An aspect of downhill skiing that may be underappreciated is the spectacular scenery that can be seen from the ski slopes, particularly in Utah. The following pictures were taken on a beautiful January day skiing at the Canyons area of Park City. Near the top of the Condor chairlift Downhill among the spruce and fir …
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Snowy New Year’s Day in Salt Lake City
The western United States has been experiencing drought over the last few years. So, the wet and snowy weather here in Salt Lake City over the past few weeks has been very welcome. Following are some pictures of the snowy city around New Year’s. Slight improvement in drought conditions over the past month can be …
Gloria Falls Trail in Little Cottonwood Canyon
The trailhead for Gloria Falls is just short of the Snowbird and Alta ski resorts as you drive up the Little Cottonwood Canyon from Salt Lake City. Longer trails to White Pine and Red Pine Lakes also start from this site. In mid-October we were rewarded with magnificent views of fall colors in the canyon …
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October in North Central Minnesota
This year we are in the height of fall colors during the first weekend of October. Saturday was bright and clear Sunday was overcast, but the views were still striking. Maple leaves in the upper row, red oak and hazel leaves in the lower row
Paul Bunyan Trail in mid-August
The Paul Bunyan Trail is a paved recreational trail in northern Minnesota that runs 120 miles from Brainerd to Bemidji. It is an ideal route for biking and running in the summer and for snowmobiles in the winter. The photos below are from a recent bike ride in the middle of the trail, between Hackensack …
Nobletts Trail in Uinta National Forest, Utah
The Uintas Mountains are an east-west trending sub-range of the Rocky Mountains that contain the highest mountain in Utah, Kings Peak (elevation 13,528′). Nobletts is an easy hiking trail on the western flank of the Uintas, its trailhead is about 50 miles west of Salt Lake City. The trail follows Nobletts creek for about 2 …
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Minnesota Nice Weather
North-central Minnesota has been blessed with good weather recently. Unlike the arid conditions in 2021, late spring and early summer of 2022 has brought sufficient rain, interspersed with temperate sunny days. Overcast skies have provided enough rain for the lake to be several inches higher than last year. Today a small storm skirted by the …
Native Flowering Shrubs
From late May through mid-June, we have noticed a succession of native shrubs blooming in north-central Minnesota. Each of them has similar small white flowers, and seemingly take turns blooming one after another. Serviceberry was first, in late May. It was followed by Red-osier Dogwood, then Viburnum in mid-June. Serviceberry Red-osier dogwood Viburnum Two species …
Quaking Aspen and Paper Birch
Quaking Aspen and Paper Birch are both fast-growing trees common in Northern Minnesota. While they are similar in some respects, they actually belong to different plant families. Paper birch (Betula papyrifera) belongs to the birch family, Betulaceae. Paper birch is distinguished by its white bark that readily peels off of the tree. The leaves of paper …
Oaks of Northern Minnesota
Seven species of oak trees are native to Minnesota, according to the website of the Minnesota DNR. Three of these are found in northern Minnesota; the Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa), Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra), and Northern Pin Oak (Quercus ellipsoidalis). There are two main groups of oak trees, the white oaks and the red …
North MN Outdoors 