Peterman's Choice*
The Utes

Never been there, got nothing.
But I am first today.

learned to ski in the Wasatch mountains, Park City....nothing like it!  Strange drinking customs,though; you have to buy a membership at a bar, then they sell you little airplane size bottles to take into the bar, where you buy your mixers and such....

Utah is "big country," to me and I love the farmers markets, orchards, and artwork. My roommate at Arizona college experience was Japanese American Mormon Trackstar! She is so talented..I swam and she ran.....but we both walked to class together...college was too fun...24/7...I lived, worked, and adventured on my scuba trips...with Mormon families...wonderful memories...exiting to read the news...and get my cuppa..smooth coffee..big  plans for the day...in adventure...yesterday morning was 59 degrees..now at this hour ...are thunder-clapps...runs off in sporting golf gingham outfit to fetch the boiling water off the stove...to read...and wait for sun-rise...anew.

KORTHAL.............................. gots double the nothing & I am not first( I have been a few times & it is always fun)...............great to see you so early.......................I'm waiting for my tea water to boil..................

I have never been there but would like to visit. I am off to work today, have to dust ff my helpers cape (kidding) and save part of the aging population.

I got nothing too; a "ute" to an australian is the lorry (English) or truck (American)
I would love to visit though.

Is anyone able to tell me if there is a salt flat in Utah like that of Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia? The one called the largest mirror on planet earth?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-yEGsk5xic&feature=related

BEBE you wench.

I'm sure Nacista will have a lot of good things to contribute to our understanding of Utah.  We're hoping to drive out there this fall and see some wondrous sights and lots of big blue sky.

Only info I have was from little girl I sat next to on the plane to NY,NY.
She informed me that Utah has REAL snow!! She will never understand how what we get here is even called "snow"!

I love Utah, it is certainly one of Americaa;s greatest treasures.  I have a friend who travels out several times a year to their Yurt for her painting.  It's scenic and inspirational.  They positioned the Yurt about a mile south of Moab in a town near Montecello.  I am always excited to see her paintings when she retuens because they are so amazing, each and everyone is made up of the most unique color scheme that one woould not imagine could happens in the human eye   I am blessed to own several of her paintings and plan on collecting more.  What a great topic.   Go Utah.  So many womderful things to do if you love the outdoors.  It is one of Mother Natures masterpieces.

Your post about the seagull as the Utah state bird really troubles me as one more example of how ignorance can be so easily propagated on the internet. Even a smidgin of research would have turned up the answer: the early Mormon settlers were threatened by a locust swarm when a large flock of seagulls came and saved the day. In grateful appreciation, they even set up a monument to what appeared to be "divine intervention."

Frankly, I don't know what surprises me more: that a non-Mormon would call you on it or that no member of the church did.

Please, do a better job of "vetting" your articles before publishing!

CHEFD.......................I am very offended by your comment. I believe the only way to make ammends would be if you made a giant cocnut layer cake & frosted cookies for the clubcar this evening.............................bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahaha..........................
 
MAGADORE........................why do you have quotation marks around vetting? I am sure I speak for many who thank you for setting the record straight.........................this saved me many sleepless nights.......................................

coconut.............doh...................

ChefDeb....please offend me too.....anything chocolate will do.

Do you think any of the Osmonds have a ute in their yard?

MISS BLUE....................feel free to throw in one of your keylime pies.........................I made it for friends when we were in MA last summer & it was a huge hit!

PAOLOS--somehow I was laughing so hard yesterday that I forgot to post and say
LMFAO ...

Is it true that no one ever drown in the lake at  Salt Lake City ?

Miss Bebe, Miss Blue....looks like we might be on our way to another rollicking day.
Meanwhile, I have not had a chance to "vet" my comments about Utah so I will rejoin and go on topic. Soon.

JULIA--I believe the Osmonds are Utes, but they probably don't have a Yute.

just another example of why we need a delete button (for me).

Ahhhh home sweet home.
 
Roadyacht, a lot of the liquor laws have changed, starting in 2001 in preparation for the olympics in fact.  You no longer need to purchase a membership (which essentially amounted to a cover charge) to enter.  You actually can't purchase mini bottles any more.  And like California you can't smoke in the bars now. 
 
