Boulder, Utah Trip: Part Three

After the museum, we all had some lunch together, and here we split ways: Jared, April & Lucy went home one way, and Beccah, Nick & I decided to drive home through Capitol Reef. We saw so many beautiful sights, and we were also able to see more petroglyphs, though not as up close. It was a wonderful drive home. The beauty of it has stayed with us, weeks afterwards. 

So stunning! Nothing can match the beauty of nature. 

The weather was so nice, not too cold at all. A glorious way to say goodbye 
to the autumn. 

Everywhere we looked was magnificent. 

As with Boulder, I'd never been through this area of Utah before either and it was such a 

great opportunity. All three of us were so impressed by everything we saw, the beauty of it 

almost wore us out by the end of the day.                                                                                     

    

I don't know if I've ever seen autumn leaves in the desert like this before. 

Beccah admiring the scene. 

Do you see the row of figures on the rock? 

Our last stop was in the little town of Helper. It has an old-fashioned charm to it for sure. I loved the vintage Christmas decorations they had up in the streets already. We stopped at a gas station and talked to the woman about her town and how it was changing and growing. 

Love the old J.C. Penney building too!

The town is beautifully situated up against the mountain. 

Boulder, Utah trip: Part Two

 As well as time spent outdoors, we also spent time together playing games, eating dinner, etc. We were able to eat at Hell's Backbone Grill, which serves some of the most delicious food I've ever had. All fresh and local, and delicious flavors! 

Hell's Backbone Grill, on the grounds of the lodge where we stayed. Such good food! 

April, Jared & Nick

Lucy & me.

Nick and I took a short drive on our own and walked around, which was really nice too. The whole weekend was so quiet, slow, and beautiful. 

I love the streaks of pink/ orange coming down the mountain.

The beautiful rock on the drive Nick & I took. 

We also visited the Anasazi State Park Museum. It was a great place with wonderful displays, and outside the remains of structures and homes. It was fascinating to see the beautiful pots, arrowheads and other material remains from these ancient civilizations. 

This flat jug is so beautiful!

I love the designs on the pottery.

The excavated structures. A lot in this area remains uncovered. 

I love the hearthstones.

Boulder Utah Trip: Part One

Driving towards the petroglyph site

This past weekend, Nick and I joined my sister Beccah, my brother Jared & Sister-in-law April, and my niece for a lovely trip to southern Utah. When I lived with Jared & April, they started going down to Boulder, and this is the first time I'd been to that area. It was beautiful, that goes without saying. Even though it's November, during the day it was sunny and warm, and when it cooled down at night, we were able to take advantage of the hot tub where we were staying. Nick and I almost didn't end up joining my siblings, but I'm so glad we did.

Before we went down, Nick found a trail that led to some petroglyphs. It wasn't a long hike, but it felt full of adventure. It was so quiet and we had the place to ourselves. 

Closeups of the petroglyphs. We were so close to them we could touch them!

Someone in the past had tried to cut them off of the side of the rock. We were all appalled by this. Luckily they didn't succeed, but the scarring sight of their attempt is sad to see. 

I love this spiral shape.

There was also a panel called 'A Hundred Hands' that was higher up. We couldn't reach it, but it was still really exciting to see. I wish we could understand the symbolism behind these ancient images. 

Lucy and me.

The 'Hundred Hands' panel. 

We were so enchanted by the beauty of the place, and the perfect, blue sky.

It felt so good to be out in the desert, and to be together sharing this wonderful experience.

Nick & I admiring the view.

This was a great spot for shouting...

...and hearing an echo.

The third panel we found, the "Shaman Panel". So much going on here! I love the figures, the bird tracks, the dots leading to the animal. So mysterious and beautiful. 

Nick's Murals & Installation at the Bean Museum

 On the Brigham Young University campus is the Bean Life Science Museum, which houses a large collection of wildlife: birds, insects, elephants, etc. 

When Nick was a graduate student at BYU, he worked on a mural for the African exhibit, painting a good portion of it, and crafting and installing the displays for the animals as well. I knew that he'd done this work, but this is the first time I have gone up to see it. I was really impressed with the display, and thought I'd share some pictures of it:

Not only did Nick paint a large portion of the mural, he also worked on the trees, rocks and plants in the displays. 

The fake water needed a dusting, but Nick worked on this part of the exhibit as well. It was really cool seeing all the different aspects of his work.

Look at that lovely day-time moon.

I was really impressed by these murals that Nick painted, and all the work he did to install the animals in their display. I hope he gets a chance to paint murals in the future. 

I wrote a post about Nick's art last year, but I'll post a link to his website again with his more recent work: Nick Bontorno. 

Autumn Splendor in Provo Canyon

In the space of a few days, I've been able to drive up into the Provo Canyon to see the beautiful autumn colors, once with my mum and once with Nick. One of the perks of living in Provo is how close the mountains are. Within twenty minutes you can be away from the city and surrounded by clean air and the beauty of nature. 

When Nick and I went up yesterday, it was warm with a refreshing coolness in the air. There were a lot of people, also enjoying the colors in the mountains. We were impressed by how beautiful everyone looked, and that so many people were enjoying themselves. There were girls having picnics, couples walking through the woods, families taking pictures together. Both the natural world, and the people around us were dressed so beautifully.

I wore a skirt that I made a few years ago, and never wrote a post about. It was made with the same pattern as another 1910s skirt I made, which I wrote about in this post. There are more pictures of that skirt in my Armistice Blouse post as well. I've made 1910s skirts from three different patterns, but this pattern is my favorite, it is both elegant and practical. 

I didn't plan on wearing that particular skirt yesterday in order to do a photoshoot, it just ended up being a perfect setting for it.