Fall Colors with Snow
October 10, 2005
Saturday was a blur as I ran from one end of the valley to the other, and even headed out past our Great Salt Lake to the other side of the Oquirrh mountains. It was a fun day with several friends (including Nancy's book signing) and family members. But I'll leave that for tomorrow and tell you about Sunday because the mountains are the Monday morning feature here.
Sunday was one of the rare days we had no obligations and no plans. Trying to decide where to go, which mountains, which place to enjoy our breakfast, and which views would be most worthwhile, took a few minutes of discussion. It had been a long time since we had headed up to Snowbird to enjoy the beauty of the rugged peaks in Little Cottonwood, So, we headed up to what would surely be snowy peaks, but maybe not so much in the way of fall colors. As you can see the aspens were still glorious and quite the contrast with the white snow. We said ooohhh, aaahhh, all the way up.
The sky was blue when we arrived and the temperature was chilly but not too much to bear (perfect for wearing socks) and breakfast was much better than the last time we dined at the Fork Lift. We decided that omelets were the best way to go from now on. It was nice to sit beside the big fire pit and watch the flames dance.
Get Ready Get Set....SKI!!
As usual we took a trip to Alta (just a few miles up the road from the Bird) just to see how much snow had fallen in the last few days. Are you booking your ski vacations and getting ready for the greatest snow on earth? It won't be long if this weather sticks around. Last year the resorts were open shortly after Halloween.
The clouds arrived in time for our ride down the canyon, but we did capture the aspens in their last gasp of fall color. We feel so blessed to have this place of beauty as our backyard.
Are you employed by the Utah tourist board? If you are; it's blinkin' well working! TAXI!
Posted by: AmyP | October 10, 2005 at 03:51 AM
Hi Margene,
No wonder you call our east coast mountains "bumps"! And I like your banned books button! Go Banned Books!
Posted by: Carole | October 10, 2005 at 05:56 AM
Your pictures never cease to amaze me of how lovely your corner of the world is!!
Posted by: Kim | October 10, 2005 at 06:15 AM
Wow, I wish we could come out that way for skiing this year! The East definitely doesn't have skiing anything like the Rockies. Beautiful pictures!
Posted by: Alison | October 10, 2005 at 06:20 AM
What great pics!! The snow sure keeps on coming up in the mountains, doesn't it?!
Posted by: Teri | October 10, 2005 at 06:54 AM
What a welcome sight this morning! Beautiful as always. All it's done here is rain, rain, rain - with rain in the forecast for the rest of week!
Posted by: Cara | October 10, 2005 at 07:01 AM
It can't get any better than that! Beautiful!
Posted by: wool winder | October 10, 2005 at 07:16 AM
*speechless over here*
::wave::
Posted by: Norma | October 10, 2005 at 07:22 AM
I think it's amazing that you still appreciate it so much. I grew up in the "peak" area for fall foliage, and never really appreciated it. It's pretty, but I never saw the allure for taking a trip to see the trees. You are a very special person to be able to see all of this splendor every day and treat it like it's the first time. Have a great day!
Posted by: Johanna | October 10, 2005 at 07:38 AM
It looks great up there! Here in Denver we have have mountain of snow staring at us out the windows this morning--boy do I miss the Salt Lake Valley were snow usually doesn't stick for a while longer :)
Posted by: Kim | October 10, 2005 at 07:39 AM
Snow! Skiing! Yeah baby.
Posted by: claudia | October 10, 2005 at 07:59 AM
Gorgeous pictures. Thank you for showing us all the beauty.
Posted by: Isela | October 10, 2005 at 08:29 AM
..my first blog read that had a snow picture.. I should have known! I think ya' ARE in cahoots with the Utah tourist board like AmyP said...and if you aren't you SHOULD be...send them a link of your blog today!
Posted by: PJ | October 10, 2005 at 08:30 AM
Simply spectacular. Wow.
Posted by: regina | October 10, 2005 at 08:50 AM
We're booking our ski vacation--and I don't even ski! Looking forward to seeing Utah snow again, even though I'm happy I don't have to live through it again this winter!
Posted by: Kim/Chef Messy | October 10, 2005 at 08:50 AM
That's beautiful! I wish I knew enough of my surrounding area to just go out for some exploring every weekend. :) I should just head out in a direction and spend the day figuring out what's there.
Posted by: The Knitting Kit | October 10, 2005 at 09:00 AM
I was intrigued by the snow and skiing so Googled the mountain. Did you know and I expect you do, that the uphill capacity is 16800 skiers and snowboarders an hour? I have this vision of them all coming down at once, making it look like rush hour! Beautiful this time of year, but magical with snow.
Posted by: Tracy | October 10, 2005 at 09:19 AM
Breathtaking!
Posted by: Kathy | October 10, 2005 at 09:24 AM
How wonderful to be able to see snow and fall colors at the same time... my favorite moment in fall, when it coincides in our neck of the woods. Now, about the snow - my brother-in-law just informed me that he accepted a job in SLC and is leaving next week; the only thing that made that tolerable was the thought of flying back there with my snowboard in tow and getting to visit him, Alta and you!
Posted by: Birdsong | October 10, 2005 at 09:52 AM
It's great to see other people out enjoying their own 'back yard' I think people take their own region's natural beauty for granted a lot. I used to live by a gal on the east coast who grew up there and hadn't been to half of the beautiful places in her own hometown. Sad! It's important to appreciate nature for so many reasons.
That said, it'd be hard to ignore the beauty that abounds where you live, Margene! It just screams out at one, I suppose. I love all the shots, as usual, but the last one is my favorite!
Have a great week. :)
Posted by: Liz | October 10, 2005 at 10:21 AM
Thanks for the Little Cottonwood pictures, Margene! I learned to ski at Alta when I was two years old. My grandparents went out to ski there every year for about 30 years, and it's still one of my favorite spots in the world, but I haven't been in far too long!
Posted by: Sarah | October 10, 2005 at 10:38 AM
You definitely are blessed. Quite breathtaking. I'm hoping this weekend will provide an opportunity to drive up the Great River Road (follows the MIssissippi) and see some nice changing colors on the bluffs. Although with the drought this year in this area, the colors won't be as vibrant as they often are.
Posted by: Rebekah | October 10, 2005 at 10:49 AM
I would trade a few of our colours for a little of your skiing snow. Red you may lack, but snowyou have a-plenty. *Shush*
Posted by: julia fc | October 10, 2005 at 02:48 PM
I hear there was some snow in Colorado! It's getting closer to you! :)
Love your beauty.
Love.
Posted by: sandy | October 10, 2005 at 05:52 PM
The mountains sure look pretty with the snow on them. That's how I like snow, waaaay up on the mountains!
Posted by: Brenda | October 10, 2005 at 06:38 PM