Brian Head Peak, Utah

Valerie went to Ouray, Colorado for Plein Air Southwest sponsored by the Outdoor Painter's Society (http://www.pleinairsouthwest.com/). The rest of us stayed in Utah and decided to see if we could get some good pictures of the Horse Valley Fire (http://www.utahfireinfo.gov/fire/dixie_nf/horse_valley.htm). So we went up to Brian Head Peak, but didn't have any luck. There was plenty of low hanging smoke, but with the exception of the occaisonal white puff, no well established plume. It didn't help that it was before lunch. The biggest columns, the ones visible from Parowan each day, have occurred late in the afternoon after the high temperatures and winds have had a chance to work. So we went over to Sidney Valley and walked along the creek.

http://picasaweb.google.com/aorlemann/BrianHeadUtah#

Gallatin Gateway, Montana

No part of Montana is in the Four Corners, although it does share a place on the earth with Wyoming and Idaho. In any case, the Bensons had booked a fly-fishing vacation on the banks of the Gallatin River for us, and we weren't about to turn them down, especially since they would be on hand to clean our fish and keep our wine glasses full. When we arrived, I found that I would be bunking next to the kitchen, which was overflowing with food. This provided a good opportunity for me to protect the household from mice. (Unfortunately, by the time we left, the score was 3-0 in favor of the mice.) It also proved that there was no need for me to catch fish in order to survive, which was good because that fly-fishing business looks too fiddly for me. I hear that Grandpa Benson is pretty good at it, but Chris and Matt spent a good part of each day gearing up and then untangling everything. I have enough trouble facing the ordinary frustrations of life without that. In the end, though, a couple of beautiful trout made it into the cooler . . . which is more than I can say for the mice.

http://picasaweb.google.com/aorlemann/GallatinGatewayMontana#

Midway, Utah

Valerie entered the Midway Art Association's Wasatch Plein Air Paradise competition this year(http://www.midwayartassociation.org/). She used the camper for lodging and we parked it at the Wasatch Mountain State Park. Ellen and I delivered her there (and picked her up). We also spent Saturday, the 27th, hanging around Midway. My, how it has grown. It was busy, busy, and busy. Of course, then we went over to Heber City and discovered what busy really looks like. Valerie said that it reminded her of Moab. I started drawing for her the nostagic picture I had in my head of Heber circa 1989. Back then, I said, you could get a haircut and a bad cup of coffee right on Main Street for about $4.50 total . . . and you could do it without being run over by a yuppie. (I sure am turning into a grumpy old man.)