Magadore it wasn't locusts it was mormon crickets, we just had another infestation lately and they are awful beasties.  My pioneer ancestors all have accounts of the crickets in their journals, people were burning their crops to get rid of them and women and children were out in the fields trying to beat the crickets off of their gardens with anything they could get their hands on. Sego lilly bulbs and seagulls helped prevent starvation, the first by feeding the settlers and the second by eating the invaders and saving the remaining crops.  Now seagulls mostly hang out in the mcdonalds parking lots waiting for dropped fries.
 
The salt flats are fun but not as big as the ones in South America.  They host speed week every year, where you can race anything with a motor...including barstools.  A friend of mine from California, Scott Andrews from Andrews Powder Coating in Chatsworth, comes up for Speed Week to do the announcing every year.  The lake itself is the largest inland sea in the world.  It has no outlet and there are a couple salt companies that harvest from the lake and the salt flats.  Its salinity is so high that it is very difficult to sink in, but not impossible.  It was even a joke in the movie SLC Punk.
 
We've got 5 national parks and a ridiculous  number of national forests, national monuments, state parks, and BLM land.  If you want to water ski, snow ski, skate, snowmobile, dog sled, snow tube, float tube, mountain climb, mountain bike, atv/off road motorcycle, horse back riding, paragliding, ziplining, ice blocking, sledding, hike, camp, fish, hunt, rock crawl, kayak, raft, or any other outdoor sport you can do it here.
We also have a strong presence in films.  The most recent big hollywood production is The Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp.  Monument valley was a favorite of western directors from the golden age of hollywood.
 
Some of my favorite terrain is in the bookcliff/san raphael swell area of central/southern Utah.  There are scores of amazing petroglyph and pictograph sites readily available to the adventurous.  You can float the green river, stop and get some of the best watermelon in the world, and photograph some of the most amazing ancient rock art anywhere.
I live in the very North in an area know as Cache Valley that borders Idaho to the north.  I am 2 hours from Salt Lake City and 3 hours from Jackson Hole and Yellowstone.  The valley that I live in is picturesque to say the least.  I sometimes write about it on my blog http://nachista.blogspot.com/ I have pages at the top with local event guides and restaurants, I also list local blogs that I love.
 
This post is just a couple days shy of our state holiday, Pioneer day, July 24th.  It marks the day that the first LDS settlers arrived in valley via wagon train on July 24, 1847.  There is a HUGE parade in SLC that day called the Days of '47, followed by a massive rodeo and fireworks display.  I stuck close to home for a local celebration, drove my dad's '51 willys jeep in our local parade, went floating the oneida narrows over the border in Idaho on a inner tube (we call it red neck boating), went to a movie in the park and got a front row seat to some pretty awesome fireworks.  It was nice to have the day off when the rest of the country was hard at work.

There is so much to say about this state and the day isn't nearly long enough to include it all.

I tawt I taw a puddy tat, what did utah?

Tweety Pie

Oooops....that should have beenhve been Tweety Bird....not Pie.

There I go, propagating falshoods on the internet. I am so not worthy. Hit me with chocolate soda with a side car.

Nachista--I KNEW you'd come through for us............thanks!!  

Nachista, what Carol said. Very well done!

Hahaha Carol do you still have the big list of stuff to do in Southern Utah that I sent you?  You should definitely stay at the shooting star drive in if you can, it is one of my favorite spots http://www.shootingstardrive-in.com/.

I remember the last time this topic came up, it was in the fall when my mother was dipping chocolates and I played a trivia game and the eye-sters with the correct answers got some of mom's chocolates.  Too bad it was reposted in July, too hot for chocolates.  I supposed I could always put up a batch of my peanut butter stuffed chocolate cookies if anyone wanted to play trivia.

      nachistsa...the chocolates were yummy! thanks again

   nachista.....sorrymust be the heat

NACHISTA......................thanks for the very informative post. It sounds like a really beautiful place to live. It's always cool to get the view of someone who intimately knows a place..................beats any travel guide! In high school we also would tie innertubes together & float down the Muskingham and Ohio rivers......................I like your term, "redneck boating"....................man that was fun.........

Nice post Nachista!   Now I want to go there. 

