Thursday, March 19, 2009

Mountains everywhere


I have been to the west many times. Years ago, I drove over the Rockies into California from Nevada at dawn and was amazed by the mist and sunlight. Still have a hard time describing it. It was glittery and bright, then shady and moist in no particular order. The mist held close to the ground, but when it rose, it left moisture on the window that defied the windshield wipers.

This trip to the west, I expected to find the mist and coolness in Seattle. But was surprised by a lot of sun and light breezes. It did rain the last day that we were there, but we had three beautiful, memorable days. We saw Mt. Rainier from the coast of the bay. Watched the ferries cross to the islands and return. And watch some really big ships come and go in the bay.

In Utah, I was especially drawn to the mountains this time. I stopped in the parking lot at the airport just to take a good look at them. They seem to surround the area, higher in the east and north and lower in the west. I wondered if we lived there would we become imuned to their beauty? Would we use them only as a point of reference when traveling? Or would we still sit on the porch and watch the clouds gather around them and the sun rise and set on them?

The picture above is heading east out of Orem toward Sundance, just past Bridal Vail Falls. The falls were just a trickle as everything above was still frozen. We drove up Sundance almost all the way. The lifts were there, but there were no skiers. It was a beautiful day, sunny and not terribly cold. And there was plenty of snow. There was a creek that ran by the road that had a lot of ice on its shores, but was running pretty fast. Lauren pointed out where she and Beck went skiing. But the road was narrow and windy so we left.

Next time, I hope that we can go in later in the spring or summer and get a good look at the mountains. Maybe even go for a hike.






1 comment:

Lauren Brown said...

About the living here and becoming immune to the beauty of the mountains, I think that is all dependant on the viewer. We have really enjoyed them and will thoroughly miss them when we leave. Oh, and it is so fun to watch clouds around the mountains (without porches as they don't seem to exsist here in Utah??)! Once a few weeks before you got here, there were clouds above and below the peaks that made them look like they were floating in the sky! :) It's great fun.

Followers