Discontent

“Now is the winter of our discontent” this is the famous line that begins Shakespeare’s Richard III.

How fitting is it of Shakespeare to pair winter with discontent. With all the snow on the ground and the leaves and flowers hidden beneath a blanket of white; winter is painted with a pallet of brown, white, and grays, with just the occasional hint of green. Lately the weather has been teasing us; giving us just a taste of what spring will afford, and then covering it all over again with a blanket of white. Don’t get me wrong, I love winter. I love the feeling of warmth in my bed when I know it’s surrounded by the cool winters morning. I love the traditions of winter as my family goes hiking through the woods to hunt for the perfect Christmas tree. And I love the exhilaration that comes from hurling down a hill with nothing between you and the ground but a thin sheet of plastic. But I’m done with all that now. I AM filled with discontent. I want spring to come so I can see the world transform from the dull pallet of winter to the vibrant rainbow of spring.

Winter is now in the stage where the snow is all soggy and slushy and I don’t really want to go outside anymore, so today I decided to get off my butt and go walk around. I decided to go take a small walk back up Rock Canyon. I went there in the fall a few times and have avoided it in winter because of the snow. It was actually a really nice day today. There was just a little chill, but I wore my coat. I didn’t have my normal camera so I thought I’d test out my new phone’s camera and see what kind of shots I could get. I’m actually really impresses with the pictures I got.

So, in order to further chase away this feeling of discontent I share my photos with all of you, my readers. I hope you enjoy them.

Opp...I forgot to mention, I grew a beard this winter as well.

Like I said before, there's not a lot to see in Winter, so I tried to focus on what I could.

Oh I almost forgot, I was walking along the path and I noticed that there was a trail up the side of this hill. It looked as though it lead to a cave. 

I debated whether to rekindle my childhood and go and explore the cave, or to shy away knowing what shady things can go on inside a cave. I finally climbed up and had a look around. The cave was very shallow but it had a really nice view. So a snapped a few pics.

And back to the trail for one last picture.

Squaw Peak

So the other day I got into a conversation with my sister about my social habits. She couldn’t understand that I rarely, if ever, prefer to be alone. I love being with people. That being said, I’ve realized that there are some things that are best done alone. Today, for instance, I decided to go on a drive up the canyon to the Squaw Peak overlook. Now, obviously people go there for other “activities,” but I just love the scenery. It’s so amazing up there and I went up rather spontaneously. 

After going to the peak I drove up to some campgrounds and along the way I got to see some of the most beautiful scenes. There’s something great about not being able to see the city and submersing yourself into the nature around you.

So here’s a little history about the peak: Squaw Peak is said to take its name from an incident following an 1850 battle between Mormon settlers and Ute Indians led by Big Elk. When the chief was slain, many in his band fled into Rock Canyon. Big Elk's wife died when she fell off a slippery cliff during the winter escape.

It was still sort of raining when I began the drive up, but I thought it’d make for some great color contrasts. The different colors of leaves really stuck out amidst the post rain midst. And as the sun came out and the rain stopped it made some great light effects.

What really surprised me was how the mist from the rain caused the clouds to swirl around and cover the mountains. It was magnificent. 

I even got to see some animals. I saw three wild turkeys. They ran across the path and I couldn’t get a picture in time. And I saw four deer. Two of them let me get really close as I drove past them. We were probably like ten feet away from each other. 

I ended the drive by going back to the lookout. It was amazing. The sun was poking through and shinning down on the city. There was no one else around and it was great to just lookout and think about my life and the beauty I was witness to. I really was a great moment. I hope everyone takes an opportunity like this to reacquaint themselves with nature. It’s a beautiful thing.

Rock Canyon

So I went on a walk up Rock Canyon after school and I brought my camera along with me. It was really beautiful since the colors of the leaves were beginning to turn. I took some great pictures and thought I'd share them with you.

I really loved the contrast between the greenery and then these vibrant burst of orange, red, and yellows. It was such a great day, the weather was perfect and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

As I was walking back down the trail I was amazed at how grand the view of the mountains, valleys, and Utah Lake. It really was a great day.