Let's not forget that Utah also holds one of the most beautiful sights to behold in America, ROBERT REDFORD...anyone been to Sundance? If I ever travel to Utah, Sundance will be a must see!

bebe we use to tube an irrigation canal that came out of one of the local canyons, but that canal broke and wiped out a couple houses a few years ago and it has been closed to the public ever since, so now we have to drive across the border.  It is a fun and relaxing way to spend an hour or two.  You can even get these pool tubes that are doubled up for 2 riders and there is a cooler in the middle, that's what I call style.  That same area has a really high concentration of hot springs and in the winter I love to drive up and sit in the hot spring pools while it is snowing.
 
Tori, starting in college I went to Sundance every year up until 6 years ago.  It has spilled out of Park City down into Salt Lake, up into Ogden, and down into Sundance Resort.  A great place to people watch, see films that you can't see anywhere else, and attend some interesting parties.  SFF is why a lot of people like to say "Park City: In Utah but not of Utah".  I got to see Blair Witch Project, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and other big hits before they even had distributors, by going to Sundance.  Although I would say that people who go to SFF and want to ski would be better off ditching Park City Mountain resort and heading down to Alta...alta has the sickest powder in the state and is a Ski only resort, no boards allowed, very old school.

Nachista, yes we still have that info you sent--all printed out and highlighted, etc.  We don't have a reservation yet for the Shooting Star, but that's where we hope to stay.  Sounds fun.....

If you're ever in SLC you should swing by my favorite cookie shop ever, Ruby Snap www.rubysnap.com ; This little company started out under the name "My Dough Girl", until Pillsbury decided that was a threat and sent Tammy (the owner) a cease and desist letter that threatened to sue them for copyright infringment.  The story brought her tons of free publicity and she changed her name anyway to avoid the cost of a legal battle.  My favorites are the Maris (caramel filled chocolate), chocolate covered Penelope (peanut butter), Memphis (fresh raspberry), Judy (orange), and Audrey (cranberries with white chocolate).  You can also order the frozen dough and bake them at home, they ship anywhere in the lower 48.

Nachista is right about to beauty of Utah and its National Parks and the great skiing. We have gone to Utah several times on vacation and have driven through many time whie heading east or coming home from another part of the country. One thing that was not mentioned is how wide the streets are in Salt Lake City. They were designed so that the early settlers could come to town , do their shopping then do a u turn with the horse drawn wagons so they could head home. Thus the streets are very very wide.And the cache valley is a very senic area and driving across the salt flats can be a hoot if one does not bother to look at thespeed guage on the dashboard. I have been passed by a state patrolman that just ignored me while I wasdoing about 95 or so. as to skiing it is at least as  good if not better than Colorado. Having relatives in Colo. whose sons work in some of the resorts in winter we can now probably just go visit in the darkness of a moonless night..

Nachista- I just checked out your blog.  I love the phonetic alphabet entry.  What city in Utah has the best luxury shopping? 

Hey we're also home to fry sauce.  A condiment that befuddles ketchup lovers everywhere.  Here is the recipe we used at my uncle's restaurant http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/condiments/rockye28099s-world-famous-fry-sauce/
 
We're also partial to jell-o and all the weirdness that comes with that.  One of the most infamous recipes is lime jell-o with shredded carrots in it, not my favorite but to each their own.
 
Another favorite treat is backyard root beer.  http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/drinks/easy-homemade-root-beer/ ; Just wouldn't be July 4th without it.
 
I guess since about 50% of the state abstains from alcohol, tobacco, and drugs we have to indulge in something so food is it.  I think just about every city in the state hosts some kind of dutch oven cooking competition.  Ice cream shops abound and are the preferred date night destination in the conservative communities.  My favorite ice cream in the state is made here at USU in the dairy department and is called Aggie Ice Cream, it has some of the highest butter fat content in the country and it makes it smooth and creamy.

Well I guess everyone has been tempted by Nachista's entry and are trying rubysnap, 'cuz I can't get there right now.....'server problems'---yup!  all"utes" guys are drooling all over your screens now, and I can't get through...........I'll try later.

Oh and how did I forget funeral potatoes?  The ultimate Utah comfort food, http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/sidedishes/funeral-potatoes/

NACHISTA--Bravo & kudos for a fine reporting job. Thank you. The fry sauce recipe reminds me of 1000 island dressing and sounds delicious!

Haven't been to Utah since I was a child and making any comment whatsoever who be siimiliar to W.C.Fields' reluctance to follow children or animals.....and if I were capable of using emoticons (just can't do it) 'Smiley face."

