More shots from Yellowstone

It has been a month since I was there, but I still have some great photos to share. Enjoy.

Friends

Still daydreaming of my time in Vegas and the free therapy that comes from good friends.

I missed Utah

I don't miss Utah, but in the hustle of OSU's spring term, conference season and the summer rush, I missed posting about it here. I was there for the annual national conference of the American Association of Agricultural Educators (AAAE). We move the conference around the regions. Last year it was in Columbus, OH and next year it is in San Antonio, TX. The conference was fairly typical as academic conferences go. Research presentations. Research posters. Committee meetings. Luncheons. Speakers. Business meetings.

Utah, however, offered some amazing views. I flew into Utah directly from the wedding in Jamaica. That was an adjustment.

I woke up to this:

And went to bed next to this:

They did get us lift tickets - not to ski. We just rode up ...and back down the mountain to take the views.

The view was amazing - and once I could feel my legs again, totally worth it. 

Have I mentioned I am terrified of heights? 

We were able to choose our afternoon tour and instead of heading to downtown Salt Lake, I chose to head over to Park City. Our first stop was the Olympic Park. 

This area was used for many of the events when Salt Lake hosted the winter Olympic games. Now, it is a sprawling complex of training facilities. 

And, when there is no snow in Utah, you downhill ski into a swimming pool. Yup. A pool.

After our tour of Olympic park, we were able to tool around downtown Park City for while.

We found an eclectic place to eat a burger and have a beer. I say eclectic in case you couldn't tell by the Bison head and the random photo of a blonde woman behind my friend Jon.

And then there was this Moose in boots and cowboy hat - Why not? 

Should I have a hard hat?

This is what it looks like as I approach my office on my walk into work. Dump trucks. Construction crews. Orange cones and barrels. Skid steers.

As I get closer to the West Entrance, this is the view. Backhoes. Construction trailers. Men in hardhats. I walk through there to get to work. Should I have a hard hat?

You can no longer use the North Entrance. It looks like this. If you could use that entrance, you would also be in a construction zone. That portion of the building was blocked off in January and is under renovation.

We haven't been able to use the South Entrance for months because they are putting this building up about 30 feet from the South Entrance - seen here covered in white glassrock. Yup this street is closed both for construction access and for repaving/ new sidewalks. 

In fact, to get a photo of the South Entrance, I had to walk around campus to an accessible entrance for the library and walk up to the third floor to shoot down. There's the South Entrance. The new building is the new Student Experience Center. The construction has a blog here. It is going to be great! 

What about the east Entrance, you say. Well, from the library, it doesn't look so bad...

Until you get close...

It is still accessible. 

You just have to walk a gauntlet to get to it. They are repaving the road and putting in wider sidewalks and adding lampposts to the other side of the street. It is going to be really nice. At the moment, it means a heckuva walk to get to the library. Growing pains are not fun but we can't stay small forever.

True Confession: I am a worrier

I am a worrier.

I think I have been like this since I was born, but all I can confirm is that I vividly remember worrying from as early as 7 or 8 years old.

Ear marked in my Bible is the passage from Matthew 6:34 - "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." I repeat these as a mantra when I am feeling overwhelmed with worry.

But just NOT worrying didn't seem like a real solution. Not worrying doesn't make it go away. If I don't worry, will it get done?  But I am not called JUST to not worry - He called me to trust in Him.

I saw this post the other day from BillyGraham.org and it explained the concept of giving over worries in a such a clear way, it had to be shared.

"Think of it this way. Imagine for a moment that a worry is a heavy burden you’re carrying on your back (like a backpack filled with rocks). Wishing it will go away won’t solve the problem, nor will simply hoping the burden will grow lighter. But suppose you meet someone who’s obviously stronger than you, and he offers to take the burden off your back and carry it for you. What would you do? It would be foolish for you to keep carrying it; instead, you’d gladly hand it over to him."

Why am I still carrying my own rocks?

One Amazing Oregon Sunset

After my graduate student successfully defended his dissertation to become a doctor, we threw a little party at the boss' house. There was amazing food, great company and the joy of having a big event like that in the rear view mirror. Around 8:30, there was also a pretty good show off of the back deck - which faces west with a view of Marys Peak and the Oregon Coast Mountain range. These are in the order I snapped them. Enjoy.

In the Garden with Misty Lambert

I have blogged before that I love the Oregon Garden in Silverton, OR. I have been here across lots of seasons. I recently had to go for work (oh, darn!) and I snapped some photos as I took a quick look around. This was mid-July so there weren't a ton of blooms, but lots of interesting textures. And daisies. I love daisies. 

Some great dahlias.

And hydrangeas. 

I seriously love daisies. 

This daylily is now my iPhone lock screen background.

The gardeners here really are masters of the mixed texture garden.

Yellowstone Park or the Caldera of NW Wyoming

In homage to Rocky and Bullwinkle, this post gets an OR title. I saw Yellowstone Park in late June. It is so beautiful, you forget you are walking around inside the caldera of a 50 mile wide volcano.

I was coming from Bozeman so I entered the North Entrance from Gardiner and stayed at Mammoth Hot Springs in the NW Corner of the park. We started the morning by heading down to Old Faithful to catch on of the first daylight eruptions of the day (7:58 am on the day we were there). After that we worked our way back through the Geyser basins, over to Canyon Village for the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone along with lower and upper falls. We went down to the Lake for a late lunch. Last, we worked our way back up to tower junction and around to Mammoth again. I don't know how to talk about everything I saw, so enjoy the photos.

It was a lot to pack in to one day. But it was one amazing day! You feel like you are somewhere between heaven and hell because the views are amazing and the creation is so.. in your face. You can see the hand of God everywhere. However, since you are walking around a hotbed of volcanic activity the place is hot, steamy and smells like sulfur - a reminder that the Earth under your feet is only a temporary home.