Morgan

Christmas in Spain

2009-01-04T10:10:00.002-07:00

Here are a few pictures from my recent trip to southern Spain. This picture was the sunrise from the first place we stayed at.

Midnight Mass

2009-01-04T09:56:00.003-07:00

This is the Cathedral we attended Midnight Mass at. I'm not sure what was going on for most of the ceremony but it was pretty interesting to see the inside of the huge Cathedral.

Malaga

2009-01-04T09:52:00.003-07:00

The view from the place we stayed at.

This was on Christmas Eve. It was quite a festive atmosphere with everyone out in this main square where an orchestra played Christmas songs on a stage behind that huge Christmas tree. Everyone sat outside the cafes and bars drinking hot chocolate and eating churros.

This is the stadium for Bull Fighting.

Christmas Day Dinner

2009-01-04T09:46:00.004-07:00

We stayed at hostels the whole time on our trip and the owner of this one was an American guy who made a turkey for Christmas Dinner. They were nice enough to invite us to join them for their Christmas dinner. We met people from all over the world and had some interesting conversations about their Christmas tradtions. The girls next to me are from Poland, Australia, and the UK.

Granada

2009-01-04T09:39:00.003-07:00

This is the Alhambra. Arab Muslims (The Moors) conquered a lot of southern Spain and this is one of their last strongholds before the Spainairds regained the land. The castle and gardens are very impressive with more of an Arab feeling (lots of Arabic writing of Allah) than it does Spainish.

Seville and Cadiz

2009-01-04T09:20:00.003-07:00

2008-03-15T14:19:00.000-06:00

2008-03-15T14:18:00.000-06:00

2008-03-15T14:15:00.000-06:00

Mtn Biking in Diamond Fork

2007-10-27T17:02:00.000-06:00

I never take a camera when I go ride my new mountain bike (thanks Mike for the hook up) so here is a link to a video with a few pics from ride today. Enjoy!

St. George Marathon Snapshots

2007-10-22T21:11:00.000-06:00

Oregon Coast Bike Trip

2007-07-17T08:40:00.000-06:00

This last week I went up to Oregon with some friends and rode down the Oregon Coast. We started in Lincoln City, OR and rode to Cresent City, CA. It was almost 300 miles and the scenery was amazing. We rode through sections that felt like thick rain forest and other sections were the cliffs went right down into the ocean. It was a lot of fun but I think everybody was ready for a break from being on the bike all day everyday.

2007-07-17T08:37:00.000-06:00

Seth and I

2007-07-17T08:35:00.000-06:00

This was right outside one of our hotels. It was a cold morning to ride but once we warmed up it was nice weather to be in.

2007-07-17T08:34:00.000-06:00

Me, Jerry, and Seth

2007-07-17T08:31:00.000-06:00

This was through the hills which were more inland.

2007-07-17T08:29:00.000-06:00

2007-07-17T08:27:00.000-06:00

Dan, Seth, and Jake

Bear Lake Brawl Tri

2007-07-17T08:12:00.000-06:00

China / Taiwan trip

2007-06-27T16:54:00.000-06:00

Here is part of the night Skyline in Shanghai.

2007-06-27T16:53:00.000-06:00

This is the main shopping area in Shanghai. This place was crazy busy. The traffic in Shanghai is ridiculous. We spent 7 hrs in a car one day visiting 2 vendors in small cities surrounding Shanghai.

Eating Hotpot in Kaohsiung

2007-06-27T16:52:00.001-06:00

We went out with the whole office of our main vendor in Taiwan. We got to eat my favorite... Hotpots!!

2007-06-27T16:51:00.000-06:00

This is near the harbor at sunset in Kaohsiung city.

2007-06-27T16:49:00.002-06:00

That is Taichung city, my old stomping grounds as a young missionary some time ago.

Kolob Canyon

2007-06-27T16:49:00.001-06:00

Our friend Shelby was nice enough to invite Devin and I up to her family's cabin in Kolob Canyon. We mostly relaxed and also got to go to Zions Nat'l Park on one day.