Nachista, I do believe you win the day; however, may I put in a bid for Arkansas being the wierdest place (instead of the most unusual) to visit?  Where else would you find the Toad Suck Lock, Dam, and Ferry?  Possum Grape?  Oil Truogh?  Possum Trot?  A diamond mine?  It is the only state in the union that could fence itself off and be totally self sufficient (having plenty of hydroelectric, coal, and oil as well as the ever-present nuclear power), the largest rice mill in the world (along with the rice fields---and mosquitoes---to fill it), the largest poultry industry and a heck of a lot of pigs (no Razorback statements entertained, I went to Arkansas State U, once home of the Indians [which I liked] and now the Red Wolves).  Why we have world record watermelons from Hope (named Bill Clinton...oh, no!  He lost weight!  Can't included him anymore....)
 
We have culture (who was it that mentioned Pissin in the Snow and Other Ozard Folktales?), movie stars (hello Billy Bob), and theater.  We have Euerka Springs and Hot Springs for spas that are out of this world. 
 
AND, ahem, we have the only Ivory Billed Woodpecker to be spotted since the late 1940s!
 
Arkansas---"The Natural State!"

ChefDeb If LMFAO means what I think it means...Light My Fire AmigO...then I too am offended in the neighborhood of a five course meal topped off with a pair of cupcakes. I think they travel in pairs. If it means something else, I'll trade up for a set of knickknockers. I think they come in sets but might travel in pairs.

Nicely done, Nachista.  And I think I'll have one or two of those Backyard Rootbeers...if you put vanilla ice cream in it, and throw in a straw, and serve it in a beer mug - then we called it (in Illinois) a Black Cow.    Don't know why.  But Backyard Rootbeer would make great Black Cows.Anyone else familiar with Black Cows?

Julie I would have to say SLC has the best luxury shopping, the new City Creek Center has upscale stores such as Tiffany's and was an instant hit when it opened earlier this year.

 
Ginger, I did see whole deep fried squirrel on a stick when I was in Alabama and I thought that was pretty weird...it was WHOLE, skin and fur and everything.  I've never been to Arkansas but I'd like to visit, we have some close family friends who are from there...and of course there is the lovely Miss Olivia ;)
 
Oooh another food favorite that I forgot, Navajo tacos!  God bless the Diné.  Here is a recipe that my aunt picked up when she was living on the Navajo res, http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/breads/navajo-fry-bread-2/

P4~  isn't that where they get chocolate milk?

ChefDeb, there are some notable differences between 1000 Island and Fry Sauce and it really does taste different.  I like the chili sauce and mustard combo.  Here the big debate is pickles or no pickles, I prefer to add sweet pickle relish and its juices, but that's just me.
 
What I love is that for as small as we are we have a fairly diverse food scene.  Even here in our little county that has about 100,000 people we have all kinds of restaurants: Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Polish, Indian, Chilean, Salvadorian (sp?), Mexican, Brazilian, fine italian, home style italian, Hawaiian, and more.  At the main farmer's market on Saturdays we have a Danish ableskivers stand right next to a German bakery stand right next to a chilean completos stand right next to a Texas bbq stand next to a vietnamese fusion stand.

P4, we just call them root beer floats here, but that is what the homemade RB is best with.  It even tastes great after the carbonation goes flat.  Did you ever make purple cows?  That is essentially a float made with fanta grape and vanilla ice cream.  I loved them when I was a kid but the thought of them now grosses me out a little.  I still like an orange freeze made with orange soda and vanilla ice cream.
 
Hires and McCormicks seem to have the best tasting root beer extracts on the market.  I also like Hires also makes a great cherry and ironport syrups so you can make other sodas at home.  When I lived in Ireland I would get my mom to ship me over carefully packed bottles of root beer extract and my friend who worked as a nurse would bring the dry ice (regular folks couldn't purchase the stuff when I lived there) and we'd have root beer parties since you couldn't buy root beer over there.

I'm getting hungry.

What in the world are funeral potatoes? Can anyone share a recipe?

I'm getting hungry, too, so I'm headed to with nachista's or Chef Deb's, but certainly not Alabama!!!!  Have you ever smelled squirrel cooking?  Worse than getting skunked!

Where's lotlot, Mooseloop, TT, and Stoney?  Not like them to let us loose like this!!!!
 
korthal, how early did you get up to be first online?

