Life on the High Plains

    I'll be back to blogging one of these days. 

Last weekend we were in Park City for the "long" weekend.  We had a timeshare week that was about to expire so we headed to the Utah mountains to use it up. What do we like to do when we head to the mountains?  Hike! We used a new app on the iPhone and found an "easy" trail with only a 750 foot vertical rise.  You know you're in trouble when you pull into the parking lot at the trail head and you're at the bottom of a ski run. Our easy hike quickly turned into a trek up a mountain.  Literally.  And did I mention that the starting point of this hike was 8,700 feet?  Up, up, up we went. The air was pretty scarce so there were lots of "I gotta stop and breathe" breaks.  Thank goodness the Wasatch Mountains have lots of large boulders to sit on.   It was quite warm for the mountains too--upper 80s and 90s.  Hot, when you're hiking a mountain.   The trail was quite rocky in spots.  It could be tricky to maneu...

Some shots from the Biosphere Museum in Montreal.  It is the only environmental museum in North America.   Isn't it beautiful?  It was built for the 1967 World Fair and has been used for many purposes over the years.  In 1992 it became an environment museum. Happy Skywatch Friday!

On Saturday morning after the "kids" headed out to the qualifying rounds at the Grand Prix, we loaded up Miss G, boarded the metro and found our way to... the Musee des Beaux-Arts de Montreal, or the fine art museum in Montreal. I have just a couple comments... The outside was beautiful, but the inside was an artist's dream.  One of the best collections of artwork that I've had the privilege of viewing.  Do you recognize these artists? Henri Matisse.  One of my favorite impressionists.  Some day I hope to get to the Hermitage to see his Red Room painting. Picasso, of course. Renoir "Young Girl with a Hat"  Love it! They had a special exhibit on Pompeii which was so interesting. A very special treat--Rembrandt.  It's easy to know who this was painted by from across the room just because of his technique--Monet. Salvador Dali, "Portrait of Maria Carbona". A sheph...

On our first full day in Montreal we were off to the races...actually the practice for the big race.  It was a bright, sunny day, but still kind of chilly. Here we all are, even in Canada we'll ask random strangers to take a group shot.  If you're wondering where Miss G is, she's on Adam's back. The walkway up to the race track was lined with banners of all the drives.  I have to admit that I know nothing about Formula One racing, but since Adam likes Ricciardo from Team Australia, that's my team too. Of course you have to try the local junk food so Dana got an order of "Puffs".  Somewhat like a donut I'd say and just as bad for you, but yummy. We found a seat on a grassy hill and watched the cars whoosh by. It was really hard capturing a shot of them because they're gone as soon as the shutter clicks. Miss G had fun making new friends and flirting with a little boy who was next to us.  He was too shy to come over a...

I think it's time to share a little about our recent trip to Montreal. We had an evening flight direct from Denver to Montreal on Air Canada.  I worked most of the day then Irv picked me up and we headed to Denver.  (This is how life feels when you're off work for a few days and headed on a new adventure in a foreign country.) Our flight was delayed and we didn't get to Montreal until about 1:30 in the morning.  By the time we went through customs and got to our hotel it was 2:30.  Luckily we had booked a room at the Marriott located right inside the airport.  We went to sleep and in the morning we joined up with Dana, Adam, and GiGi for breakfast and then began our adventures.   We took a bus from the airport into the town center and checked our bags into the bus station since we couldn't check into the apartment until later in the afternoon.  From there we started a walking tour of Montreal.  The city is beautiful and there are ...