June 20, 2009 in Uncategorized by Brent
If your looking for a good website about trails and hikes in Utah, you should definitely take a look at UtahHikingInfo.com.
It hosts several hikes from around the state, but I like that it has a lot of Northern Utah hikes. The hiking reports are detailed with photos and aerial google earth images showing each trail. My favorite part is the gps coordinates of each trail head. The difficulty ratings are cool too.
I was particularly interested in the Mt Timpanogos trail guide posted there. I’ll be referring to it when I attempt a summit in August.
June 7, 2009 in Uncategorized by Brent
The “Stepping Out to Cure Scleroderma 5k Run Walk” for 2009 will be on Saturday June 27 at 7:00 AM
This race is typically held as part of Syracuse Heritage Days which runs the week ending on the Saturday before the 4th of July.
This years race will start at the Syracuse City Hall (1929 W 1900 South).
Pre-registration before June 27 is $15, Registration on race day is $20. All proceeds go to the Scleroderma Foundation.
Check Scleroderma.org for more details.
May 19, 2009 in My Local Stuff by Brent
Utah State Parks have made park passes available for checkout at your local library. These passes have been made possible by the Utah Department of Natural Resources in conjunction with their Reach Out and Connect Kids In Nature program (Rockin Utah).
Checking out a pass will allow you and up to seven guests in the same private vehicle day-use entrance to all Utah State Parks
This Is The Place Heritage Park doesn’t count on this deal and the Davis County Causeway fee to get to Antelope Island still applies.
Visit stateparks.utah.gov for a list of state parks
May 16, 2009 in Be Smart - Books and Stuff by Brent
I’m hooked on my new virtual bookstore. It fits in the palm of my hand! I downloaded the app for my iPhone a couple of months ago and relied mostly on reading the first chapter of several books that interested me but I wasn’t sure I wanted to buy or borrow yet. I checked out books like Malcom Gladwell’s The Tipping Point
and Outliers
and few technical books like Beginning Google Maps Mashups 
. I’m reading the latter to learn how to implement my idea of putting books on a map.
While I was looking for some interesting outdoor books on hiking and camping I found this new release by Mark Obmascik. Halfway to Heaven: My White-knuckled–and Knuckleheaded–Quest for the Rocky Mountain High
. This book is proving to be a really fun and funny read. Here’s the official description:
“Fat, forty-four, father of three sons, and facing a vasectomy, Mark Obmascik would never have guessed that his next move would be up a 14,000-foot mountain. But when his twelve-year-old son gets bitten by the climbing bug at summer camp, Obmascik can’t resist the opportunity for some high-altitude father-son bonding by hiking a peak together. After their first joint climb, addled by the thin air, Obmascik decides to keep his head in the clouds and try scaling all 54 of Colorado’s 14,000-foot mountains, known as the Fourteeners — and to do them in less than one year.”
Anyway, it’s been fun to get into books again with the Kindle app. If you have an iPhone you’ve got to get the app. It’s free. If you don’t have an iPhone you can probably get the Kindle
itself although I’ve never actually used one.
May 9, 2009 in Introduction by Brent
While it was a lot of fun learning how to install a laconi.ca twitter clone on this site, I’ve come to realize that I don’t have a lot of interest in consistently micro-blogging myself. I think the twitter revolution is interesting and I’ve even had 2 twitter accounts. @geosport which I deleted over a year ago and the current @mygeosports which I still have. I haven’t updated either very regularly. It seems that the real value any social networking tool lies in the network itself and I have few followers on twitter so no one really cares if I post or not. Facebook still holds the most attention for me as I have more friends on it than any other service.
Anyway, they say you should fail soon and fail often on the path to success so I’ve decided to speed up this particular “failure” and decommission the microblog on mygeosports.com. I think the need of social networking can be filled quite nicely by the major players.
I still have a lot of ideas I want to try out on this domain (like the map above). I also look forward to completing my project of moving closer to my job. It will be nice to have some extra time to devote to my family and my hobbies.
