Finally getting around to Labor Day.

Over Labor Day weekend, we went to Flaming Gorge with Ron, Sandy, and their son, Taylor. I know, I am really behind in my blogging, so hang tight, I have a lot to say about this trip. We had such a great time, and Taylor was a great model for most of my pictures. Personally, I think he liked it. Good thing he is very photogenic. And a good sport!

We spent most of the weekend in the boat. If it wasn't watersports, it was sight seeing or scubadiving. Mostly sight seeing. We went through Horseshoe Canyon several times. I must have taken a thousand pictures of the scenery. This is where I publicly admit that I love landscape photography. L-O-V-E it. I am addicted. Have been for years. I am beginning to think I need a 12 step program to deal with this problem, but thankfully, digital cameras can easily handle high volumes of needless photos that I will someday delete for more hard drive space on my computer. And before you give advice, yes, I do have external hard drive space. I just tend to fill things up quickly. I mean really, who needs 12 shots of the same sunset when you can have this:

Ok, Zeus, if you have to go, now is the time! And, of course, I took multiples of this, too, just in case one didn't turn out. You just can't miss an opportunity like this one.

On one of our tours, we took the opportunity to check out the bridge. Pay careful attention to the ominous clouds overhead. We didn't.

Here we are, hanging out underneath. We were able to watch a few people jumping into the water from underneath the bridge. Apparently, I am the only one that thought we were more interesting than the jumpers. And, yes, I have about 20 pictures of the bridge. Some are really cool, and I would post them if it was at all interesting to anyone but me. I just don't have that kind of time or space on my blog. Lucky for you! Pay attention to how dry and comfortable everyone is at this moment. It won't last long.

Remember those ominous clouds? Well, being the adventurers that we are, we were totally oblivious to the fact that it was getting darker and darker every minute. The clouds were moving in, and we were too busy enjoying the scenery. On the other side of the hill behind us in the picture above, is the dam. We drove over to check it out when the mother of all rain storms began.

First there was a clap of thunder, and just like in the movies, rain instantly began to pelt us in our tiny little boat. The fact that we were looking at a little island called "Gilligan's Island" started becoming a bit too realistic. Here we were, in our little boat, when the weather started getting rough; The tiny ship was tossed. If not for the courage of my handsome man, the Amber Waves would have been lost! Ok, maybe that was a bit dramatic, but it was plenty wet and wild on the lake at that point. This is what it looked like after the rain had stopped:

I wanted to get pictures of the rain pelting down on us, but unfortunately, my camera was not water proof. We huddled down under our tiny bimini top and prayed that we would somehow stay protected. Riiiggghhhhtttt. Wishful thinking. It's hard to stay out of the rain when it is coming at you sideways.

We hid under towels and jackets until Doug could drive us out of the rain. Then we took a minute to have a good laugh. We were completely soaked, not to mention the towels we had to wring out.

That being said, it was nothing to how wet Doug was. I felt so bad for him, we all hid while he drove, and I'm not even sure he could see. He had water streaming down his face, and pelting him right in the eyes. He grabbed his sunglasses at some point, but by the amount of water dripping from his eyebrows, I'm not sure it did him any good. I've always said he was my hero. Here's the thing that made me the most nervous: Doug put on a life jacket. (Pause for effect while this sinks in....) The man can hold his breath underwater for almost 3 minutes, and frequently has to save his scuba students, yet when I looked up after things calmed down, there it was. Even after all the rough water, THAT was the scariest part. I can't tell if that face is because he was having fun, or if he is just relieved.

While everyone went scubadiving, Miriam and I hung out in the boat. Miriam was playing in the water, and I saw a great opportunity to take pictures of the divers. We realized that the water was clear enough to see them as they explored the lake. I'm not sure who this is, but it was fun to watch them. You can see their bubbles, and then a yellow tank with black straps. When I took the picture, I wasn't sure you would see anything. Turns out, you can see more than I did when I took it. It's just too bad you can't see everything when it's this small.

On Saturday night, there was a city celebration happening on the lake. They decorate boats with lights, then drive them around the lake. After that, there are fireworks that you can watch while you sit at the water's edge. The coolest part was how they reflected on the water. I think I missed most of them because I was too busy with my camera. Like I said, I have a problem.