Forgot to tell you Folks....I may be the mommy of a Friesian soon!  There is one up for adoption here in AR!

Northsider,
On the South-Side we called root beer floats brown cows and Coca-Cola with ice cream in it a black cow. I called either one of them on a hot summer day 'heaven'.

You could always tell who just had one 'cos of the tell-tale foam on their noses. You just can't wait 'till it settles down before drinking......

Oh no! I just stepped into a slide-zone back to 1966. I wonder if my favorite car hop at Dog-n-Suds is working today? If she is, i may be gone awhile....... Ordering 15 floats, one-at-a-time, just trying to gather up the courage to ask her out.

Peace out

Julie the link on my post about funeral potatoes goes to my recipe for them on tastykitchen.com  It is basically sour cream, cream of chicken soup, milk, minced onions, salt, pepper, cheddar all mixed
together and poured over frozen hash browns then topped with cornflakes tossed in melted butter and baked.   Another reason why Utah, and Cache Valley in particular, is awesome...we have a Bicycle Brent.  I find it hard to imagine living anywhere for very long without  Brent.  He is a special needs man who basically spends all his time volunteering where ever he sees a needs and when he isn't volunteering he rides his bicycle up and down the valley, waving, smiling, and honking his horn at everyone he passes.  He spreads joy, that's his main goal in life, everywhere should have a Bicycle Brent.  He is without a doubt one of the happiest and most loving people I have ever met and valley residents LOVE him, he is probably the most famous person here.   It isn't a trip to Cache Valley without seeing and waving to Brent.  http://www.cachevalleydaily.com/story/everyone-invited-to-bike-with-brent-20120613?print=y
http://news.hjnews.com/news/article_f0a4ebbe-b75c-11e1-b4ab-0019bb2963f4.html

Julie the link on my post about funeral potatoes goes to my recipe for them on tastykitchen.com  It is basically sour cream, cream of chicken soup, milk, minced onions, salt, pepper, cheddar all mixed
together and poured over frozen hash browns then topped with cornflakes tossed in melted butter and baked.   Another reason why Utah, and Cache Valley in particular, is awesome...we have a Bicycle Brent.  I find it hard to imagine living anywhere for very long without  Brent.  He is a special needs man who basically spends all his time volunteering where ever he sees a needs and when he isn't volunteering he rides his bicycle up and down the valley, waving, smiling, and honking his horn at everyone he passes.  He spreads joy, that's his main goal in life, everywhere should have a Bicycle Brent.  He is without a doubt one of the happiest and most loving people I have ever met and valley residents LOVE him, he is probably the most famous person here.   It isn't a trip to Cache Valley without seeing and waving to Brent.  http://www.cachevalleydaily.com/story/everyone-invited-to-bike-with-brent-20120613?print=y
http://news.hjnews.com/news/article_f0a4ebbe-b75c-11e1-b4ab-0019bb2963f4.html

Julie the link on my post about funeral potatoes goes to my recipe for them on tastykitchen.com  It is basically sour cream, cream of chicken soup, milk, minced onions, salt, pepper, cheddar all mixed
together and poured over frozen hash browns then topped with cornflakes tossed in melted butter and baked.   Another reason why Utah, and Cache Valley in particular, is awesome...we have a Bicycle Brent.  I find it hard to imagine living anywhere for very long without  Brent.  He is a special needs man who basically spends all his time volunteering where ever he sees a needs and when he isn't volunteering he rides his bicycle up and down the valley, waving, smiling, and honking his horn at everyone he passes.  He spreads joy, that's his main goal in life, everywhere should have a Bicycle Brent.  He is without a doubt one of the happiest and most loving people I have ever met and valley residents LOVE him, he is probably the most famous person here.   It isn't a trip to Cache Valley without seeing and waving to Brent.  http://www.cachevalleydaily.com/story/everyone-invited-to-bike-with-brent-20120613?print=y
http://news.hjnews.com/news/article_f0a4ebbe-b75c-11e1-b4ab-0019bb2963f4.html

Dang I berted, shoot.  This link didn't link though so i'll put it here  http://www.cachevalleydaily.com/story/everyone-invited-to-bike-with-brent-20120613?print=y  ;

Hot dogs, cheeseburgers, fries and floats on thesepia tonight...,featuring the music of The Buckinghams, Dave Ckark Five, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Johnny Rivers, and Simon and Garfunkel....