December 20, 2008 in Go Outside and Play, My Local Stuff, My geosports - stuff I've done by Brent
This new and in-process trail system is where my oldest son learned to ride a bike. The Jensen Nature Park on the south end of the trail might be where they learn to fish. On this trip, I wanted to to cover the length of the current trail on my mountain bike. The trail is paved the entire way so it’s easy going for all types of activities. It wasn’t a great day for pictures but it was a great day for the ride.
The trail starts in Syracuse and currently extends to Clinton. Read the rest of this entry »
November 27, 2008 in Go Outside and Play by Brent
This morning, I saw an ad for a free ski swap at the Browning Armory in Ogden
The sale starts at 9:00am on Saturday, November 29th. The selling ends at 2:00pm.
If you have stuff to put in the swap, check-in is Friday, November 28th from 3-5pm.
There will be skis, snowboards and clothing.
I’ve never been to this one but I still need some kids ski boots, so I think I’ll try to attend.
November 15, 2008 in Be Thrifty, Go Outside and Play, My Local Stuff by Brent
The ski resorts are opening up in Utah. To lure in the early-birds and help a few good causes many are offering some sweet deals on ski passes. It’s also a good idea to subscribe to the SkiUtah.com Blog to stay up on the latest.
Alta
Saturday November 15 – Sunday November 16, 2009
11:00am – 4:00pm
Alta is working with the Westminster Ski Team, Catholic Community Services and skiers, to collect 500 warm, clean coats for struggling and homeless folks in Salt Lake City. They will give skiers a day of skiing for a warm clean coat. Limit of 2 day passes per person. The Westminster Ski Team will take care of collection and the folks at Catholic Community Services will distribute the coats to those in need.
Snowbird
Phillips 66: 2 for 1 Lift Tickets. Buy 4 tanks of gas (minimum 8 gallons) before November 30th and get 2 lift tickets for the price of one. Tickets must be used before December 25, 2008
Brighton
Dec 3, 2008
Skiers or boarders will be able to purchase an area day pass for $15.00 when they bring a new, unwrapped toy, worth $10 or more for Toys for Tots. Please be generous in supporting the Marines! This deal is good for Brighton day passes only.
Dec 10, 2008
Riders or skiers can purchase an area day pass for $15.00 when they bring an item such as new gloves, a hat or blanket. Anything new that will benefit residents of the Road Home is appreciated. The Road Home is a homeless shelter in Salt Lake City. Please be generous. This offer is not good for a Twilight or Night pass.
Dec 17, 2008
The Utah Food Bank benefits this week. Bring a bag of non-perishable food to benefit the food bank and purchase a Brighton area day pass for $15.00. Peanut Butter is especially appreciated. Please be generous, the shelves at the food bank have been too empty lately. This offer is only good for day passes.
November 11, 2008 in Go Outside and Play, My Local Stuff by Brent
I blogged a couple years ago about our family’s first race together. The post brought back a lot of memories and I think it’s time for a reunion tour.
If you want to join, here are the details:
The 7th annual Turkey Trot Fun Run is on Saturday, November 22nd.
Registration is from 7:30-8:30AM at the City Hall. (1979 West 1900 South -Syracuse, Utah)
For 11 year olds and up there is a 5k run or a 1-mile walk. The walk starts at 8:45AM, the 5k starts at 9:00AM. For 10 and under there is a 1-mile run.
First place winners get a turkey.
Second place winners get a pie.
It’s a free event but please bring a non-perishable food item to donate to the Utah Food Bank.
November 2, 2008 in Be Healthy, Go Outside and Play, My Local Stuff, My geosports - stuff I've done by Brent
I finally got out on another hike last weekend. I had taken 2 days off of work and spent the entire time painting. After that exhausting work, I rewarded myself with a thigh busting hike up to Adam’s Cabin in Layton. It certainly wasn’t a physical reward for my legs but I really enjoyed getting out. I put my GPS to the test and mapped out the trail and found two geocaches along the way. Once my friend and I reached the cabin, we both realized we were running about an hour late and busted down hill with some trail running. Oddly, running **or was it falling gracefully?** was easier than walking and we made it back by noon.
Read the rest of this entry »