Not too cold for a quick walk at the zoo

Posted on March 14, 2022 by dinajohnston

On our last day in Utah in January, we checked out of our rental and headed over to Salt Lake City. We had half a day to kill before our flight so we stopped at the Hogle Zoo. It wasn’t too crowded because you know, who goes to the zoo in Utah in the middle of winter? But, there were a few other people there and it was sunny and mild, around the high 40’s. The animals were all out running around.

The meerkats were staying warm in the sun.

Lots of red pops from the plants. The berries looked interesting and I found out the red bulb was some sort of sumac. I haven’t seen these in Florida.

A few of the wild critters roaming around. Yes, another magpie and a Canadian goose high up on a building.

A cool statue.

Some house sparrows all puffed up trying to stay warm.

The zoo had amazing views of the mountains from every spot. There was an interesting park across the way from the zoo. What is that statue? After walking around we headed over to find out.

Afternoon walks in the snow.

Posted on March 1, 2022 by dinajohnston

While we were in Utah, I found this great trail behind the condo we had rented. Brett was exhausted from snowboarding so I went out for a walk late in the afternoon. I thought these bright orange trees were pretty cool.

It was a quiet walk with very few other people around. I guess most people that aren’t on the slopes are inside but it’s so different than Florida so I was glad to be outside in the cold for a change.

Of course, everywhere I went I saw magpies.

The area around our condo was covered in snow and icicles. I guess no one will be having a picnic anytime soon.

Two days later, I went for another walk. I was really craving the snow. I found out later that this trail was part of the Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail.

Sunny in Park City

Posted on February 14, 2022 by dinajohnston

Yes there was snow, but not fresh snow. It was still beautiful to me. A blizzard had come through the area the week before we were here so we missed the worst of the weather while still being able to enjoy the snow. Brett was snowboarding the first day we were in Park City so I went to the slopes with him and watched as he got on the lift and then walked around the village at Park City Mountain for a little while. Then I headed over to Main Street in the old part of Park City to walk around.

The streets and sidewalks were clear so it was easy to get around.

I was watching this guy shovel all of this snow off the side of the restaurant and was thinking “Is anyone going to eat outside? It’s 27 degrees!”

I found some magpies eating out of a garbage can. The beautiful birds are all over the area. They reminded me of the mockingbirds back home, always seeing them around.

After walking around Main Street for a while I headed back to the ski area to meet back up with Brett for a late lunch. We then headed out of Park City to check out some local parks.

My first trip to Park City, Utah.

Posted on November 19, 2018 by dinajohnston

On our first day in Utah, we spent the afternoon at Antelope Island State Park. Then we headed over to Park City to spend a few days. It’s a quick ride from Salt Lake City and the driving through the mountain was pretty amazing.

We were staying in a hotel in Deer Valley and had to take a tram half way up the mountain from the parking area to our hotel. Great views of the fall leaves and bare ski slopes all around.

The hotel was very quiet and it felt like we had the entire place to ourselves.

The next morning we were wide awake very early so I took a walk around the hotel property and watched the sun come up over the mountain. I stopped to take a few pictures and a magpie landed right next to me.

We had dinner the night before in Park City and wandered up and down the main street, going into shops after eating.

The next afternoon after hiking all morning we walked around some more and had lunch.

Our World Tuesday Graphic image-in-ing: weekly photo linkup

Our first day in Colorado

Posted on November 6, 2017 by dinajohnston

All above were taken from our balcony at our hotel in Colorado Springs. As I was taking a picture of the mountain with the fog rolling in a magpie flew on to the balcony above us. I leaned over to get a blurry shot of him with a big bug. I then realized the trees near us also had magpies in them. This was my first timing seeing these. They are in the crow family but are much prettier than our fish crows back home.

I took a quick walk around the property before we headed out for the day and saw all of the above.

I had read that there was lots of wildlife on the hotel property but when I got to the lake there were the same ole birds I see at home. I thought “Really, I flew halfway across the country to see gulls, mallards and cormorants?” I get those in my backyard at home. But I did see a few different things over the week.

Our World Tuesday Graphic image-in-ing: weekly photo linkup