Bring your favorite 45s....... Be there or be square

Ginger, I'm glad to see another horse lover here.  I never grew out
of my horse girl phase.  I have a friend named Tricia Scheele-Gerstner
who does beautiful paintingss, ceramics, and sculptures...mostly of
horse themes.  You should friend her on facebook and check out her work
that she has on display there, I just bought this painting from her..    http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b299/nachista/29837_1467202687855_689280_n.jpg and this ceramic platter... http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b299/nachista/376282_2783313549804_499229436_n.jpg She has this painting of a fresian mare and foal for sale for $750, originally priced at $1500...  http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b299/nachista/559330_4368302733543_1992244632_n.jpg She is having a fire sale on all her existing art right now so that she can raise money to bring home a special horse.

The other cool thing that Tricia does is that if you send her a photo of your horse or a horse you like she can make custom ceramic necklace pendants with the image of your horse.  I had her make one of my friend's arabian stallion a few years back and it turned out great.

Peter, not if we have to sit at the Dog-n-Suds the whole time.  I vote for eating under the stars.  I know a guy that has a record player in the glove box of his car.  Seriously!  Er, honestly!  Er, no kidding!  Ah heck, he does!

Paolos got you covered...

PARK:
Being from Chicago I'm very familiar with Black Cows and have had many in my life time. I have the fixings in the house right now.

GINGER:
I didn't get up early, I hadn't been to bed yet.
Yesterday I worked in DC and got home to Ocean City around 11:55 pm.

So he posts at midnight, does he?  Ah, ha!  Mr. JP, the secret is out!
 
korthal, I went back and forth to DC a lot...my fav place to stay is the W in Georgetown.  Little bitty thing, but man is it ever nice!

Other than driving through Utah a couple of times, I have nothing to contribute to this discussion. We went from south to north the first time, through Flaming Gorge and by the Green River, and the last time from north to south. We had been in Yellowstone and Jackson Hole, then drove down through the mountains to Provo, SLC, by the Great Salt Lake, on to Moab.

Loved the red hills and mighty arches, plus prehistoric rock drawings, beautiful sunsets and scenery. Met only nice people. However, I am too much a Florida girl to want to live there, as I prefer lush vegetation, green hills and lawns, flowers, trailing vines that bloom, and the seashore. As for visiting, ...We will be crossing N. Dakota, Idaho, Montana, and into Washington to drive to Seattle in a few weeks as we go sightseeing in that northern country. Then we catch the cruise to Alaska for a week or so, and then drive back to our SE home.

Again, I like the sights, but am not drawn to rocks, deserts, and prairie dogs. Nachista does make it sound lovely, though. I feel sure "home" is where one has been raised and spend formative years, or has made good memories. I have moved around a lot, and still love my woods here in N. GA, even though I do have to have a shot of Florida two or three times a year.

Hey Ginger, which midnight?  EST, CST, MST, PST?  So many midnights to choose from, just like the saying "It's 5 o'clock somewhere!"

nachista---I would love that!  Does she have a web site?  When I was in Georgia I fell in love with a sculptor by the name of Mark Hopkins.  I'll look up his website and get back to you.  His Native American line and his Wild Animal line, as well as his Holy Land line all have pieces that are to die for.  I was just getting ready to look at tastykitchen, so now I'll have more to see!

nahista, OMG!!!!!  She is great!  How versatile can one artist be?????  The first is reminiscent of Van Gogh and the last just takes my breath away.  PLEASE tell me she has a website!

nachista, Mark Hopkins gallery is
 
http://www.markhopkinssculpture.com/

Ginger she doesn't have an official website yet.  She sometimes sells on etsy.com but mostly lists items on her facebook page or sells at art festivals around the west.  She taught art and can mimic just about any technique or style, I've seen her do everything from Klimpt to Van Gogh to pre-raphaelite to art nouveau.  She does custom work all the time, one of her biggest pieces was a commission to do art for a competition horse trailer.  Right now she is raffling off a large painting to benefit the girl scouts in her area, information about that is also on her facebook page.

