Saturday 29 December 2007

Daniels Summit Lodge and Snowmobiles






















We spent 2 nights at Daniels Summit Lodge which is a centre for Snowmobiling, Cross Country Skiing and Snowshoe trecking. The Lodge has a lovely swimming pool and hot tub and the rooms are superb with huge beds. On Friday Fraser, Leslie and Gavin spent 3 hours on snowmobiles and did a 36 mile trek throughout the forest area. Gaye stayed back at the Lodge and had a pamper afternoon at the spa. We went to a maximum height of 9700 ft and our maximum speed was 36 miles per hour. The tracks were well groomed but if you strayed from them you were in real trouble and could be in 6ft snow drifts. We had some very hairy moments and Fraser and i on our double snowmobile actually lost Leslie at one point, but she had only stalled the snowmobile and we eventually found her again and we got under way. We also had a difficult moment when Leslie left the tract to avoid another snowmobile and ended up in deep snow. Thankfully some people helped us to get her out and a few minutes later we were able to assist another guy who had been run of the track by some idiots. At the end of the session we all were fairly tired and ached in every muscle but it had been a fantastic experience in some wonderful scenery.

Heber Valley Railway





























On Thursday 27th December we headed into the mountains for a 2 day break and the first stop prior to checking in at Daniels Summit Lodge was at Heber Valley Railway which is at 7500ft up in the Heber Valley. The journey from Heber Valley to Provo Canyon and back takes 3 hours and passes through some of the most beautiful scenery i have ever seen. Look out on the photographs for some Bald Eagles and also for Mount Timpanougos which at 11,750 ft is the highest mountain in the area and was climbed by Fraser and Leslie this summer. The train is very old and we were fortunate to sit in a car with a stove to keep us nice and warm. There was also an open area which provided us with a great opportunity for photographs but was very, very cold.

Wednesday 26 December 2007

A little piece of land




Fraser and Leslie took us to North Logan where they have purchased a share in some land which hopefully will be worth a lot of money in the future as it is in a potential growth area and there could be long term plans to build a shopping mall in the area.

Boxing Day







Fraserand Leslie took us up to Northern Utah and a small town called Menden where Leslie's parents Carlo & Sidne are building a new house. Perhaps it is a wrong description to call it a house as it is as big as a mansion with 4 acres of land attached to it. They hope to move there in June all being well. The views from all sides of the house accross the valley to the mountains is just stunning and nobody can build in front of them as Carlo ownes the land.

Christmas Dinner


Christmas Day with Leslie's parents


We had the pleasure of spending Christmas Day with Leslie's parents Carlo & Sidne when i think there about 20 people sat down to a superb meal.

This was a real treat for Gaye with only a wee bit of dish washing to do at the end.

Tuesday 25 December 2007

Monday 24 December 2007

White Christmas

It's Christmas Eve in Salt Lake City and the expected snow has just started to fall. Fraser reckons it will snow all night and we could end up with at least 8''.
Gaye and Leslie have been to the Ballet while Fraser and i took Almond for a long walk and all of us just arrived home before the snow started.
Gaye is helping Leslie to make shortbread for Christmas Day lunch with her parents in West Jordan.
All being well we hope to be there by noon for a lovely Christmas family get together.
Look out for all the White Christmas photographs tomorrow.

Fraser and Leslie's House


Icicles


The temperature has hardly lifted above freezing but when it did for a very short time it left some spectacular icicles on the house.

Sunday 23 December 2007

Fraser & Leslie's House




Almond







Fraser & Leslie have a 5 month old Labrador puppy called Almond who is just beautiful. This morning Fraser and i took her for a walk in the snow to City Creek Canyon.

Visit to Salt Lake City - December 2007


Gaye and i left on Saturday 22nd December to visit Fraser & Leslie in Salt Lake City.

Our Holiday got off to a great start as we had been upgraded on Delta by my Sales Rep. Andy Galloway so it was good to sample a glass or four of Champagne on our flight to JFK.

Monday 17 December 2007

Tom's 65th Birthday
























To celebrate Tom Stothart's 65th birthday Tom, Martin, John and Gavin walked the Borders Abbey Way from Selkirk to Melrose a distance of 10 miles. We started from Selkirk at 8.30 am this morning when the temperature was -7C and we finished at Melrose 3.5 hours later when the temperature was a balmy -3C. Despite the temperature this was a superb walk in beautiful scenery and we only met one other walker all morning. We finished with a birthday lunch in Burts Hotel, Melrose and promised to do another leg of the Borders Abbey Way in March when Martin is 65. John & Gavin will have to wait another 4 and a bit years before we can celebrate our 65th birthday with a special walk.

Blog Archive