In continuation of an entry Utah:Nature at your doorstep, I’d like to share some photos with you from another great and accessible place not far from Salt Lake City. Recently I took an overnight trip in to Mirror Lake, located in the Uinta Mountains. This high alpine area is popular in the summer months for outdoor enthusiasts.
People who aren’t from or haven’t lived in Utah often wonder why people who have love it so much. They know it has mountains and snow and some national parks. But what people don’t realize is how accessible the cities are to the outdoors and rural nature. While certainly not the biggest city in the country, the Salt Lake City metro area boasts a lot of big city amenities. But what makes it unique is the ability to put city life on the back burner like an on/off switch.
Here are a few shots taken over the last few weeks around northern Utah.
(continued from Bali:An Obligatory Stop?)
If you are just joining in, this is part of a series of blog entries about a trip I took in March. Taking this trip was a challenge I gave to myself to cover as many miles and visit as many places I could in a two week time frame while still being able to see beautiful places and landmarks. So far I have covered my visits to New Zealand, Sydney, Australia, and Bali, Indonesia.
The last several weeks have been very rainy in Salt Lake City. Which is a good thing considering the very dry winter we had. We’ll take all the moisture we can get. During those last few weeks, I took the time to focus more of my attention on the sky and attempt to capture its natural beauty.
Last week I took some time with family to visit Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. One of Utah’s five national parks (Utah has the 3rd highest number of national parks in the US after Alaska and California), Arches features some very unique geological formations not found anywhere else on earth. Arches National Park offers amazing scenery, hiking, camping, climbing, and other recreation opportunities.
(Continued from Sydney: In a Class of Its Own)
If you are just joining in, this is part of a series of blog entries about a trip I took in March. The trip was a challenge I gave myself to cover as many miles that I could and visit as many places that I could in a two week time frame while still being able to see beautiful places and landmarks and gaining an appreciation of those places. So far I have covered my stays on the South Island of New Zealand and Sydney, Australia.
When I started planning this trip last year I started researching ways I could get the most bang for my buck in seeing as many different places I could. I consider myself an air travel guru and pretty knowledgeable about airline routings and ticketing procedures. When I was in college I worked for an airline and was able to do a lot of traveling for free. Of course, this was space-available travel and sometimes I had to be really creative on how I got from A to B. All my experience played a part in arranging my itinerary.
I’m taking another quick detour from the travel posts (they will resume soon) to show some recent photos taken of the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City.
In my opinion, Utah has one of the most beautiful capitol buildings in the country. The granite-clad structure with marble interior is situated on a hill (aptly named ‘Capitol Hill’) overlooking downtown and much of the Salt Lake Valley. Opened in 1916, the neoclassical architectural design was influenced by other capitol buildings in Rhode Island, Minnesota, and Kentucky. Along with the nearby LDS Temple, the capitol building is among Salt Lake City’s most iconic buildings.