Ginger her etsy shop is currently empty but you can contact her through there http://www.etsy.com/people/triciascheele

Ginger she also introduced me to the work of the very talented multi-media artist Tom Chambers.  His series on the Marwari is stunning
 
http://www.tomchambersphotography.com/portfolio_marwari.html
 

Thanks for the link I love the whimsy in Mark Hopkins pieces, I will have to explore that site fully when I have more time.

nachista---you are golden!  And I meant EDT since korthal was talking about Ocean City.  Guess I thought it was assumed, but I know what that makes me!
 
I'll contact her once I get the horse!

Three of my all time favorite artists live here in our little valley.  A lot of their work is painted in various locations around Utah and gives you a real feel of what a beautiful state it is.
 
Jerry Furhiman (his wife owns a fantastic framing shop where I have all the photos I take or other art I collect framed) http://www.jerryfuhriman.com/zen/?p=gallery
 
Larry Winborg, and Larry's son Jeremy who I went to High School with http://www.winborg.com/collections/coll_cache.html

Nachista--You should get a place on the Honor Roll today for the most informative entries!!  Wowza, girl, you are on a roll today!  And the Utah tourist bureau should have your number on speed dial, you're a one woman CVB (Convention & Visitors Bureau).

Shades of Nauvoo Freedom Fighters !!!

I love bagpipes!   That skreel really gets my blood pumping, but I would never have associated them with Mormons.   Learn something new everyday.

Carol a lot of the early LDS settlers were from Northern Europe and specifically the british isles.  We have a very large selection of the population here that have Scottish roots and several Scottish heritage festivals around the states.  My great great grandmother Margaret McNeil Ballard immigrated from Tranent Scotland with her family when she was just a child, she made sure her Scottish culture was passed down in the family.
 
I don't necessarily think I love the state because I was born and raised here...I love everywhere I've ever lived.  My complaint about any place I've ever been has in fact been the complainers.  You know the folks who constantly harp on their hometown and always throw in "There's never anything to do".  I say a town is as boring as you are...if you like to get out and have fun and have a good imagination and an adventurous spirit, then you can find something good about anywhere you settle.  If you are a negative or pessimistic person who relies on other people to drag you out to have fun then chances are you'd hate disneyland if you lived there.  Half the fun of any place you live in is discovering all the weird and wonderful quirks that make it unique.  I have friends who have lived here their whole lives and never stepped foot out of the state and they are the biggest whiners, I have friends who moved out of state who immediately settle in and love the place, it is all about effort and perspective, you get out what you put in.

I've lived in Hawaii, California, Wyoming, and Cork Ireland and I've loved them all as much as I love Utah.  I've always been an advocate of the "love the one your with" theory and that applies to location as well as people.  I'm sure I'd be just as happy living in Capetown, Mumbai, Peru, Hong Kong, Detroit, Riga, or Mongolia...because it is about learning and exploring and reaching out, not waiting for someone else to hand you a good time on a platter.
 
OK, end of rant, I promise.

If you want to see some Utah culture there is a show on the CW network called Breaking Pointe about ballet dancers in Utah's Ballet West company that is housed a the Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake City.

Nachista---I was just about to ask you about how you came to Utah when you talked about your great great grandmother and your heritage through her.   My sister is trying to trace our family tree, but has had a difficlt time of it.  How lucky you are that you can pinpoint your great, great grandma and run the line from her.    You have a lot to offer, Ms. Nachista!  Thanks for all your input and your excitement.  (How did you end up in Cork--someone had to ask, might as well be me.)

Nachista, you've spent alot of time with us today, thank you so much for your input, it's been really lovely.  Just wondering, how much of the population in the state are LDS?

CHEFD.................you must be quite the exhausted kitchen wench about now..........bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhahahahaha...................
 
PL...................an evening at the Dog-N-Suds, w/ you?????? can't think of a finer way to spend some time......................do they have hotdogs?????mmmmmmmmmmmmm.......................hotdogs....................................

So there I was in Park City and they kept one trail open @ night and après ski had me feeling my oats and my friends and wife had taken the tram back to the condos. I made a few runs with my bummed out knee keeping me in check and I opted for a hot buttered rum and I positioned myself by the window. A group of young girls ran up to the window and boob flashed me laughing as they ran away. I sat there thinking of Mr. Sundance himself when he was Jeremiah Johnson and I too wanted to always be a man with an adventuresome spirit and proper wit; so I flashed a victory sign and had me another round thinking about snowboarding and mountain peaks...real and symbolic

Carol, I'm lucky in the fact that my paterma; grandmother and great aunts were family research fiends.  Our family genealogy is done back quite a few generations on that side and we are grateful to those that did the work.  It is amazing what you can find when you start digging. In the LDS church every ward (parish) has a colunteer genealogy leader who teaches people how to find and trace family names, and their services are open to the general public too.  As for Cork, my brother lived there for a while and made friends, those friends came to visit us in the states, I decided to visit and ended up finding a flat and staying.  It is a great city, brilliant craic. 

