By the Shores of Silver Lake

After over a year of frustration with my main camera lens, I'm finally up and running again. When we bought my camera used, the lens never really took good pictures. The lens needed to be repaired. We took it to a camera repair shop who had the lens for eight months and never fixed it. (No one wants to hear those details, or my thoughts about them). Then we took it to a very reputable place and it turns out it is a gray market lens, so Nikon won't touch it. (Why not? They can still repair it, just not guarantee it--again, no one wants to hear my thoughts about that.) Bottom line: no camera lens. Or I should say only a long distance lens, nothing that will take close ups. Within a day of getting the lens back for the final time Ray bought another lens (used) that covers close up to distance, all in one lens, and it works beautifully. Now I just have to learn how to use my camera better--a goal for 2013.

Today I took Audrey's kids up to Silver Lake, at Brighton ski resort. We had a fun little walk around the lake, and I took a few pictures. 

Matthew and Austin

Matthew, Austin, Elizabeth. Believe it or not, they are very happy to be here.

 

Elizabeth

Austin

Matthew

Matthew, Elizabeth, Austin

Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath

This book is a Newbery Honor Medal winner. I'm not sure it ranks up there as high as some other Honor winners. Al Capone Does My Shirts comes to mind--but then I thought Al Capone Does My Shirts could have been the Newbery winner. (Hmm, I might foresee a post on Honor books that have more lasting power than the actual winner.)

Here's a true indication of how I feel about writing about this book: 
1. I have made notes on some blogs to write about Newbery books
2. I have looked up all the Newbery and Honor books since 1922 (when they started)
3. I have printed out the list of all the winners

I think it means I'm ambiguous about it. Parts of it I really liked. It was a quick read. But overall I have sort of a ho-hum feeling about it. It didn't start out that way, and I don't know what made it just okay for me by the end. Maybe I was distracted while reading the end? I don't know.

I do think kids will enjoy it. But the best juvenile lit is a book that both kids and adults can love.

I'm done reading kid's books for awhile. Time for a good novel.

Over My Dead Body by Kate Klise

This is book two in the 43 Old Cemetery Road series. I liked it every bit as much as Dying to Meet You, which was the first one. There are lots of clever subtleties which I think kids would enjoy discovering. Reading it aloud with your child might make some of them more clear - especially everyone's names. They are a kick.

Like I said with the first book, this is great for kids. (I liked it too). And I think it would make a great read aloud book. Make sure you don't skip the newspaper articles. Good stuff is revealed there.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

Life is good. I have been reading much more and it feels great.

I liked this book a lot. Connie Goodwin, a graduate student in history (colonial, I think) at Harvard discovers some family roots that go back to the Salem witch trial days. The discovery of what that all means to Connie is interwoven with the story of her present day life.

Howe does a great job with the flashbacks. They are very succinct yet give all the information we really need. I found myself anxious to find time to read so that I could find out what happens next. Isn't that what reading should be about? I stayed up much, much too late last night finishing the book. It was worth it.

Dying to Meet You by Kate Klise

I read this because of a review on Goodreads by a friend of mine. She said her young son recommended it to her.

This book was so fun. It's definitely juvenile fiction, and I enjoyed every minute of it (it didn't take many minutes for me to read it). The illustrations by Sarah Klise are terrific. The book is witty and subtle. Not too subtle for kids. The character's names are all a play on words.  I feel like the element of discovery is high, so that makes it appealing to me. I love that for kids to figure out too.

There are a few books in the series. I'll check out the next one and see if it holds up. This is a great book for someone you know who is on the edge of wanting to like to read but isn't quite there yet. If you know what I mean. Terrific for boys or girls.

Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy

Audrey has been after me to read this book. I've been putting it off. I finally settled down and got to it.

I have to say it was a little bit of a slow start. Not too bad, but a little. There may have been a couple of factors: usually I was very tired when I started to read, and never got very far, and/or I was reading with a lot of other noise going on. Which really means Ray was watching the television while I was reading. If the book's good enough I never even notice the TV. Otherwise it's a distraction. In this case it took me a little while to tune out the TV.

One other very small factor was the style of language and writing. That took a little bit to immerse myself into. It's Thomas Hardy after all. And  in addition he wrote like they spoke.

But I have to say that about a fourth of the way into the book I found myself lost in the story, giggling and rolling my eyes at the behavior of some of the characters. Some of it was priceless.

I'm glad I persevered. It was well worth it.

Southern Utah Motorcycle Trip - June 2012 - Day 4

Homeward bound. This was our longest day and we put on a lot of miles. We left St. George via Snow Canyon. It is very pretty, but minuscule in scale compared to Bryce Canyon and Zion's National Park. from there we drove up through Enterprise and back to I-15. After a few miles we hopped over to Hwy 89. We stopped for lunch in Richfield, and were back on the road home.

One of the most beautiful stretches of our ride was the last couple hours. Just outside of Nephi we took the Mt. Nebo loop. It's a stunning ride, gorgeous from every aspect. It popped us out at Payson and from there it was a hop, skip and a jump until we were home. 

