Up!

The highlight of the DJP retreat, held August 13-14 in Deer Valley, was an early morning balloon ride over Park City. Dave, who doesn't like heights, chose, instead of going on the ride, to have two root canals and fix the toilet (truly). Gretta stood, shivering, at The Canyons ski resort, as huge nylon balloons were filled with gas.

Gretta climbed into an open-air basket with nine other attorneys and spouses. The basket was so small that everyone had to stand.

Up they went, floating 5000 feet above the 7000 foot valley floor. Looking up, Gretta could see fire shooting into the balloon.

Looking down, she could see the Canyons and the Park City Valley...

Jordanelle Dam...

the mountains...

and the pink dawn.

Looking sideways, she could see the other balloons with their tiny baskets of people.

She could even see the balloon's shadow over the freeway!

Finally, it was time to land.

Gretta came down in a church parking lot, skidding across the surface of the asphalt and landing in the weeds. The balloon was deflated and rolled up into a neat package...

and hauled away.

The balloonist led a champagne/orange juice ritual celebrating our safe and joyous return to earth.

And each balloon rider got a certificate!

Wild West Adventure

Cowboy poetry and harmonica solos. That was the program for the Emigration Fourth Ward Wild West Adventure, held August 6, 2010, at the Rogers Ranch near Park City.

Our hostess was Janie Rogers.

Dave and I are the party planners, and we delighted in that event. Josh Kennedy, our nephew, was the poet/harmonica player, and he sounded as authentic as if he were a bronc rider from Amarillo, rather than a physics professor from South Carolina!

Another fun part of the program was awarding prizes for the best western costumes. Arden Jones sewed a cowgirl outfit for her daughter which had the horse sewn right into the suit!

We liked Hal Cole's bolo tie...

the Jones boys' coonskin caps...

the Poelmans' denim...

and Nancy Moench's ten-gallon hat.

And we loved Craig's smile.

We invited the guests to bring their favorite Western foods, from bear meat to apple crisp. The lunch was as varied and tasty as Church suppers always are, and we remembered our Western theme with a Big Boot centerpiece. Dave mixed some homemade root beer.

Before and after dinner, guests watched "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" on a 22-foot screen in the barn, took hayrides, and shot clay pigeons.

Their Week--Fresh Faces

It was Their Week(s)--July 26 to August 6, 2010. My beloved Ebert grandchildren migrated to Newport Beach with their Ebert grandparents. I had to find new faces to photograph. Salt Lake is full of festivals and community gatherings in the summer, so I attended both the Salt Lake Farmer's Market and the Deer Valley First Annual Celtic Festival. I found some very interesting faces, though none so dear to me as Camille and her children.

The Farmer's Market is always bursting with good food, intriguing music, and colorful sights. This horn player sat down on the gravel and made exotic sounds as hordes of shoppers fingered their fresh corn and peaches around him. This little boy and his mom played violin duets...

as gardeners haggled over lilies...

and a magician did his tricks.

I love Celtic music, from bagpipes playing "Amazing Grace," to fiddles and electric guitars spewing out Irish rock, to soloists crooning "Danny Boy." I spent four hours Saturday afternoon at Snow Park Lodge in Deer Valley...

watching Celtic dancers...

Swagger, a Celtic rock band from Utah...

and, finally, the famous Young Dubliners from Ireland itself.

I couldn't take my eyes off one fiddler who swung his hair to the beat of his music.

Just as fun, though, was watching people dance to the rock music...

and display their tattoos...

wild outfits...

and catchy sayings.

Som just enjoyed being together.

The center woman's t-shirt reads, "You have to be this tall to ride this ride."