Spring Fragrance the last I heard the LDS population in Utah was roughly 60% of the state, but only about 40% were active in church.  Depending on where you are at those numbers change for each county or city. 

As I lay my head down in Columbus, GA, I was figuring there'd be a c-note post to inspire me as I make stops in Hotlanta and Chattown on my way back to NashVegas tomorrow night. Tim Leary was head of the LSD...uh...had a head of LSD. Oops my dyslexia strikes again.

And cheesebugers.............mmmmmmmmm

Nachista, this is amazing. My cycling mad colleague, was just talking about his friend who's going to do the Tour of Utah.  My colleauge thought Utah is in California!!!!
Boy! did i sound clever talking about Utah today!

Nachista _ As Carol said, you did your state proud today! Lots of good info and positive attitude! I agree about the attitude making the person either happy or a whiner....Some people would whine in Paradise, and others can find the good in any barren spot. I have tried to be the latter, as I have moved around a lot.

Enjoyed your link to the Facebook page of Tricia Scheel and the horses...! What lovely images! My granddaughter has the crush on all things horse right now and had gone to ride twice this week. She's love one of those pretty pictures, but the prices are waaay out of grandmother's budget.

Here are some photos about the Ute people and some very elegant looking faces.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?
q=ute+indians&qpvt=ute+indians&FORM=IGRE

Going to the pillows folks....sleep well....read ya' tomorrow!

Spring Fragrance, biking is very popular here!  We have a famous race called LOTOJA, short for Logan to Jackson.  It takes roughly 3 to 3.5 hours to drive from Logan, UT to Jackson, WY going anywhere from 65 to 75 mph the whole way and not stopping...and there are people who bike that, FOR FUN!!  Better them than me.  I have quite a few friends who constantly throw things into the conversation like "Oh I just finished and easy 25 mile ride this morning" or "Do you want to bike the 100 with me?"...which is laughable because my bike is a beach cruiser and 4 or 5 miles is my max. Mooseloop, Tricia's ceramic works are much more affordable than the paintings, a ceramic pendant is right around the $20 range.  The platter I purchased was $39 plus shipping.  She also has prints of a lot of her original works too.  Right now is the perfect time if you are interested as she is doing a wholesale clear out. I just got back from one of my favorite free exercise spots in the valley, Old Main Hill.  You can see photos of it on this girl's blog http://alottapilates.blogspot.com/2011/04/hit-plateau-hit-stairs-or-something.html ; Although I don't know where she got her number because every time I count I get 123 stairs.  There is also a decent size ampitheatre on that hill that is great for mixing it up and it has amazing views of the valley and the mountains to the west.  I go up there almost every single week night to work out, usually just me and Molly the wonder dog, but sometimes with friends.  I never get tired of that place it is beautiful.

SF, don't worry about your friend not knowing where Utah was.  When I lived in Ireland I had people ask all the time "Utah, is that a state or a city?"  or "My cousin lives in Boston, is that close to Utah?  Do you know him?" or "What state is Utah in?"

WOW!  nachista, you OWN the day!  And I loved the imagery of Tom Chambers.  What a mind and camera!  I'd love to know how he pulled some of those off!  Those who haven't been to Utah should go to the Winborg paintings...he catches Utah in all its beauty in all its seasons.

Ceramics I can afford....lovely horses! Good on you for all the Utah info today!!!

We are watching the Olympic Opening Ceremony and are mystified by the long history of the UK and the nurses and doctors.....but are awaiting some kind of really good entertainment...Mr. Bean was funny, but brief.....Where is the drama and over the top graphics?! Anyway, we are ok as this is our Mother country and we must be respectful of Mother..

TT...................okay I'm finishing my gin & watermelon chunk drink...................a.gin watermelontini!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm bringing it home for you, the big 100! Enjoy!