Utah on Fire- A Trip to the Mt. Nebo Scenic Loop

The fall in the Wasatch Mountains although not as diverse as the east coast can have some of the most intense colors I have seen. From the bright yellows and oranges of the aspens to the reds, oranges, and pinks of the oaks, I am easily inspired to get out and shoot every fall. This year the oaks seemed to turn a muted version of their usually vibrant color and then quickly fade to brown. This was a little discouraging as these are usually some of the best colors. On a recent trip up Big Cottonwood though I noticed that the aspens were looking very nice so I decided to take the hour drive south to the Mt. Nebo Loop. As I arrived, I quickly noticed that the oaks were pretty much doing the same, but as I drove higher and higher and into the aspen ecosystem I was excited to see that much of these trees were at peak color.

An overlook with the south end of the Utah Lake in view.

As I was shooting the image at the top, this man on horseback wandered over and we chatted for a bit. He was a nice man that I could tell had spent many years outdoors, many of which I'm sure were up in these hills. As quickly as he came, he was soon to disappear into the woods.

The sun back lighting this aspen grove created a brilliant glow to the forest.

This owl kept me company for a little while at my campsite before flying off to probably find dinner.

My campsite for the night. I cooked some really tasty chicken fajitas with my super easy and efficient MSR stove and pots

I wasn't really planning on shooting a vista type sunrise but as I turned the corner early in the morning I saw this view and couldn't resist. The aspens in the foreground made for the perfect leading line for this image.

The drive alone is worth the effort to get up to this beautiful area with winding roads, scenic overlooks and great trails.

I spotted these wild turkeys on my way home. There were about 10 of them roaming about in the woods.

Fall Fly Fishing

These last few weeks on the Provo have been awesome. Being my first season getting into fly fishing, its been hard to dial in my dry casting. The Caddis and PMD hatches have been great giving me a lot of practice throwing the dry fly around. Here are a couple of images from my last two trips to the middle provo.

Heading out to the zone to await the Caddis hatch.

The fishing with Caddis patterns have been awesome after the sun goes down. Sean Sullivan with a nice size fish fishing in pitch black.

Jeremy casting out to some hungry fish.

South Basin Recreation Center

A few exterior images of the South Basin Recreation Center in Bountiful, Utah. This huge recreation center has plenty of activities from swimming, ice skating and even rock climbing. Built by VCBO Architects.

Sun Valley

This past weekend I went up to Sun Valley for the first time for my friend Brian's birthday. I sure was impressed at all the open beauty that the surrounding area had to offer. With everything from lush evergreen forests to burned sections of forest and some beautiful lakes this place had it all. We did a lot of mountain biking which gave us a great way to see a lot of area in a much shorter time than hiking. In total I think we biked about 60 miles in 3 days which for me is a big deal. Anyway here are some of my favorites from the Fishers Creek loop that was about 18 miles.

We biked through a large section of burned forest that caught fire in 2005. It made for a very different feel that I quit liked.

This is the stop at the top of the first climb. Everyone took a break to eat and get ready for the next section.

I made a harness for my camera out of tupperware, everyone laughed at it  but I knew I could get some really nice shots from it.

Another lookout point to see how much actually burned. Fire is a natural event that is usually a good thing for the forest creating new life.

The fall colors were absolutely perfect.

The group had a mixed range from first time riders to very experienced so there was some waiting involved, but it was such a perfect day it was nice to take a break and enjoy it.

Once we got down far enough we got into the section that hadn't burnt and it was really beautiful. The colors were great and the biking was incredible.

The sunset on the way back into Sun Valley.

I was able to shoot a sunrise at Little Redfish one morning and I was definitely not disappointed. It was that time of year when its warm during the day but the nights get really cold. This is great because during the sunrise a mist rises off the lakes making for a great extra touch.

I saw this forest on the drive back from my shoot and I just really liked how all the trees made a repetitive design, but there was enough contrast between the living trees and the dead ones.

University of Utah Carol Irish Tanner Humanities Building

Here are some new images of a building just recently built by CRSA Architects on the University of Utah campus. This is a beautifully designed building with being green in mind. The landscape is very nicely designed with a great desert feel to help save water. The building itself has tons of windows to allow natural light enter the building saving on electricity.

Snyderville Basin Recreation Center

I got a chance the other night to shoot some twilight images of the Snyderville Basin Recreation Center built by EDA Architects. This is a beautifully done building with great lines and composition. Here are a couple of images from the shoot.

Getting Lost on the Mt. Nebo Scenic Loop

 The Mt. Nebo Scenic Loop is a drive that I have been wanting to do for a while now and I finally got the chance to do it. About and hour from Salt Lake, the loop started for me in Payson and ended in Nephi. This is such a beautiful drive giving the American Fork loop a run for its money. There were endless aspens groves and stunning vistas around every corner. I stopped at a small lake along the way to try my luck at fly fishing. Even though I didn't catch anything it was so relaxing to be on a nice quiet lake with plenty of wildlife to keep me entertained. After that it was to my destination of the Devil's Kitchen, which is like a little Bryce Canyon. I even saw these horses along the way.

 

This is me not catching a fish. I'm not sure if you can tell but I have a pocket wizard in my left hand to trigger my camera. I get bored by myself sometimes...

  I saw a bunch of these little frogs along the shore. This one was nice enough to stop for some portraits.

I even saw this fawn drinking with a duck.

My 4x5 setup. This might be the last few times this guys gets used because Fuji has stopped making film.

I soon realized that this was a sunrise spot, but I still shot a couple just for fun. Next time I'll get there in the morning. Regardless,  it was still such a nice day up in some new mountains doing some exploring and getting away from the city.