Let’s start off with a map (yay!).

And how about some facts about the mine. These are from wikipedia. If you want some real information about mines (and ghost towns and awesomeness), you will need to check out my friend Scotty’s blog.

Fact #1: The mine has been in production since 1906, and has resulted in the creation of a pit over 0.75 miles (1.2 km) deep, 2.5 miles (4 km) wide, and covering 1,900 acres (7.7 km²).

Fact #2: It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966 under the name Bingham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine.

Fact #3: Kennecott’s Bingham Canyon Mine is the largest man-made excavation in the world, and is visible with the naked eye from space.

Impressive, amiright?

I took Claire with me on a Saturday afternoon. I lured her out by promising to stop at a park. That would be the Copperton Park. Copperton is a mining town right next to the mine, and it has an awesome old-school park.

That playground is definitely not made out of plastics (at least, most of it). Those are some real discarded tires and cement tunnels and steel beams.

Can you see the mine behind the playground? It’s noticeable from almost every angle in Copperton.

There’s a little white church across from the playground (right next to the LDS one, of course).

It has a little gazebo next to it.

Copperton itself, is a really cute little town. I wonder what it was like in its heyday. I really wanted to take more pictures of the streets, but this is where I first realized the biggest obstacle to my project of documenting Utah towns – I feel really self-conscious about taking photos in public, non-touristy locations. It’s something I need to get over. But I am really good at taking photos from the privacy of my own car, so I did get a few shots.

Of course, those kids in the parking lot of the post office did see me parked across the street taking photos and yelled at me. I got out of there so quick. And we headed toward the copper pit.

Here’s a view of the Wasatch Mountains on the other side of the valley.

The Wasatch Mountains are the big mountains in the east. The copper pit is in the Oquirrh Mountains, the smaller ones in the west. I say smaller, but they are still real mountains. (Not like the hills that some people call mountains.) Even though Copperton is the mining town, the mine is still down the road a stretch.

Then once you pay your $5 fee for entering the canyon, you still have to climb quite a bit before you reach the mine.

But it’s worth it. The mine is seriously amazing. It’s incredible to look down into it. As the commemorative penny that I squished says, “It’s one hell of a whole.”

See those ant-sized trucks? They are the donors of the tires Claire was climbing on in the park. Or, for another look, they are these tires.

When I was younger, you used to be able to climb inside the tire. And I have proof. Over Christmas, Amanda found some pictures of an afternoon we spent circa 1987 at Copperton Park and the Copper Pit.

(I used to always roll up my pants because I wanted some old-fashioned knickerbockers.)

Some people think the mine is a blight on the landscape, but I actually find it quite beautiful. I love how the colors bleed into each other. And you have to admit, it really is impressive.

When I was thinking about moving back to Utah, one of my “cons” was that it’s a familiar place – the place where I grew up. And one thing that I loved so much about New Orleans was that everything was new. In reality, though, probably 90% of Utah is unfamiliar to me. I mostly stick to the Salt Lake Valley, so you would think that I’d start my project outside of that corridor. However, the thought behind my Utah project was that it would be a way to look at Utah with new eyes – even the most familiar places. To get my project rolling (all the way back in April!), I spent a Saturday morning wandering through Historic Downtown Murray.

Let’s get a little context. Here’s a map (I love maps!):

So why start off with Murray? I think it’s because I never realized what a cute little downtown it has until recently. Where the cities within the Salt Lake Valley tend to blur together and it’s unclear where one ends and the other begins, Murray actually has a distinctive space. So as you can see from the map above, Murray is actually quite large and covers a lot of area. I decided to focus on a stretch of State Street that is considered Murray’s Historic Downtown.

It’s really quite small – only about two blocks. First, here’s the east side of the street (well, most of it).

And here’s the west side.

I didn’t realize until I was walking along the street how much Murray focuses on the Arts. There’s a whole Arts Centre, not to mention places for dancing and a few theaters. Murray also hosts theater productions in Murray Park.

I know the next building isn’t historical, but it deserves to be included because it has the best Mexican fast food ever.

