Easy Living

Home again, originally uploaded by SoPhast.

It might be the aluminum smokestack or the vintage ride, but I could love this ramshackle of a house.

Oh Give Me a Home

On the Range, originally uploaded by SoPhast.

Hiding from Hunters

The better to hear you with, originally uploaded by SoPhast.

This mule deer spent the day (perhaps longer) hiding in a cemetery in downtown Salt Lake City, as it was the second day of deer hunting season. Luckily the only thing she got shot with, was my camera.

Dance of Diablo

Dance of Diablo, originally uploaded by SoPhast.

Reala, a fire dancer for Incendiary Circus, performs at the Park Silly Sunday Market. Located in Park City, UT the "Oktober Silly Fest" celebration was modeled after traditional Oktoberfest celebrations, and included classic Bavarian music, beer and bratwursts as well as Farmers’ Market with organic, seasonal produce and low-impact recycling stations. The "Oktober Silly Fest" was the final weekend of the Park Silly Sunday Market's inaugural season.

Upwards of 1,500 people attended the eco-friendly market every Sunday. Vendors across the Wasatch Front participated in the market’s first season, infusing Park City’s historic Main Street with colorful arts and crafts, antiques, live street entertainment, music, local produce, gourmet foods and exciting performance art. See more photos of the Park Silly Sunday Market here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sophast/sets/72157602518149452/show/

Parched Earth

Old earth, originally uploaded by SoPhast.

Life is indeed muddy sometimes, then you dry out and......crack.


a metaphor or perhaps synchronicity? The latter I think.

Valley in the Fall II

Valley in the Fall II, originally uploaded by SoPhast.

Overlooking the valley towards Heber and Midway, taken on the backside of Deer Valley on Guardsman's Pass.

esencia de Neruda

esencia de Neruda, originally uploaded by SoPhast.

No te amo como si fueras rosa de sal, topacio
o flecha de claveles que propagan el fuego:
te amo como se aman ciertas cosas oscuras,
secretamente, entre la sombra y el alma.

Te amo como la planta que no florece y lleva
dentro de sí, escondida, la luz de aquellas flores,
y gracias a tu amor vive oscuro en mi cuerpo
el apretado aroma que ascendió de la tierra.

Te amo sin saber como, ni cuándo, ni de donde,
te amo directamente sin problemas ni orgullo:
así te amo porque no sé amar de otra manera,

sino así de este modo en que no soy ni eres,
tan cerca que tu mano sobre mi pecho es mía,
tan cerca que se cierran tus ojos con mi sueño.

(...for a special someone)

The Farm Trail

The Farm Trail, originally uploaded by SoPhast.

Just down the Farm Trail about to cross under S.R. 224 over to the McLeod Trail. A true Park City landmark!

Home on the Range

I Wonder what Cactus Ed would have to say right about now?



















"Overlooking the ranch by Olympic Park in Kimball Junction"

"In this glare of brilliant emptiness, in this arid intensity of pure heat, in the heart of a weird solitude, great silence and grand desolution, all things recede to distances out of reach, reflecting light but impossible to touch, annihilating all thought and all that men have made... to a spasm of whirling dust far out on the golden desert."

----Edward Abbey

"Of all the featherless beasts, only man, chained by his self-imposedslavery to the clock, denies the elemental fire and proceeds as best he can about his business, suffering quietly, martyr to his madness. Much to learn."

----Edward Abbey

"As between the skulking and furtive poacher, who hunts for the sake of meat, and the honest gentleman shooter, who kills for the pleasure of sport, I find the former a higher type of humanity." ---Edward Abbey

Painted Yoga II

Painted Yoga II, originally uploaded by SoPhast.

From the Park Silly Sunday Market on Main Street. A stunningly beautiful and rather talented work of living art. One more reason to crawl out of bed on a Sunday morning! Click here for link to my slideshow of the PSSM.

Potter in Park City

Even in this sleepy town up in the Wasatch Mountains, the magic of Harry Potter cast it's charms far and wide. Kids of all ages, myself included, lined up at Dolly's Bookstore on Main Street Friday night for the 12:01 am release of seventh and final chapter of this epic journey. This local little bookstore welcomed us with cauldrons of bubbling broth, gift bags with bookmarks and of course piles of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In line in front of me while we waited, we're two undergraduate students on their last night in Park City for a Mathematical Conference (math camp as they called it). One of the students, a freckled red head happened to looked quite like Ron Weasley, Potter's best friend. It wasn't lost on the younger girls waiting in line, some dressed as Hermione Granger, Harry's other best friend, who couldn't stop giggling and and smiling at this "Ron".

The anticipation for this night had been two years in the making, a decade in the works. All talk was centered on the direction this final installment would take. Final being the key word looming over the conversations. This would be a bittersweet moment for us fans, learning the fate of our young hero, but perhaps ultimately having to say goodbye as well. For us, it's been a journey that we all took together, becoming a part of the magical Hogwarts's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I remember reading that first novel, and wishing it was me who had received those letters telling me I was going to school there. Ironically around the same time I began reading the Harry Potter series, which I initially scoffed at, I went back to finish college. While I didn't learn much of charms and potions (though I can mix a mean bloody mary now), I do feel like I lived vicariously through this young man's adventures and for that, I will be eternally grateful. I was up until 3am reading the first couple of chapters, and I can tell you this now...it's going to be one heck of a finale.

Boots and Blood...Dust and Mud

The 2007 Oakley Rodeo...a first in my my book. Never been to a rodeo...and was pleasantly surprised at just how much fun this can be. These guys are either nuts, brave or just plain out of their minds. Maybe it takes a little of all three to get on the back of an angry wild animal and hold on for dear life...I can see why people are drawn to these things!

Click here for the July 2007 Oakely Rodeo slideshow.
Rodeo (20 of 55).jpg, originally uploaded by SoPhast.

Park City Parade

Not your typical Independence Day celebration...but that's how we do things up in the mountains. Must be all this fresh air. I've never seen Main Street with so many people...okay so I haven't exactly been here all that long to make such a statement, but trust me when I say the streets were CROWDED! Click here for a link to the full slideshow of Park City Fourth of July Parade.


Now while this is no Mardi Gras parade on Bourbon Street...it holds it's own. Marching bands, belly dancers, human beer bottles, and my personal favorite, the bagpipes! The weather was perfect too. Just the right amount of heat to have us head down to the City park afterwards for some ice cold beers. Though the line was too long, so we headed back to the house for our own icey Coronas and limes.


Later than night we sat in the backyard and watched the fireworks light up the mountainside. I woud have taken photos of that too, but I was tired, in the middle of a deep and life-altering conversation and frankly sometimes...a picture just wouldn't have done it justice anyways.

I can't wait until next year!

Main Street

Main Street, originally uploaded by SoPhast.

Trying to test out some of the blog's settings.....

Would a Plane by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet as this...

(this is me...in the airport in Arizona)


I'm leaving...on a jet plane. I'm writing from the Phoenix airport using their free wireless...wahoo!

I missed my connection this morning due to a "user-error" in reading my itinerary. Oops. Turns out, the plane is full....except for first class. Now THAT is tragic...truly tragic. Doesn't do much for encouraging my time management skills. Okay, I don't get to fly first class very often so this kind of exciting. I only wish the flight was a little longer so I could really savor the sweet leather and luxurious interior. Oh well. I'll take an hour or so of living "large." I earned it!



Update: Me in first class...on wireless before we take off. Good time to update while I wait for my ice cold Diet Coke....freakin' sweet!

The Long Road Ahead

So here we go...welcome to my journey, a new phase in my life. I hope we share some good times, fun stories and excellent images.

-Ryan