Surrounded by snow covered mountains

Posted on March 15, 2022 by dinajohnston

Across from Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City is Heritage Park. We stopped by for a quick walk around the park but did not go into the historic village (there was a fee to get in and we didn’t have enough time since we would have to leave for the airport soon).

It was beautiful here and you can go horseback riding in the summer. It’s amazing it’s only 15 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City.

I found a frozen pond and thought that was cool. Wasn’t sure how far down it was frozen so I wasn’t risking walking across although it was tempting.

The monument tells the story of how the Mormons settled in the area. The view from it was amazing, surrounded by snow covered mountains. Back home we have been in the 80’s since the beginning of March so the cold is only a distant memory.

More from my winter vacation.

Posted on March 10, 2022 by dinajohnston

Shots from Deer Valley ski resort in January. The sun had not come up over the mountain when we got there, although it wasn’t that early. I think the slopes had just opened up.

I watched Brett (in the orange jacket) head for the ski lift and then I went off to hike around and look for some things to take pictures of.

I headed up to a nearby hotel that has amazing views of Deer Valley. We stayed here several years before in October when everthing was orange and yellow so it looked very different.

Much later we took a ride around the area before going for an early dinner.

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.

Snow in the middle of nowhere.

Posted on February 28, 2022 by dinajohnston

We booked a snowmobiling trip while we were in Park City in January. This was my first time snowmobiling, although Brett was driving and he had been before. We got to the Lodge a little early (it was about 45 minutes outside of Park City) and discovered this beautiful area behind it.

We rode out for a while to flat area where we could ride around. Then we started to head up a mountain.

The view from up high. It was beautiful up on the mountain. We were with a group of about 10 other people and my only regret was that we could not stop more often to take pictures. We had a lot of ground to cover in our 2 hour tour.

Pano with my phone of the area.

The token “vacation” picture of us at the top. Then we zig zagged back down the mountain and back to the lodge. It was a lot of fun and it felt like we were way out in the middle of nowhere.

Jordanelle State Park

Posted on February 17, 2022 by dinajohnston

Late one afternoon Brett and I headed out of Park City to see the outskirts of town. We were originally headed to Cottonwood Canyon to look for a place to hike around in the snow. We passed this beautiful lake and I told Brett we had to turn around and go back and check it out. It was Jordanelle State Park. A very busy park in the summer with campers and swimmers, there were only a few people out in the snow when we stopped.

This was the prettiest spot we saw during the week we were there. Even prettier than the area where we went snowmobiling. We spent about an hour walking around here and taking in the sites. The lake was only frozen in one small corner of the lake.

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.

Antelope Island

Posted on February 3, 2022 by dinajohnston

My view from the plane as we headed to Salt Lake City and then Park City for a week of snow. I knew we were getting close as we passed over the mountains covered in snow. As we headed into Salt Lake City, I could see the sheets of ice over the Great Salt Lake. It’s not the salt water that is freezing but rain that has frozen on top as it’s falling over the lake.

A must stop before heading to Park City is Antelope Island. We were there in October of 2018 and it was a lot browner than our last trip. There wasn’t any snow in the area but you could see it far away on the mountains.

Looking back after driving over the long causeway into the park, everything looked brown and dead. It’s a weird thing to see since I’ve been living in central Florida for so long now. Many trees lose their leaves but most of the grass stays green.

The views from anywhere in the park were spectacular.

We did a short hike up to Buffalo Point where you can see all around the island.

Pano from my phone on the causeway as we headed out. We did see some ducks and buffalo on our drive through. More on those later.

Winter vacation sneak peak

Posted on January 20, 2022 by dinajohnston

After 2 years of not going anywhere, we booked a trip to Park City, Utah so Brett could snowboard and ski. I’m not a skier but was planning to do a lot of walking around in the snow and just seeing the sights. Luckily our flights last week were uneventful and on time. We also spent some time doing some tourist things in Salt Lake City. I took a gazilion pictures (okay maybe not that many but almost 1,000) and I’m started to edit them now so I’ll have a lot of vacation posts coming but here’s a sneak peak.

Our first stop was Park City Mountain so Brett could snowboard. After dropping him off here, I headed over to the old historic Park City area to walk around.

The old strip is full of restaurants, shops and artist galleries. It was quiet the morning I was there so I was able to walk around without bumping into too many people. It’s usually packed at night.

We made several road trips outside of Park City including one morning to go snowmobiling.

We spent some time at Antalope Island in Salt Lake City. This buffalo decided to cross the road right in front of us. He was not fazed by cars. Everyone was going slow and stopped to let him cross.

There wasn’t any snow in Salt Lake City but you could still see it on the top of the mountains all around the city. We found a spot to hike around there not to far from the University of Utah. The views are amazing almost anywhere you are in that city.

Needless to say, more to come on our trip.

Coming home from Utah

Posted on January 10, 2019 by dinajohnston

As we were heading to the airport in Salt Lake City, we noticed there was snow on the top of the mountain. It must have snowed up there the last night we were there. I was snapping these with my phone as Brett was driving.