One of the defining features of Murray is Murray City Park. It’s huge and it has playgrounds and a swimming pool and lots of spots for people to take family/bridal/engagement photos (I saw a few of those that April morning).

And best of all, it has a huge sculpture of Chief Washakie right on State Street.

(Side note: I named the above file “Murray Head” and then it reminded me of this guy.)

If you know me, you know that I can’t resist a cemetery, so my final stop was the Murray City Cemetery. I know that no cemetery will compare to the ones in New Orleans, but I still love to visit them. I find the markers to be so sweet and insightful. The handshake is one of my favorite tombstone symbols.

I loved the ending of this verse.

And here’s a different kind of marker. You don’t often see family charts.

(Bonus memorial to a dog.)

But there was one grave I was looking for in particular. It’s been almost 3 years since my friend Adrianna passed away, and I had never had the opportunity to visit her resting place. I wasn’t sure where it was, so I kept driving around until I found it.

It was bittersweet to see her face looking back up at me. I have been to a lot of cemeteries, but I don’t often know anyone buried in them. I wish that I didn’t know anyone in the Murray City Cemetery, to be honest. But I was glad to have a place to visit and remember my friend.

Sorry to end on a sad note. I promise that I don’t know anyone else buried in any cemeteries that I plan to visit in the future.

First up, The Wonder Years. I remember watching this show when it originally aired, but it wasn’t a favorite. I’m not even sure why I decided to watch it all the way through, but I’m really glad I did. I know this is obvious to say, but it’s about growing up and leaving childhood behind but more importantly, about remembering. I am pretty much of age with Kevin Arnold and the whole gang, so when I first watched it, I was growing up with them. Now I’m a little bit older (not much!) and I feel the poignancy of remembering, the little stabs of nostalgia. This show legitimizes growing up in the suburbs. I think I often felt like my life couldn’t be very significant because I grew up in a fairly affluent suburb of a small city. The Wonder Years shows that my experience is still worthy of being shared. Plus, The Wonder Years is just really beautifully written. I shared this quote on facebook (and I never share quotes on facebook).

When you’re a little kid, you’re a little bit of everything: artist, scientist, athlete, scholar. Sometimes it seems like growing up is a process of giving those things up one by one. I guess we all had one thing that we regret giving up, one thing we really miss, that we gave up because we were too lazy, or because we couldn’t stick it out, or because we were afraid.

So definitely two thumbs up for The Wonder Years (although I personally think the first two seasons are the best). Bonus: seeing lots of young actors in guest roles, including Giovanni Ribisi, Rayanne and Sharon from My So-Called Life, Ross from Friends, and I’m sure there are more.

Next, The Vampire Diaries. Now before you write me off, let me just tell you that this show is awesome. I know, I know… vampires are so over. And do we really need another Edward and Bella? Do we even need one Edward and Bella? (no.) But The Vampire Diaries is way better than Twilight. I mean, way! First of all, the characters are much more complex and interesting. Elena (the girl) actually does things, like stand up for herself, make decisions, and come up with plans to get the bad guys. It doesn’t always turn out so well, but whatever, she’s 17, her parents died, and her boyfriend is a vampire. One thing that I really like about this show is that it actually presents a moral dilemma. I started out the show thinking, “Just get turned into a vampire already! Then you’re pretty, powerful, and immortal. Perfect!” But The Vampire Diaries actually presents a very compelling case for humanity. In fact, the question of humanity is one of the key themes. And yes, every single person that lives in Mystic Falls is exceptionally beautiful. (But that’s because they’re almost all vampires or werewolves or hybrids – what, hybrids? yep, hybrids.) I know that this is a guilty pleasure for some, but I refuse to feel guilt over liking this show. And the first two seasons are on Netflix. And if you start watching it, you can enjoy the weekly recaps over at one of my favorite new websites, Forever Young Adult.

