Tuesday, June 28, 2011

part two, or the Scenery

Utah is really pretty. I'm still not quite sure how that fact escaped me when I was a student at BYU.

Mt. Timpanogas, or "Gramma's mountain", was still covered with lots of pretty snow. It rained a bit during the drive, and was actually quite cold the first few days of our visit.

I love my parents' house. They bought it when I was about 15 and have lived in it full time for the past four years or so. Stella calls it "Gramma's Rock House".

Cold, misty mountains were a treat. The Salt Lake City Temple is always so beautiful.

This is my parents' street. And their backyard. I know. Sometimes I can't quite believe it, either. 

My mom knows all the best trails to take. Mabel and Oliver were troopers and were always up for a hike. We walked to Aspen Grove and Elk Meadow.

This was perhaps my favorite spot, an old sheep herder's trail over the mountain. In our attempt to fatten up Elliot, we ordered lots of yummy smoothies from the cozy Sundance Deli.

Beautiful Timp, and the long, long road home.

We can't wait til next time!

9 comments:

  1. Oh, it is so gorgeous. I wish we had family up there.
    And, Paige calls Camelback Mountain "Pamma's mountain." Funny!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks SO fun! Makes me miss Utah! I can't believe that is your parents' backyard! So cool!

    ReplyDelete
  3. so glad you had such a beautiful trip
    hugs

    ReplyDelete
  4. So glad you had such a nice time! I love it here too. I never get tired of the mountains. We have way too many pictures of Timp! As much as I love these mts, I miss my Mesa home and would love to visit the desert more often (June - August excluded, of course!0.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your pictures are beautiful. I went to BYU too, and I loved walking home down 9th East and just soaking in the view of the mountains and sky. I love it up there. Lucky you, to have a reason to go back! And such a nice reason, too.

    ReplyDelete
  6. beautiful! i love the pictures. they have such a neat quality. and your parent's house looks AWESOME.
    -bridget
    www.delightfulbybridget.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for sharing the pics, Steph. I've had a bit of wanderlust lately, and this was wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This post made me laugh, and feel a little bit vindicated as well! Not that I've ever met you specifically, but because we could take you as a representative of students from other states who attend BYU. . .see, I was born and raised in Salt Lake, the heart of old SLC in fact, in what's called the Yale/Harvard area about 10 minutes from the temple downtown. And when I went to BYU, almost without fail, every friend of mine from out of state had this attitude: "UGH, Utah. I hate it here. It is so ugly. I can't wait to graduate and go back to (insert hometown here)." I was always so frustrated by this attitude! I always responded with: "You need to LEAVE CAMPUS, and let me take you on a personal tour of the Wasatch Front. If you let me show you the Utah that *I* know, you won't think it's ugly anymore." And I was really serious about the tour, but no one ever took me up on it. So, you know, 10 years after I graduated, and most of those friends have indeed moved either back to their home states or to new destinations with spouses, I have to say, it's really satisfying in a very silly way to hear a BYU alum who didn't appreciate Utah's beauty at the time, say that NOW you get it. That Utah really is beautiful! Like I said, I know it's silly, and you weren't one of those people who said those things to me, but this gives me a little feeling of satisfaction! Ha.

    ReplyDelete

Hello! Thank you for your comment. I'd love to respond, and it is much easier if your account is linked to your email address. Or, you could just email me at barefootstephanie@gmail.com. Thank you!