2007-06-27T16:47:00.000-06:00

Havasupai 2007

2007-06-27T16:46:00.001-06:00

We went to Havasupai last year (Jason and I) but it rained everyday and the water was nasty. This year we returned to experience the clear green/blue waters of the Grand Canyon. Devin and Heidi joined us on this year's trek to paridise. Needless to say, good time were had by all.

2007-06-27T16:45:00.002-06:00

Here we are at the falls closest to our campsite, Havasu Falls.

2007-06-27T16:45:00.001-06:00

This wasn't the tallest cliff jump we did, but it was a cool picture.

2007-06-27T16:40:00.000-06:00

Hiking to the furthest falls took us through some beautiful scenery.

Salt Lake City Marathon

2007-04-27T13:03:00.000-06:00

Me and Ryan feeling pretty tough after the race

2007-04-27T13:02:00.000-06:00

Mike ran the last 3 miles with me and Megan met us at the finish line.

2007-04-27T12:52:00.000-06:00

2007-04-27T12:42:00.000-06:00

My Marathon Stats

2007-04-26T14:31:00.000-06:00

Marathon Time
3:48:10

Pace/Mile
8:42

1/2 Marathon Time
1:50:23

1/2 Marathon Pace/Mile
8:25

Overall place
246 /1135

Arches Nat'l Park

2007-01-03T11:51:00.000-07:00

Two of my roommates (Tosh and Mo) and I decided to get away during the Christmas break and go down to Moab to visit the Arches. It's only about a 3 hr. drive so we just made it a day trip. The arches were more impressive than I had anticipated. It's like a different planet down there with all the different rock formations. Anyways, it was a nice little trip to get away for a while.

2007-01-03T11:50:00.000-07:00

This is the famous Utah landmark (it's on the license plates) Delicate Arch.

2007-01-03T11:49:00.000-07:00

More arches.

2007-01-03T11:48:00.000-07:00

We found this tree decorated out in the middle of nowhere.

2007-01-03T11:47:00.000-07:00

A little late but nevertheless, Merry Christmas everyone! (disclaimer: I didn't decorate our tree.)

California Coasting

2006-07-27T16:52:00.000-06:00

Two of my roommates, Jake Tanner and Seth Herway, and myself have been training all summer to do a bike trip along the Oregon Coast. Things fell through with the logisitics of doing the Oregon Coast so we did the California Coast instead. We flew in to Oakland, went across the Bay to San Francisco and rode our bikes down the coast. We tried to stay on Hwy 1 the whole way but in many sections it is closed to bikes. It was a sweet trip with lots of dramatic views of shear cliffs going into the ocean. It was also quite the adventure trying to figure out a route as well as finding places to sleep, and piling on some serious mileage. All in all, it was super tough but just as rewarding.

2006-07-27T16:48:00.000-06:00

At the Oakland airport putting our bikes together and getting ready to embark on 400+ mile journey.

2006-07-27T16:47:00.000-06:00

We figured riding our bikes across I-80 on the Bay Bridge probably wasn't too safe so we took a fairy across the Bay from Oakland to S.F.

2006-07-27T16:46:00.000-06:00

That's Golden Gate bridge behind us.

2006-07-27T16:45:00.001-06:00

Arriving in San Francisco.

2006-07-27T16:45:00.000-06:00

The guy we stayed with is a park ranger and lives in this sweet house (the only house) along the beach. Jake had the hook ups with people to stay with along the way.

2006-07-27T16:42:00.000-06:00

About 80 miles south of San Francisco.

2006-07-27T16:41:00.001-06:00

More scenic California coast.

2006-07-27T16:41:00.000-06:00

The night we rode into Big Sur all the camp grounds/ everything else were sold out. We were really scrambling for a place to stay and came across these girls who worked at the camp grounds and let us sleep on their porch.

2006-07-27T16:39:00.000-06:00

Here's the cabin we stayed at.

2006-07-27T16:38:00.001-06:00

Refreshed and ready to go after a night in Big Sur.

2006-07-27T16:38:00.000-06:00

Us getting lost in Santa Barbara.

2006-07-27T16:37:00.000-06:00

Seth and Jake.

2006-07-27T16:36:00.000-06:00

Just one of the sweet views along the coast.