I'm not really a desert person, and thought all of Utah was dry and full of red rocks. I find myself happily mistaken. (Although I could use a few more good, accessible lakes.)  Thanks, Scott, for planning such a fun itinerary. 

Day 4: 381 miles

Scott and Karen ahead of us in Snow Canyon

Manti temple

Ray

Ray and Diane

One of the overlooks on the Mt. Nebo loop

Southern Utah Motorcycle Trip - June 2012 - Day 3

We left Panguitch that morning and headed to Cedar Breaks National Monument. We hit our high elevation at Cedar Breaks - over 10,000 feet. At about 7000 feet in elevation there is a definite drop in temperature. We put on coats and scarves until we dropped back down. From Cedar Breaks we made our way to Hwy 89, Mt. Carmel, then Zion's National Park. Zion's was stunning. We only saw a very tiny fraction of the park. I really liked it, but liked the looks of Bryce a little more. We'll have to go back and spend more time at Zion's another time. Perhaps in the autumn. 

We came out the other side of Zion's and rode up to Kolob reservoir. So pretty! From there we ended up in St. George for the night. We had dinner with our friends Dan and Mareen cook.

Day 3: 194 miles

Scott and Karen. Chessmen Ridge: our high elevation marker.

Ray and Diane

  

Heading into the tunnel at Zion's National Park

Diane, Ray, Karen

The road to Kolob reservoir. For my children: it makes the hymn marginally better.

Ray and Diane. this was on the road to Kolob reservoir.

Having a glorious time

Southern Utah Motorcycle Trip - June 2012 - Day 2

If I absolutely had to pick one day of the trip, this was my favorite, with Day 3 a close second. The weather was very good, although it was VERY windy for the second half of the day. That makes for a very exciting, if not at times nerve-wracking, ride. 

We left Torrey and immediately took Hwy 12, otherwise known as Escalante Highway. Many bikers have said it is one of their favorite rides in the United States. We encountered many bikers that day. Some were by themselves--most were in groups. I stopped counting at 200. A few were from Switzerland but most were from all over the states. We stopped along the way at many beautiful overlooks. None of my pictures really do it justice. 

We stayed on Hwy 12 until Bryce Canyon. What a beautiful park! That's a place I'd like to go back to. After Bryce we were back on Hwy 12 (more wind), then stopped in Panguitch for the night. There is not much in Panguitch. We ate dinner at one restaurant and breakfast at the other restaurant in town. 

Day 2: 138 miles

You can't really see it, but it says Scenic Byway. This portion wasn't so scenic but the rest of it was breathtaking.

Scott and Karen in front of us. I tried to take a picture of the sign that said 14% grade, but missed it.

This pretty much sums up the ride.

Scott and Karen. It's hard to tell, but we are high on a ridge, and there is a very deep valley below.

Diane and Ray.

If you look carefully you can see the road. That was where we were headed.

Scott, Karen, Diane, Ray.. Lots of the pictures have us in our helmets--it was a time saver not to take them off.

The road into Bryce Canyon.

Karen. We were up and down over 6000 feet that day.

Diane and Ray

Ray, Diane, Karen, Scott

Ray and Diane

Southern Utah Motorcycle Trip - June 2012 - Day 1

Scott and Karen Perry came down the first week in June and the four of us took a motorcycle trip to southern Utah. Actually that's where we ended up, but we spent most of our time meandering down and meandering back. It was good timing for the trip. In the month since then there have been many fires, and a few mudslides through some of the area we traveled. 

I've never seen anything south of Spanish Fork that you can't see from a car driving on I-15. Sad, but true. This was a great way to see some of the state with just about the best view possible. We were anticipating high temperatures, but except for the afternoon of the first day, the weather was great. We did get a little cold as we hit higher altitudes, so we just put on another layer of clothing and we were fine. 

My expectation was a lot of red rock formations. We did see that, but oh, so much more. Lots of green, lots of trees--it was all beautiful. 

The first day we headed south on I-15 to Spanish Fork, then took Hwy 6 over to Thistle. The dot on the map that said Thistle was bigger than Thistle itself. From there we went south on 89. At Fairview we took Hwy 31, a beautiful scenic drive through the Manti-La Sal National Forest. We stopped in Price for lunch, then on to Goblin Valley. It was hot at that point - over 100 degrees. After a brief stop there we headed to Capitol Reef National Park. We arrived there about 5:00 p.m. The place was nearly deserted and we had a lovely drive through the park. That night we stayed in Torrey. 

Day 1: 321 miles.

Here we are - ready to take off on Monday morning. Scott and Karen and me and Ray. Can you tell Scott likes the number 8?

We encountered this on Hwy 31 from Fairview to Huntington. We saw a few trucks letting the sheep out to graze. The dogs were amazing, herding the sheep and getting them all where they belonged.

You can see the snow in the distance. We encountered snow and 100+ degree weather all within a few hours.

Karen and Scott, Goblin Valley

Diane and Ray, Goblin Valley

Ray and Scott, Capitol Reef National Park

Diane and Ray, Capitol Reef National Park

Lots of my pictures I took while we were riding. Karen caught me taking a picture at one of our stops.

This is how we ended the day. That's Scott and Karen in front of us, and just a little of the view at Capitol Reef National Park.