Move.

I love traveling the world and experiencing what there is out there. I am also obsessed with photography and love capturing my own visions of the world. I was in DC and Philly the past several days and so it reminded me of this video about traveling. I think the video is super original and creative. The video is one of three; focusing on movement, learning, and eating. I highly recommend checking out the other two (both a min each). http://vimeo.com/rickmereki They are just as cool.

Move.

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

Oktoberfest!

Once every year, there comes a time when the Wasatch Mountain Range is saturated with the festive atmosphere of the German Alps...

Oktoberfest!

Nestled in the shadows of Little Cottonwoods towering peaks, The Snowbird Mountain Resort hosts the lively German celebration.

I have never experienced the merrymaking of Oktoberfest till today. I made sure I savored an authentic bratwurst while being serenaded by traditional German tunes performed by the B & B All Stars band.

During the performance several eager observers began

occupying the dance floor with their moving hips while grooving to the music. I thought about joining them until I noticed a guy carrying an alphorn in a huge case. I was hoping to hear him play it but found out that they play the alphorns earlier during the day.

After the alphorn disappointment we decided to scope out the dozens of shops located around the resort. You can find all sorts of local and German keepsakes.

All and all the festival did a great job of creating a fun environment that I am sure is easily mistaken for the traditional festivities in Germany… Even though I have never been.

I love to be outside and Oktoberfest provided a great place to participate in a foreign ambience. For those who may be interested or may just want to stalk some yodelers Oktoberfest is still going on Saturday’s and Sunday’s till October 9^th.

Cheers

The Dark Side of the Moon

Have you ever mistaken what seemed to be the sunrise for the moon?

Common mistake when you abruptly wake up with a massive gust of wind blowing away your rain fly. After you fetch it you seem to be wide-awake and find yourself gazing up at the billions of stars contained in the Milky Way. When your neck stars hurting from staring up, you realize you should probably get some sleep since you will be backpacking out several miles in the morning. After you crawl back in the tent and put your toasted red sunburnt neck back on your make-shift-pillow, a rolled up hoodie, you notice that sleep is not that appealing at all and you would much rather have an adventure by backpacking out com

pletely in the dark with only headlamps; a genius way to experience the great outdoors.

Oatmeal never tasted so great in the black of night, not having a clue of what time it is. Once you pack up camp and reason with your buddy what time it could be, you hit the trail. After several miles of hiking back up through the narrow canyon walls of Devils Canyon you can see a faint light along the eastern horizon. Excited because that has to be the sunrise.

Witnessing a sunrise is a magical moment that happens all to infrequent, yet it is a great way to start any day, anywhere. Period. As you continue along the trail you bend around a corner exposing this seemingly welcoming sunrise, to your surprise the faint light on the horizon was really just a sliver of the Moon. I wish I had packed my tripod along so I could of taken a long enough exposure to capture this gorgeous eerie orange moon with such a distinct outline of the Dark Side of the Moon. We continued hiking for another hour or two while singing some Pink Floyd and arrived to Cora (my trusty Corolla) to find out that it was only 5:38 a.m.

Devils Canyon

Another efficacious adventure that helped me appreciate and love the beautiful outdoors even more.

PS: I was trying to upload some panoramic pics, but they must all be too large or something... Next post, hopefully.

Climb On.

Happy: End of the Semester, Earth Day, Easter, Birthday Mom, and Internship!

I recommend anyone looking for away to spend a reading day to travel to Indian Creek for some crack climbing. However be careful when choosing places to eat in Moab, the names of restaurants can be very deceiving.

Note to the state of Utah, they need to increase the speed limit on highway 6 near Price. Or not have highway patrolmen out at 7 a.m.

My Adobe CS5 came and I am thrilled to start playing around with it.

Halleluiah for the ending of another semester.

Observation Point-Zions National Park

Just got my first internship-and start working at Precision Concrete Cutting on Monday! This means no school for four months and this calls for a few days of backpacking in southern Utah.

I was reading the latest issue of National Geographic, while traveling to Zion, to enjoy National Park Week, and I came across a rather inspiring quote on climbing from the article on climbing in Yosemite:

“[Climbers] know that these walls are more than mountains: They’re giant mirrors that unsparingly reflect what lies inside each climber.“

Climb On.

Inspiring Paths

Ponder your own paths in life.

I believe the path’s we take in life lead us to meet exceptional individuals. There have been countless people who have greatly influenced me in my life. One particular friend, Garrett Smith, who I wish I knew longer, inspired me in photography, my love of life, and the outdoors. Garrett recently was the victim of a tragic avalanche accident .

Garrett’s photos capture nature’s distinctiveness in a fascinating way.

We may never know how big of an impact we can have on those who stumble upon our own paths. Thanks to all whose influenced me on my path-knowingly and unknowingly.

(Foot-printed Path on Grandeur Peak)

A Colorful Way of Life

Spring has official begun now that the Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork has successfully drawn the largest crowd in America to celebrate a tradition Indian holiday, Holi-The Festival of Colors. Hare Krishna! Being dowsed with powdered color chalk is always an exciting way to spend a Saturday-try it sometime.

Enjoy a few other colors from recent photo adventures.

I love experiencing new unique places to savor food. JCW’s, Good Eats, and Pizzeria 712. Great local joints-Thanks L!

Dot. Dot. Dot...

Yes it has been a while... My apologies... Busy year… But no excuse, I should do a better job at blogging...

Anyways, what a relief... the stress of editing, creating, submitting, waiting, the anxiety build up, but all for some great news of being accepting into the world renowned BYU Advertising program!!!

Celebrated by enjoying good food, good company, good powder up in Sundance and Snowbird, good 5.11a climbs…

Which reminds me about some of my few new firsts I’ve experienced as of late. Fist blog post of 2011... Climbed my first 5.11a-and now how several under my belt, my first accepta

nce into a major program at BYU, finished my first full length practice LSAT, signed up for my first relay race-as well as first time bailing on a relay to go boarding instead. (So worth it)

This is a very rough overview of the past few months so sorry and improvement is on it's way...

Enjoy a photo of the semi-frozen Donut Falls, up Little Cottonwood Canyon.