2006-07-27T16:35:00.000-06:00

This is us trying to re-fuel after a brutal afternoon. We had riden at least 125 miles the previous two days so we were slammed.

2006-07-27T16:33:00.000-06:00

We only had one flat tire on the trip just outside of Malibu.

2006-07-27T16:31:00.000-06:00

Right as night fell we made it to the city and were able to get off the Freeway. That's Santa Monica pier behind us.

2006-07-27T16:30:00.000-06:00

We ran into this guy who showed us a sweet path that ran along the beachfront all the way from Santa Monica all the way to Orange County. It was pretty sweet victory lap cruising the beach under the stars!

2006-07-27T16:28:00.000-06:00

At the airport in Long Beach! 450 miles in 4 days!

Havasupai

2006-07-27T16:12:00.000-06:00

Havasupai is a place near next to the Grand Canyon that the Havasu Indians once inhabited. I guess they are the last of the Grand Canyon dwelling Indians left today. The water is supposed to be crystal clear blue/green color but we supposedly went during the monsoon season. It rained each day we were there, although not for long periods of time, but long enough to make the water the disgusting brown color shown in all the pics below. Nevertheless we all had a good time and even got to stop by the main viewing point for the Grand Canyon on our way home.

2006-07-27T16:11:00.000-06:00

We camped out at the top of the trailhead so we could get an early start and beat the heat. We left about 6 in the morning.

2006-07-27T16:10:00.000-06:00

Myself, Heather, Jason and Seth.

2006-07-27T16:09:00.000-06:00

The descent down to the bottom of the falls was quite treacherous. Good thing for the trusty chain bolted into the rock!

2006-07-27T16:08:00.002-06:00

Scenic picture down the canyon.

2006-07-27T16:08:00.001-06:00

Mooney falls.

2006-07-27T16:08:00.000-06:00

Scenery was amazing!

2006-07-27T16:07:00.000-06:00

We luckily came across some sunscreen on a hike out to the furthest falls. Thanks to Jason and Seth I was able to get all the hard to reach places.

2006-07-27T16:06:00.000-06:00

At the top of Mooney falls.

2006-07-27T16:05:00.001-06:00

The water is usually crystal clear but the rain pulled all the dirt into the river making it kind of ugly. We want to go back to see clear.

2006-07-27T16:05:00.000-06:00

It rained each day we were there. The river almost flooded here. We moved camp b/c we thought we might get flooded out.

2006-07-27T16:03:00.000-06:00

One of the 4 main falls.

2006-07-27T16:02:00.000-06:00

At the beginning of the hike these dogs started to follow us and went with us for about 3 hours. That's an LDS church in the background.

2006-07-27T16:01:00.000-06:00

This is on the hike to get out of Havasupai. Behind me is where we hiked from.

2006-07-27T15:58:00.000-06:00

Heather, Seth and me.

2006-07-27T15:55:00.000-06:00

Grand Canyon in the background.

Home Sweet Home

2006-07-27T15:31:00.001-06:00

It's always good to be able to go home and see family and friends. The main reason I was able to go back to KS this time was to attend my best friend, Zack Shafers wedding. The wedding was nice and it was fun to get together with old friends from High School again.

I got to drive out with Megan and her family which was fun and Carrie's family came while we were there. It is fun to have people around to keep things busy and more interesting. Me and Mike (Megan's Mike) brought our bikes and went for a couple rides. Swimming with the kids was fun and I think one of the highlights of being back is when we all went to the water park in Kansas City. Cathy's family came the last day we were there so it was pretty busy hectic especially at J.T.'s b-day party. Anyways, that's a general summation of being home for the week. It's always fun and mom always makes it that much better with her homemade cooking.

2006-07-27T15:31:00.000-06:00

Congrats to Zack and Ashley!!

2006-07-27T15:30:00.000-06:00

I think Kiersten's muscles are bigger than mine now.

2006-07-27T15:29:00.001-06:00

Lunch at the water park.

2006-07-27T15:29:00.000-06:00

This is me and Ryan getting psyched to eat dinner!!

2006-07-27T15:28:00.000-06:00

At the farm we all had a good time feeding the animals and riding on the 4-wheeler. Kylie is holding a baby miniature goat.

