Thanks to Carole for the advise on where to go to make a blogtactular slideshow. Hopefully it works. I've tried to pick among some of my favorite shots (I took over 200 in the three days we were there) to show off/advertise to those of you looking for a place to vacation. It is really an amazing place to visit, camp, swim, etc. We had a great time, and even though we couldn't light any campfires (due to the droughts), we had a great time talking about ghosts, lightning, and farm stories around the lantern. I also had some time to read almost all of "A Mormon in the White House" about Mitt Romney. It appears that the older I get the more inclined I am to become actively involved in shaping society - who knows, I may one day run for office. In any case, here are a couple of cool things I learned about our Mormon candidate:
***Skip ahead, those of you not interested in politics
1) He attended Stanford and BYU as an undergraduate, and then completed a joint Business(MBA)/Law(JD) program at Harvard; 2) He went to work for Bain & Company, a prestigious business consulting firm before starting his own company, Bain Capital, which became quite successful; 3) He got in to politics when his wife encouraged him to run against Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy, with whom they were both dissatisfied--he lost (41% to 58%); 4) His "specialty" of sorts is as a turnaround architect - a person who invests in struggling companies and helps them reorganize and revitalize themselves until they become profitable again; 5) He was called in to perform a turnaround on his alma mater, Bain & Company, when they were in serious trouble - he successfully rescued the company; 6) He was asked to rescue the floundering Salt Lake Olympics Committee which he managed successfully (he took the organization, which was over $300,000,000 in the hole and left it with a $55,000,000 surplus at the end); 7) He was elected governor of Massachusetts, arguably the bluest (or most democratic/liberally minded) state in the union; 8) While no one but Romney knows for sure, outsider estimates put his net worth at anywhere between $500 million to $1 billion; 9) His wife's name is Ann, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998 - they have 5 sons; 10) He served a 30 month mission to France, returning during the draft era of the Vietnam war, for which he was registered, but was never drafted; 11) His father was governor of Michigan, and also ran for President in 1968; 12) Romney developed an innovative plan to improve health insurance problems in Massachusettes - a program worth taking a look at due to the prominence of this issue (health care) during this election.
There you have it, some interesting tid-bits from my camping trip reading. I'm now reading his book "Turnaround" about the 2002 Olympics (when I'm not working on my thesis, of course). Back to the trip - we had a great time swimming, playing ultimate frizbee, and going on bike rides through the trees. We also visited an old "ghost town" (not very ghostly, as there were tour guides and shops, etc.) that was quite charming and scenically situated. Mitzi and I got to sleep in our new tent for the first time, and as excited as I was about it the first night, after a restless night of freezing temperatures and a freezing wife that could never stand to loose more than 25% body contact with me, I really considered sending her out to go sleep in one of the campers with her family. I slept in the tent alone the last night and was pleased as a clam until about two hours before sunrise when I woke up absolutely frigid and had to pull every scrap of cloth on top of me to stay warm - and it was August! Good grief, that elevation is a killer. We drove home along Idaho Interstate 75 - the Sawtooth Scenic Byway. Unfortunately for us, smoke from nearby wildfires obscured what would otherwise have surely been an astounding view. We made it back to Provo at about 4 or 5:00 pm, having left Redfish Lake at 9:45 am. Good times all around, but it was sure nice to sleep in our own bed once again.
The slideshow is kind of silly - if it says "LOADING" for too long, just drag your mouse over the picture and it will snap into focus. I think it just tries to load full resolution on all the pictures at once, thus setting the slideshow off on a bumpy start.
3 comments:
Oh, it looks so pretty there!! I miss the mountains. I can't wait to see them again! I made one of your pictures my desktop background. Nice shots:) I'm impressed!
Hey guys! I am so glad you are bloggers. Especially since we wont be seeing each other on a nightly basis anymore. It looks like you had a fun trip to Idaho. We can't wait to see you in a couple of weeks!
Yeah, he has done some great things. But don't you find his flip-flopping to be a little annoyin? Sort of remind you of John Kerry, but 4 years later? And did you listen to his interview on 60 minutes about polygamy. I just don't know if he'd have my vote. There has to be someone out there.
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