Christmas Lights

It can be hard to get motivated to go outside with cold temperatures and winter storms, but one great excuse is to look at the beautiful Christmas lights. A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to walk around Temple Square in Salt Lake City with friends. The light display there is magnificent.

I also loved the luminaries, some done with amazing detail.

But I think my favorite part is looking at the Nativity displays from around the world. They show many different ways to look at the Nativity. I like seeing the cultural nuances. Why not have Mary and Joseph in kimonos?

No one looks very happy in this Nativity scene, and I think baby Jesus really wants to be picked up.

This has to be one of my favorites. Why limit the Nativity scene to the standard animals when you can have a leopard and giraffe and zebra?

I'd like to know more about the figure on the roof and the bird in this Nativity scene.

The various pools around the area make for some great reflections.

Then we went to the top floor of the Joseph Smith building, where there are east and west observing areas. The view from up high was also gorgeous.

A little closer to home was the great display of lights in Delta's central park. The dragon wearing a Santa cap caught my eye.

But watch out, if you get too close, you find out it's a fire-breathing dragon!

Santa is watching over the Delta Fire Department.

There are swans and many decorations hanging from trees.

The whole display certainly makes a very welcoming scene.

I hope you're enjoying Christmas lights too!

Little Sahara Recreation Area, Juab County, Utah

 About 30 miles north of Delta, Utah and 22 miles west of Nephi, Utah, lie some enormous sand dunes in Little Sahara Recreation Area. I've driven past many times and admired the dunes from a distance, but finally I was able to go visit them up close and see what they were all about.

Since it was December, the place was nearly deserted. No one was parked in the huge parking lot, the visitor center was closed, and we saw only a handful of vehicles.

It also worked out that we had wanted to go sledding and actually had sleds in the back of the van. There was just enough snow on the dunes, so we pulled out the sleds and started hiking.

The quartz sand, blown into the dunes from the prevailing southwestern winds and the preponderance of sand left behind from the Sevier River flowing into Lake Bonneville, was moist, which made it easier to walk on.

We heard a few ATVs and motorcycles, so we tried to make ourselves obvious. There were a number of tracks through the snow.

Finally we came to a big hill, and Desert Boy was delighted to give it a go. One of the best things about sledding on sand dunes--no fear of big rocks!

He slowed down a bit when he got to the sand, but still slid a ways.

Next it was time for Desert Girl and my husband.

I really wanted to climb to the top of Sand Mountain, so I left them sledding and headed up higher, admiring the variety of textures in the sand and the trails left through both snow and sand.

A couple motorcycle riders got to the top a lot faster than me!

There were lots of animal tracks--fox, deer, rodent. These rodent tracks were a little different than I had seen before, and they led to this little hole, about one-inch across.

The late afternoon winter sun made for some great lighting.

When I reached the top of the ridge, I was a bit surprised by the clear division between rock and sand.

As I climbed along the ridge, I admired the lengths that some plants went to in order to survive. The root system on this shrub was amazing.

At the top of the ridge I found this flag. Looking to the northwest I could see the White Sand Dunes, a section of dunes shorter than the 700-foot tall Sand Mountain.

Looking to the south, I had a gorgeous view of the smaller dunes on the backside of Sand Mountain.

I could see that my husband and the kids had finished sledding, so I ran down the big sand dunes, pausing a couple times to take photos (of course!).

 You can find more info about Little Sahara on the BLM website, along with a nice brochure to download that has a map of the area. With over 250 campsites plus primitive camping, this place can get really crowded. I'm not big into crowds, so I'm really glad that we got to experience during a quiet period, and the snow was an added bonus.

The sun was setting as we left, casting its last rays over the nearby railroad tracks.

The light show wasn't quite over. As we headed south, the sky turned pink, and the snow-covered mountains to the southeast reflected their glow. I couldn't resist, I had to pull over to the side of the road and take a photo! Again I am reminded of the beauty of this world.

Thanks for taking a look.

Fresh Snow

 Last night it snowed a little, and it was so beautiful this morning. I went in search of good images for a high key photo challenge (if I understand high key right, it's a white background with blown out midtones, so the photo looks overexposed and you don't see a lot of shadows).

Our dog Henry was glad to get out and run and check out what was going on around the ranch.

It didn't look like the mountaintop got much more snow than we did, but at least it's something. We've been very dry this winter.

The red really popped on this old fire truck. It hasn't moved in awhile!

Hope you see some beautiful things in your day today!

Bowling Party

 Life has been a bit hectic lately, hence the lack of blog posts. I'm not sure it will get better real soon, but I'll try to post more regularly!

We recently went bowling to celebrate Isaac's birthday. The kids don't bowl very often, so they had to be taught a few things, like how to throw the ball and how to take turns. The scoring is automatic, so that made it easier.

Desert Girl was ready with some attitude.

She gave the old between-the-legs roll a good try. The kids' lanes had bumpers on them, so they scored well no matter how many times the ball zig-zagged down the lane.

The bowling alley had a wonderful contraption that let even the youngest kids roll the ball. It was a useful tool (and probably helped keep the floor from getting dented more than necessary).

Some of the rolls were fantastic. The reactions were even better!

The kids were good at helping each other and encouraging. That let the moms get in a game in the adjacent lane.

So much concentration!

It was a fun afternoon, and we enjoyed doing something different.

Thanks, Jenny, for organizing it! Bowling is a great winter sport. If only I could bowl as well as my grandmother did at age 89!

Moms' and Kids' Caving Trip

To celebrate #optoutside, here's a post about our pre-Thanksgiving day outside. My friend Jenny had asked about going to a nearby cave with the kids. I thought it was a great idea, so I contacted the Forest Service and got a permit and key to go to the cave. (It's only open in the winter months to protect a summer maternity colony of bats.) The kids were stoked to go with their friends. Desert Boy helped me unlock the gate.

Here's the view of the portal into the magical underground. We were all prepared with helmets, lights, kneepads, and gloves. And a guard dog.

The entrance of the cave is kind of dusty, so we were eager to get to the less dusty section. But we had to stop and take a look at the long spiderweb dangling from the amberat-encrusted flowstone.

Some of the cave passageways are such a neat shape, it's one of the things I like best about this cave. Oh yeah, and that there are lots of walking sections!

That's not to say there aren't plenty of holes. Here's Jenny going down one.

Everyone was patient and let me take a few long exposures, lighting up the more distant parts of the passageway.

Then it was on to scrambling down more holes.

Finally we reached the end of the cave. The kids sat still for a moment.

They all enjoyed signing the cave register.

One more shot of the kids. The walls of the cave are really colorful, with lots of oranges and reds.

Then it was time to head back out. It was a really fun time, and such a nice way to get some exercise even though it is so cold right now. The cave stays a constant 50 degrees or so, so it's a really pleasant environment.

Hope you're getting a chance to get outside!