A weekend ago, Showtime was free. It was great. You could watch anything, and I kept hearing about this show called Homeland, so I put on the first episode. Five episodes later at 3 in the morning, I went to bed. And then I was glad that it was Saturday, so I could watch more Homeland. And I meant to do some cleaning-laundry-folding-photo-editing, but I could not do anything except watch it. And every time the hour-long show ended, I couldn’t believe it was over already. Homeland is intense. And did you see how it just won the Golden Globe for best drama? Yeah, it totally deserved it. Plus, it stars Angela Chase (another My So-Called Life alum), Inigo Montoya, and Inara the companion. I highly recommend it to all my friends who watch R-rated movies.

I just started watching Felicity. It’s one of those shows that so many of my friends watched but I never did. It started my very first year of college when I didn’t have a TV. I’m only about half way through the first season, but I have to say that so far I have kind of mixed feelings. Here’s what I like about the show. First of all, a girl follows a boy she had a crush on in high school all the way across the country to NYU. That’s just awesome. And I love that Felicity is totally nervous and neurotic (about boys) because it reminds me so much of how I was at 18. The story of a girl gaining her independence appeals to me. I also like a college setting and a New York City setting. And it makes me kind of wish I could redo the whole college years. Here’s what I don’t like. It’s kind of slow, and I haven’t really grown attached to the characters yet. They all seem to be types so far, but I guess that makes sense considering they have only known each other for 3 months (based on where I’m at in the show). Maybe they will become more real as the show progresses. After a few episodes, a friend asked me if I was a Noel girl or a Ben girl. Honestly, neither Noel nor Ben are my type, and I think that’s one of the biggest problems I have with the show so far. I just don’t care enough about the characters yet. It still has potential, though, and I’ll keep watching it while I make dinner.

And of course I am watching the second season of Downton Abbey! I am actually watching it as it airs so I have to wait from week to week to see each episode. This is actually quite contrary to my character. I’m much more of a download-it-and-watch-it-all-in-one-sitting kind of girl. It’s hard to wait, but I kind of enjoy having something to look forward to each Sunday night for a while. So far I am loving the soapy drama of the second season, but the potential for death has me a little anxious. And I just want that Lavinia Swire to go away and for Anna to find someone other than Mr. Bates. (You’re too good for him, Anna!) I really don’t care what happens, though, as long as there’s extravagant costumes, beautiful scenery, and a happy ending.

So is there anything that I should be watching? More importantly, are you a Noel fan or a Ben fan? What about a Stefan fan or a Damon fan? And aren’t we all Matthew Crawley fans?

(p.s. I forgot to write about Breaking Bad. I thought about those lilies-of-the-valley for days after the finale.)

My original intention was to post my very best photo. My friend Kristy posts her daily photos once a week and they are always so beautiful (check out her latest batch). But that just wasn’t practical for me. For one thing, I didn’t always have my nice camera with me. For another, I don’t live in England where everything is picture perfect. (Of course, props have to go to the photographer, not the setting. Not everyone would make a trashed umbrella look so beautiful.) I decided it would be easier to take a picture with my phone (where I can post it too without having to download it, which is my real drawback). And I would try to take a picture of something memorable or significant, something that would define the day. It’s not always easy to pick something because most days run together, but doing the daily photo helps to distinguish them just a little.

I thought I would share a few of my favorite photos from the past two months, in no particular order.

The capitol sits up on a hill overlooking the city. Here’s Main Street from the capitol.

When I was little, I always thought our capitol building was the United States Capitol. It looks pretty similar, I think.

Just smaller. They renovated the capitol a few years ago. I remember visiting it when it opened up to the public again. They planted a path of cherry trees. I was hoping they’d be bigger by now, but they’re still young.

I don’t remember, however, these beehive sculptures. I like them.

I am so used to our government buildings designed in Classical architecture. It’s confusing to me when they don’t have domes and columns.

There’s a little side street near the capitol with this view. I love the cathedral spires.

I wasn’t quite ready to call it a night, so I decided to stop by City Creek Park at the foothills of the capitol. It was still dressed in its holiday finery.

On my way to the grocery store, I took West Temple. At the stop light, I snapped this picture of the Assembly Hall in the evening light. It’s always been one of my favorite buildings.

Then you walk through a room of tiny stars. I couldn’t get a good picture but I would like to have a room like that in my house some day. Just starry. Finally you get to start seeing dinosaur stuff.

