Snowy Utah and State #42

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Also, click here to see all the photos I could not fit into this short blog!

We travel around the country on business trips all the time, but very rarely do we have to stay the weekend. This just happens to be one of those rare weekends...

Last year, I decided that I wanted to go to all 50 states and today I was able to mark off #42, but more on that later...



My coworker, Anthony, wasn't feeling well this morning...so he told me that I would have to go on this adventure by myself...

I had a nice 150 mile circular route that would take me East out of Ogden, through some high mountains, into Wyoming and then back to Ogden. I was counting on seeing a lot of snow and I was not disappointed!



Because I was by myself, in area with no cell phone coverage, I made sure to stay on the main roads...no off roading for me (although my Suburban did have 4 wheel drive...)



It wasn't as cold as it seems, well, it was 25 degrees but it seemed warmer because there was no wind...it was very quiet and peaceful at about 6000 feet.



The white flat part is a frozen reservoir that cars can drive on.



I was just about to the top of Monte Cristo mountain, at an elevation of 7200 feet and the road just stopped! Well, the road continued, but it was closed for the winter...




But, I had an even bigger surprise...snowmobiles! Right where the road stopped was a place for people to park their trucks and trailers and hit the snowmobile trails...

I know some of you are laughing at this, but I have never seen a snowmobile in action. I have seen pictures and videos, but never one up close.



They were SO COOL. They would drive these snowmobiles up really steep hills and speed down the trails. I can not tell you how bad I wanted to drive one! I am adding that to my list of things to do...



Well, I had to find another way to get to Evanston, Wyoming...so I consulted my trusty GPS and re-calculated a new route!





After a short hour of driving through beautiful snowy mountains I finally made it...



I had absolutely no plan, so I just followed my instincts and came across this city park. It was so neat to see families out ice skating on a frozen pond. The city has cleared away a nice smooth area for people to skate. I was hoping they rented ice skates, because I wanted to try that too! I have never been ice skating and if I ever do, I think I will have to wear a helmet!



While I was watching the people skate, I noticed a guy ice fishing on the same frozen pond. I walked over and we talked about ice fishing and he commented that the fish weren't biting and he needed to move to a different area but he didn't want to drill a new hole in the ice because it is a pain in the butt.

Call me crazy, but I really wanted to drill a hole in the ice...what was a chore to him sounded like a fun new challenge to me!



I worked at it for about 10 minutes and the auger finally broke through. My, new friend, Brian, asked me a few times if I wanted him to take over but I said I wanted to do the whole thing! He must have thought this Alabama boy was crazy...

After I broke through, Brian cleaned the ice hole of the loose ice so the water in the hole would not freeze as quickly.



Then Brian began fishing in the ice hole created by me! I hope he caught something...



It was getting late in the day, so I decided to head back to my hotel to rest up.



Here's what I learned to day...

1) I want to drive a snowmobile
2) I want to try to ice skate

Maybe this winter thing isn't so bad if you get to do cool stuff. Alabama just has all of the cold weather without all of the neat winter activities!

It's Great To Be A Florida Gator!

What can I say...my alma mater and favorite football team won their third football National Championship last week. That is amazing to me! People go their whole lives without their team winning one...and the Gators now have 3!



I SO wanted to be at this game, but with the nose-bleed seats going for $350-$400, I decided to watch this one on tv.







I ended up watching the game in my hotel room in Cincinnati, OH. I picked this hotel because they had HD televisions there! (and because it's nice and a Marriott)...







This picture just made me laugh, I can't really explain it...





With our 2009 offense led by Tim Tebow and the entire starting defense coming back next year, the Gators are poised for yet another championship run!

GO GATORS!

Back to Utah...

CLICK ON THE SMALL PICS TO SEE THE BIG ONES...

Greeting from ATK Launch Systems in Northern Utah...my co-worker, Anthony and I have come here to shoot video of various components of the new Ares I rocket.



Here at ATK they make the solid rockets for the Space Shuttle and also will be making the solid first stage of the Ares I. The Ares I first stage is the skinny white part below the orange part (aka - upper stage)



The first stage is made up of 5 segments, each filled with solid propellant. We have been following the forward segment, or the "top segment" of the 5...it is where the igniter is and the propellant is in a 13 point star shape to increase the burn surface area...

These next few pics show us shooting video of what is called sling lining. The inside of the forward segment is lined with a special liner that helps the solid propellant (which will be poured on Monday, 1/19/09) adhere to the casing.









Later in the day, we decided to head outside and take a few pics of the ATK sign and surrounding area...









Yesterday we spent the day in the "pits"...the only place I know that is colder inside than it is outside! The pits is where they lower the Ares segments into pits that are deeper than the segment. It is there that they do all of the important stuff to them.

Last night, they were lowering the forward core segment into the forward segment. The shape of the core is the opposite shape of the live propellant that will be poured around it.



It was about 25 degrees in the pits last night and we were all bundled up! I was wearing so many layers that I felt like the Michelin man...only my fingers were cold. It's hard to run a camera with gloves on...



Here is the core about to go into the forward segment. Keep in mind that the white ring is only the very top of a 40 ft segment down in the pit...



After a short 5 hours they were done! On Monday, I will be shooting video as they pour live propellant into this segment...I am a but nervous, but these guys have been doing it for over 30 years with the Shuttle!



Last summer I went to Spain and took over 1000 pictures. Because I put most of my photos in my Flickr account, it is always interesting to see where they end up.

Click here to see one of my pics used in a very cool blog for my favorite magazine!