Last week we cruised south an hour to check out the lavender fields in Mona, UT. They were still just a little green but they will be GREAT by this weekend.
Xanny loved the straight lines of lavender and collected as many rocks as would fit in his cargo pockets. I like this kid. He is my SQUARE kid. Right now he is 48 inches tall and weighs 48 pounds.
You know it is OFFICIALLY summer in Utah when you see the Carnival of Fun roll on into town. We were on our way home from playing in the mud at Papa Rock's house when Xanny spied the Ferris wheel. It was early on a weekday, so the crowds were fairly tame and I only had six bucks in my purse, so the damage would be minimal. Do you know how much you can get for $6 now days at the Carnival of Fun? ...
You can get exactly one ride in the front seat of the dragon roller coaster and one spot on the prancing pony carousel -- barefoot. (If you're going, you might as well go white trash, don't you think?) You can also get just as much as any real adult can take of the place!
Six dollars won't buy any cotton candy but it will buy you plenty of "eye candy" -- via your 50mm: 1.4.
This is why I schlepped my kids 8 hours in a car -- by myself -- over to the mountains. Xanny learned if he sits very still, the hummingbirds will land on his finger at the feeder. He has an awful lot in common with hummingbirds. Maybe that would explain the fascination. I haven't seen him hold this still in a long in while.
No trip to the cabin is complete with out another slobbering moose and a gaggle of visitors. This is just about a third of the whole family clan. Dave and Kimber (in the middle of the shot below) are friends from our Capital Hill ward in DC. They are spending the summer working in Denver and staying with Kimber's family. They came up with the sibs: Gloriana, Liberty Bell and Zenith. It is always a rare treat to find friends that will really make the effort to come up to the cabin. We had a ball and hope to see the other two thirds of the family next time.
and, of course, the ultimate in mountainous canines: the Terrifying Tiny Terriers.
Meet the other family who graced us with a visit: mama Dolley, baby Mayflower and papa Bert. They all have names much larger than their actual bodies but equal to their personalities. I will have to get the video of these 5 pound terriers chasing off the 800 pound bull moose. It was first the moose running across the meadow, followed by Dolley, followed by Dave, followed by Zenith. (I am told recently that the dogs tried to chase off a large bronze elk and were quite offended when it didn't run off across a meadow.)
I love this shot of rugged mountain man, Dave, with his fearless protector. Look at that dog. She's practically ready to pounce any stray puma that might have the misfortune of crossing her path!
Last but not least is a shot of Gloriana who SAYS she is a vegetarian. Obviously, she has her moments of weakness. I caught her trying to take a bite out of a hummingbird mid-flight. Gloriana, darling, it's OK -- you can eat some meat every once in a while. Next time please pick chicken or fish, hummingbirds really are not that good for you!
My travel blog is all a jumble, but why not throw in a pink dinosaur. Whitney and I headed out and easily schlepped four small children as far as Vernal where we stopped at one of my favorite all time museums. The Vernal Dinosaur Museum is a lovely little gem in the ocean of natural history museums. (And I know my dinosaur museums.) Well worth the drive.
They unearthed dinosaurs and went face to face with the Utah Raptor. My favorite thing in the museum is a huge mosaic wall of paleo-botany dug up in lower Wyoming, just up the Green River from Vernal. Very pretty.
(Guess which one is me in the picture below. Did I mention I am road-tripping with out a husband on this trip?)
Notice how the really big bull on the left of the action doesn't feel the need to get in to a tussle. The rack must carry some clout all on its own.
Xanny has found his true calling in life. He wakes me up with the morning dawn to ask me if there is bait on his hook yet. He would fish all day even with out catching anything. (They don't seem to be biting. Maybe it was a hard winter on the trout this year.)
The next day he fished again (same bait and same clothes -- welcome to the cabin) and then we saw a really big moose. Maybe I got a little too close to the moose. I was hiding behind my dad's truck when I took these pictures.
Whitney headed home on Monday and we went with her as far as Steamboat to swim in the hot springs and checkout the local 200 foot waterfall. And then my kids came down with fevers and coughs and it snowed all day.
This is for Marcia who called to say there was a heat index of 104 degrees in New Jersey today. Sister, this is what it looks like in Colorado in the middle of June.
My children were looking for their Christmas gifts under this evergreen! Why not -- it isn't officially summer for 2 whole weeks.
I promise to get back to my travel blog of our east coast trip just as soon as I dig my little family out the snow banks. Wish me luck, they say it just might snow again tonight or tomorrow. Ahhhh, summer in the Rockies.
To much to do to get ready to go to Colorado in 30 minutes to tell you any good details! Here are some shots from Maine and Boston. We were so happy to see our Boston friends the Daines and Kooymans! Thanks for playing, guys. See you when you come visit us.
Sea weed of love and desire.
(Ginny's hair really is that red.)
Tired kids and happy recharge at Toscanini's Icecream in Boston.
Thanks, everyone. Now it is time for you all to come see us.