Along with ancient sea creatures…

and flora. I loved the flora. It was so pretty and delicate.

Finally we got to the Jurassic period with all the huge dinosaurs. Has anyone ever used the word dinormous before? Can I claim that? Well, these dinosaurs were dinormous! (ok, so it’s kind of a terrible word.)

At the end of the museum, there’s a quarry where the kids can excavate their own dino bones while the parents watch on. These kids really like to dig.

The paper I read for that anthropology course (an Intro to Museum Studies class) had to evaluate the museum. I remember the student gave it pretty high marks, and I have to agree. For a science museum, that is.*

*Just kidding. Science is awesome.

January

Visited the swamp for the first time as part of my bucket list of things to do before moving from New Orleans. I should have gone there more often.

Penny Lane turned 2! (Can you believe she’s already turning 3 this month?)

February

Moved back to Utah and started a new job.

March

Went to California for the WritersUA Conference. Basked in the sun. Visited the Getty.

April

Flew back to New Orleans for a visit.

Liam turned one year old! Peter turned 4 the next day, but for the first time ever, I wasn’t there. (sad face.)

May

Claire and I went to the Living Traditions Festival, one of the many Claire/Katie Days we had this year. Apparently I was a bad blogger in May. I never blogged about our visit to the Copper Pit or the ghost town of Eureka.

June

Claire turned 8!

Claire and I went to Lagoon.

July

Lucy turned 1!

I had lots of fun with the Nicholases while they were in town. We visited Cache Valley and Wheeler Farm, and I attempted to take some fun photos.

August

August was apparently unremarkable. But I did go to a pool with Claire.

September

In September, I got to spend time with my friend Kristy and meet her daughter, Tess.

We also went to a baseball game.

October

I traveled the San Juan Skyway in Colorado.

November

I turned 33 years old.

Spent Thanksgiving (and a little longer) in Kenosha.

December

Got my craft on and made some ornaments.

Enjoyed the Christmas lights at Temple Square. And spent lots and lots of time with family.

2011 brought some big changes in my life, and I feel like it was a good springboard for the future. In 2012, I’m excited to accomplish some of the goals I set in motion last year. Despite the fact that I have to put up with both election and Olympic coverage this year, I think it’s going to be a pretty great one.

But now Peter’s almost 5 years old, and he’s really quite good at playing the games on my phone. Of course, last night he discovered that the measly little screen on my phone was nothing compared to the big kindle fire screen.

It’s cool. Maybe now he’ll learn to love me for me and not just for my phone.

Of course, then my parents divorced and the family did change. I wouldn’t say we weren’t bound together, though. In fact, we grew even closer. I realized this year that it isn’t the traditions that bind us. It’s (as cheesy as this sounds) the love we have for each other. So we still have a fancy-ish dinner on Christmas Eve, but now we also open presents too. It’s what works best with the in-laws. Plus, we have the added bonus of opening presents with the cheery Christmas lights twinkling. Here are a few photos from the day and night.

Mom gave Claire a little mp3 player. I filled it with great music, but all Claire cares about right now is that it has Phantom of the Opera on it. She loves that play.

Claire made some special presents for each of us. I wish I had pictures of all of them, but I just got a few reactions.

Matt gave us all copies of his book with special inscriptions. Mikey even got special wrapping paper.

I had spent a good week searching different Wal-marts, Targets, Shopkos, and Kmarts all across the valley to find all of the Cars 2 race cars for Peter. (Mikey helped finance the gift.) The reaction was more than I could hope for.

I got too caught up in most of the unwrapping to take too many other photos, but I have to say, it was a great Christmas. I hope yours was too!

We took a break from the cold by checking out the model of the temple inside the visitor center.

After more wandering, we needed another break from the cold, so we stepped inside the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for some hot chocolate.

And then we were ready for more lights and nativity scenes from around the world. My favorite is the one from Japan.

We paused to take some photos at the pedestal.

And then it was time to head back on Trax, exhausted, cold, but happy. Even if the lights are the same each year (and I end up taking the same photos year after year), I still love seeing the lights.