Away game - Florida State vs Brigham Young

Game day in Utah! Florida State was playing Brigham Young at 5:00pm (MT). Fortunately, we found a TGIFridays that had some TVs and booze. (Frankly, we weren't sure about the availability of alcohol in Mormon Country.) So, we were able to catch some of the Tennessee-Florida game before we headed to the stadium.

The walk from the hotel to the stadium was a strange experience. It was eerie how quiet the BYU tailgate/parking lots were. We are so used to lots of noise, music, etc. and people getting geared up for the game.

As we got closer to the stadium, the activity picked up a bit, but still not to the level we have in Tallahassee.

Behind the stadium is huge "Y" painted on the mountain.

Tad, Bonnie, Leann & Frank heading into the stadium.

Seminoles heading out of the locker room for the field.

The Nole Guys.
(They were pretty conservative compared to the head-to-toe red and gold glitter they usually sport at home games.)

We heard about this the night before, but didn't believe that a stadium wouldn't sell the Coke products we were used to. Now we know who's behind the caffeine-free Coke products!

Team warming up.

This guy, Matt, aka "Fabio" hasn't missed a game (home or away) since the mid-90's. We usually have a contest to see who spots him first at the away games.

Getting ready to take the field.


Our gang.

Never fails....Frank is always stopped at least once and asked if he knows he looks like Bobby Bowden.

No explanation necessary!

We went into the game not knowing what team was going to show up. Needless to say, we were really glad the real Noles came to play and then won...in a big way!

Scenes from trip to Sundance, Utah

The football game wasn't scheduled to start until 5:00 so we had the whole morning to explore the area. We had done some research and found there was a Harvest Festival (farmer's market) being held at Sundance. About a 20 minute drive and we were there. Scenes from our drive are below.

Bridal Veil Falls

Once we reached Sundance, the lot attendant told us we were a week early! Not to waste the trip, we decided to explore the resort and take advantage of the lift and views.

The colors of fall were amazing, especially against the clear blue sky!

The slopes pull double-duty and when it's not snowing, the bikers hit the trails!

"Easiest Way Down"

A very steep climb up the mountain.

My favorite scene!

How the bikes get up the mountain.

We were so close to the pine tree we could see the cones....in all shapes and sizes.

It was a very enjoyable way to see the area and vistas of the West. Not sure I'd want to be there in the winter. :o)

Time in Utah - Day 1

Sadly, our time in Portland was up and we were off to our next adventure..Salt Lake City, Utah! While we both had been to parts of Utah before, we'd forgotten how mountainous it was. Fortunately, the day we arrived, the skies were bright blue with puffy white clouds. Below are some pictures of scenery along the way from the airport in Salt Lake City as we headed south to Provo.

We got checked into the hotel in Provo, which I'll mention our room was nicely appointed and had themes of garnet and gold. (A sign I'm sure!) Throughout the afternoon, we were in touch with our friends Tad & Bonnie (relatives of our Gator neighbors across the street) as we were going to rendezvous in Provo and drive to Park City that afternoon for the FSU Pep Rally. Pictures below are scenes from our drive north to Park City.

In less than an hour, the black clouds started to build and it looked like we might get some rain at the party.

Bridal Veil Falls

Our first taste of Fall! The colors were so bright against the green and blue backdrop!

Utah Lake

Pretty wicked clouds!