St. George and Zion National Park

A few weeks ago some friends and I went to stay at my parents' condo in St. George. I went down a day early and spent some time in Zion National Park. Deeee-lightful.

We stopped by the temple for a few minutes, and then drove up above the city to catch the glow of the sunset on the red rocks.

Beautiful, no?

All pics by me.

Roberts family reunion!

I don't remember the exact dates, but pretty quickly after I'd arrived home, the Roberts extended family had our annual festival of fun, food, and fire.

Well, the fire part isn't really annual unless you count a barbecue grill. But this year there was fire.

Anyway.

In what seemed like no time at all, I went from this to this:





And I'm not gonna lie... If I had to give one of them up permanently, it would be a pretty tough decision. I love the mountains. The trees, the crisp air, the wide open feel.
The reunion was at the Heber Valley Camp, and they had a lot of different activities that we could participate in, as well as a huge pavilion where we could hang out and enjoy each other's company. My favorite part of the reunion was the zipline on the challenge course.
I love the mountains, I love the rolling hills...

Right Now...

I'm probably eating Cafe Rio.

And panicking that I'm going to have to start driving my car again. I'm afraid I'm going to run over someone by accident. Is that weird?

Pizzeria 712

Today I got a lovely surprise just before noon when my Mom called and invited me to lunch.

We ended up having lunch at Pizzeria Seven Twelve. Sooooo very tasty. They use sustainably farmed products ("whenever possible"), focus on in-season produce, and they use a brick oven to make their deee-lish pizzas. They also have great salads and offer three or four different kinds of panini (which I haven't tried yet).

They have funky art by local painters up on the walls, the kitchen is open to the entire restaurant, and everyone who has ever helped me there has been extremely friendly; all around it just has a great atmosphere.

Next time any of you are in Orem and have a pizza craving, try Pizzeria Seven Twelve. Yum.

*That's it for my very unofficial review. Thanks for reading!

Bridal Veil Falls

In light of Camille's death at Bridal Veil Falls (this week last year), I have a hard time going there very much.

I've been thinking that I should make the effort to go hike the trail there in honor of Camille, but I just don't know that I can bring myself to do it. I am certain I would look at every overhang, cliff, or narrow strip of trail and wonder if it was the spot where she fell. (Morbid, I know. I can't help it--I know that's what I would do.)

This month there is an Outdoor Film Festival going on there. I thought it might be a good 'transitional' activity to get me to Bridal Veil Falls for more than about three minutes at a time.

What do you guys think? Have you ever consciously tried to change your negative associations with a certain place?

The Organ Loft - a.k.a. "Edison Street"

Last night I went to The Organ Loft on Edison Street to participate in the first installment of their fall Silent Movie series. Click here to find the Organ Loft on Mapquest.

I have to admit, I was a little bit skeptical about going, but it was a BLAST!!


The cool thing about the Organ Loft is that they have this Wurlitzer organ front and center, and as they show the silent film they have someone playing the organ LIVE to provide sound (and great random sound effects, too). It was incredibly fun, and something I will definitely do again.
This has to be the coolest thing I have done in Utah in a VERY long time. Have any of you ever done this? If not, I highly recommend it.