We spent that evening around a campfire. We had smore's, and laughed at old memories of childhood. We were with Doug's sister and her family, and her best friend's family, as well. It was such a great evening. I can't even find anything to make fun of. Maybe we didn't do it right.

There was so much fun on the cliffs. The kids had a blast jumping from them, and I just had to have a picture of them, but Miriam was a bit angry that I made her get out of the water to take a picture. She just refused to smile. Moms are so mean.

I also took way too many pictures of everyone jumping into the water. I had so many fun photos, but had to pick just one to post. So many pictures, so little space. Out of gratitude for Taylor posing for me, I chose to post my favorite of him. He has some serious hang time.

Then there is Doug. He drove the boat the entire weekend, saved us from becoming the remake of Gilligan's Island, pulled us around the lake on the tube, made water runs so we could take a shower every day, cooked dinner for me, played pirates with us, and was generally one cool dude. Oh, how I love my handsome man.

We had a great time with our family. These are the times that you realize how grateful you are for the incredible people you get to be around. The more I spend time with them, the more I love them. You would think that I would take more pictures of these people because they mean so much to me, but, alas, I can't get rid of the urge to photograph the world around me. Even in the dark.

Topaz, anyone?

For Spring Break, we went to Topaz Mountain with Doug's parents, and his sister, Michaun, and her family. Michaun's family has a tradition of spending spring break at Topaz, because during the summer it's just too hot to spend time there. It's such a fun place to find cool rocks, obsidian, mahogany, garnets, and of course, topaz. Kids just love that they can hammer on rocks all they want. We also seem to have fun with lizards. Just remember to check your bed at night......

We camped in a spot that had the only trees for miles around. They are rare out there. The scenery is beautiful, all of the mountains look purple in the distance, and you can see for miles.


We found some mines that we had never visited, and they ended up being the highlight of the whole trip. I am so amazed that people used to crawl through this maze of tunnels that they left behind.

This one is fun, Doug threw a rock down so you can hear how deep they are. Just ignore how loud my voice is at the end. My camera really picks up the voice of the photographer exceptionally well, (and I am loud to begin with). I didn't realize this until I watched the films at the end of the day.

This is the same mine, but you can't really see it until you get closer. I thought that Doug was going to have a panic attack as I was creeping forward to get a better picture. The ground is really loose rock, and you feel like even if you were super careful, you would head straight down one of the mines. Grant told me (as I was creeping toward the mine with my camera) that he had already slipped there. That is why I was laughing at the end of the clip.

This next picture was so amazing to take. We had walked into a mine, and went as far as we could see. When the flash went off from my camera, we were amazed at what we saw. That hole goes down pretty deep, as far as we could tell.

After we realized that there was so much more in the mine, I tried to take more pictures. It's hard to aim at something you can't see even a little bit. The piece of metal on the 2x4 is the same one in the next picture.

That was taken above where we stood. It looked like it went really far back. How on earth did they get through there?

We were thinking that in this economy we could live fairly inexpensively here. We could build a house on a foundation that already exists.

We wouldn't have to look far for a bed. Maybe I should get some nice memory foam for it. Hmmm, where's Doug going to sleep? I don't see a dog house....

We found some furniture, too. This looks like it was once a couch. Maybe we would need even more foam.....

This next picture is the part that had me questioning the move. Hmmmm. Let's think about this for a second. Ok, I don't think this facility would work for me. This looks like it was a busy place, and they must have been doing well to afford the two-seater model. Still not gonna happen.

At first glance, this one offered more privacy. Then comes the reality check. Apparently, this was for those who wanted to enjoy the view. I can see this is not really my kind of place to live.

I did find one thing that was appealing, however. It was nice to see that Doug knows his proper place, and now I have permanent proof.

This was one of my favorite pictures. I was taking a panorama and my in-laws were in the first picture. By the time I had the second picture lined up, they were in that, too. Of course, when I took the third, I had to make sure they were in that one, as well. You can see Doug way down the road, but now we have 3 sets of parents. Wait, I need to re-think that concept.