park and bike paths.

A lot of thehouses were bungaloes and many had fabulous front yards

 This was one of my favorites. I love the fence and the pots flanking the walkway to the porch.

enjoying spring again

We are vacationing in Utah, Idaho and
wyoming for 10 days, When we left Texas it was already summer.
Temperatures in the 100s, hot and  dry. Here in Utah it is just Spring.

Look at these beautiful tulips.
this was in Park City, Utah, a nice little town where the Sundance Film Festival is held in winter.

These pink and white parrot tulips were lovely.

This mauve poppy is as big as my hand.

The leaves were bigger than the ones on the poppies we grow.

We enjoyed seeing lilacs, iris and daffodils again.