2006-07-27T15:26:00.000-06:00

The kids all had fun feeding the miniature horses.

2006-01-16T12:31:00.001-07:00

This was a birthday card one of my friends from work got for me. I wasn't sure if I should laugh at it or be offended!

Week b/f School

2006-01-15T23:40:00.000-07:00

Coming back to Utah a week early was definately a good thing. I was able to work some, snowboard a couple times, play a lot of basketball, and watch even more football (bowl games). Dave and Jessica both have season passes to Sundance so I took them up one day to see how thier skills were. It had been a while since I'd been so I wasn't quick to impress anyone. Jessica holds her own pretty good and by the end of the day she was crusing pretty good down the mountain. Dave's a little more adventurous than us (or he's just crazy, we don't know) and does every jump in sight. Nonetheless, I think a good time was had by all.

2006-01-15T23:37:00.000-07:00

This is Dave doing one of his many sick jumps throughout the day.

2006-01-15T23:34:00.000-07:00

The three of us on our way down the hill.

2006-01-15T23:32:00.000-07:00

Me getting ready for the afternoon session of teaching Jessica and Dave how to ride like a real men (and women)!

2006-01-15T23:30:00.000-07:00

Dave came up in the afternoon to "rip" some powder with us.

2006-01-15T23:29:00.000-07:00

This is me a Jessica getting ready to hit the slopes in the morning!

Christmas 2005

2006-01-15T23:16:00.000-07:00

For Christmas I got to spend 2 of my luxurious 3 week break in KS. It was nice to be home and not have to worry about anything, literally I didn't have anything to worry about!! I was able to get a lot of reading in, not know to be one of my forte's, but somehow I found myself not being able to put the books down. Mom's cooking is always appreciated when I'm home and it was stellar as always!!! Other highlights from being home were getting to see mike and nicole (below). I got to go check out Mike's work which was interesting, after which we went out to eat with Dad which was reminicent of the "Brether's Luncheon". Two weeks home was great but by then I was definately ready to get back to Utah.

2006-01-15T23:14:00.000-07:00

Here's Mike, Nicole and Oreo on an outing back in the woods. We had snow in KS for a couple days while I was home for Christmas.

Guys Night Out 2005

2005-09-30T09:02:00.001-06:00

This last weekend was the annual "Guys Night Out". We were sorry for the absence of the creator of "Guys Night Out", Mike Eldridge. (We were still thinking about you Mike). For the night me and Dave went and got some "Man Burgers" at the luxurious Burger Supreme here in Provo. After that we wanted to go kick around the soccer ball before we hit up some parties. We went over to the intramural fields just to mess around and there was a team that forfeited so some guys wanted to play with us. Anyways, to make a long story short, they weren't too sure what to think of Dave until he put a sweet shot in the upper 90 from about 15 yards out. Then I had a sweet move and dumped it off to Dave for goal number 2. Needless to say we had a good time. The last event was to hit up a local party. It was a huge party called "Llamapalooza" and there were two live llamas. (Check out the pic below!) We hung around for a little while just to check out the scene and then decided to check out. Although we can't tell you everything that happened, "Guys Night Out" proved to be a success once again.

2005-09-29T23:29:00.000-06:00

We also went to a party called "Llamapalooza" or "Llamafest". Anyways, this a sweet picture by one of the llamas!!

2005-09-29T23:26:00.000-06:00

This was one of the many sunflower fields I saw in western KS on my way back out to school.

2005-09-29T23:24:00.000-06:00

This is the Winter Quarters Temple in Omaha,NB.

2005-08-21T19:48:00.000-06:00

My last couple days being out in D.C. we took a trip up to Philladelphia. This picture was taken standing on the steps where Rocky runs up to in Rocky 2 (I think it was 2).

2005-08-21T19:46:00.000-06:00

Yeah, the Libery Bell!

2005-08-21T19:45:00.000-06:00

The city of brotheryly LOVE!

2005-08-21T19:44:00.000-06:00

We also took a visit to Amish country in Pennsylvania!

2005-08-21T19:43:00.000-06:00

WWII Memorial