Rhett Olson

100 Hikes in Utah Video Blog

2008-08-28T05:45:00.000-06:00

For the past year or so I have wanted to produce a video blog. I wanted do something with an outdoor theme, but in a news-desk-type format. I bought an external mic, I built a homemade tele-prompter, I even shot an episode last winter. But, I could never quite get things together.

I fount this video of Ira Glass that inspired me. He was speaking to me. I have great taste, I have ambitions of creating great videos, but I know I'm in the "gap" he refers to.

So in the spirit of closing the gap, I've produced---and published---my first video podcast. My co-author Steve and I just launched 100hikesinutah.com, a video podcast where we talk about the trails we put in our book, share some of the experiences we had, and show a handful of extra pictures that weren't in the book. Our first episode is about Horseshoe Canyon in Canyonlands National Park.

It hurts just a little to see myself on film, but I'm hoping it helps move me along so I can produce something equal to my taste. You can view the site here:

www.100hikesinutah.com

Willie Nelson on Youtube

2008-08-04T21:59:00.002-06:00

For some reason I ended up watching old Willie Nelson videos on Youtube tonight. I'm not much of a country music fan, but a lot of Willie's music really does it for me. Here is a great version of Blue Eyes Crying in the rain for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.

Grand Kids

2008-07-26T16:29:00.002-06:00

Last night I did a family portrait for my parents, siblings, and all the grandkids. It's been several years (five I think) since we've done an extended family picture. Most of the grand kids were great, with the exception of my oldest son. He's 10, you'd think he could handle 20 minutes in front of the camera.

So, this morning I did a portrait (above) for some long-time family friends. When we couldn't get the grandkids to smile, I completely understood. (I'd just gone through it. Fortunately, this was the last picture we took, the kids did great in the other pics.) I think the smiles come from the knowledge they were handing the kids back after the picture. :)

Spanish Fork Peak

2008-07-12T18:11:00.003-06:00

As a kid, my friends and I made it a point to hike Spanish Fork Peak each year. My first trip up we spent the night in hammocks attached to the survey pyramid. The next few trips we took a few other friends and made the day of it. We even made one ascent while in college, but I haven't been back since. (That would have been about 12 years ago.)

So, yesterday a few members of our Varsity scout team made the trip. We hiked to lake on the North side of the peak Friday night, then made the rest of the hike this morning. It was truly beautiful. Being on top of the mountain, looking down on my home town brought back so many great memories.

For my buddy

2008-07-06T20:43:00.003-06:00

Alpine Loop Ride

2008-07-06T09:25:00.003-06:00

Last night my brother Ben and I took a ride over the Alpine Loop for Ben's birthday. It was a perfect ride with the exception of the small bit of rain around the Summit Trail stop. Here are a couple of pics we took overlooking AF canyon.

Boulder Mountain

2008-06-28T20:02:00.002-06:00

The last time I was on Boulder Mountain, I was pre-hiking a 50-miler for a friend's scout group. The plan was to hike with ultra-light packs and do it in 2 days. We did about 30 miles the first day, so were well on our way. However, the water we planned to pump was dry, and so were our several back ups. We ended up bailing out, hitting highway 12, and hitch-hiking partway back to our car.

Today, I was back to pre hike the 50-miler for my scout group, but this time I did it on a 4 wheeler. The above picture was taken while we were out. I don't think we'll have to worry about water this year.

Rockies Game

2008-06-15T09:59:00.003-06:00

I'm catching up my posts with a few events from the past week. On the night of the Highlands Ranch Triathlon my family and I went to a Rockies game. The Rockies beat the Brewers that night; it's always fun when the home team wins. (As I'm not a fan of either team it didn't matter to me.)

The ball game started out with a great squirrel chase. It was quite comical. They were finally able to coral it out a door in the wall at center field. Here are a couple of pics from the game.

Highlands Ranch Triathlon

2008-06-09T12:00:00.002-06:00

Last weekend I participated in the Highlands Ranch Triathlon while we were out visiting my sister. I was hardly prepared for the event, but I made it through the course. Here are a couple of pictures from the morning.

Golf in Highlands Ranch

2008-06-09T07:41:00.000-06:00

This past weekend my family and I drove out to Denver to see my sister and her family. I'll be posting more from the trip, but here is a quick video from our golf game. My dad, brothers, and I spent Friday afternoon on the The Links. The first 5 holes where a display of some of my worse golf. (Granted, this was the second time out this year, but the 1st was much better.) I turned it around on the last few holes. This is a video Lane took while shooting a par 3. I ended up just on the front end of the green. Ended up with par on this hole.

Portraits at the Salt Flats

2008-06-01T18:18:00.003-06:00

Yesterday we packed up the family, the bikes, and the camera equipment for a day out to the Bonneville Salt Flats. Not only is the terrain there perfect for breaking land speed records, but it make a great environment for portraits. We had 2 other families with us so we spent several hours playing around and taking pictures. (Family pictures will be out in the next couple of days.)

After we were done with the family pics I spent some time photographing my wife. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Dexter Lake, OR

2008-05-23T10:35:00.002-06:00

After finishing our training yesterday, Doug and I took a couple of hours to drive out to Dexter lake. It was a beautiful drive. Here are a couple of picture I took while we were out there.

Free at Last

2008-05-20T20:50:00.002-06:00

99% sure it's sugar. Was there really any doubt?

Still Stuck - Doug reaching out for help

2008-05-20T19:04:00.004-06:00

My friend and co-worker Doug reaching out for a little help while we are stuck here at the Springfield campus.

Stuck At Symantec - Hazmat checking for Anthrax

2008-05-20T18:54:00.004-06:00

Today I'm at the Symantec building in Springfield, OR, where we have been locked down for the past several hours. HAZMAT teams are here checking a suspicious substance that was found in a letter saying the substance is Anthrax. Here are a couple of the stories from the local media.

Video

Another Article

Yamaha V Star 1100

2008-05-09T18:41:00.001-06:00

Since the day my younger brother brought home a road bike and let me ride it I've been scheming to get my hands on one. It's hard to describe the feeling for freedom and excitement I get from riding. Yesterday I found a great deal on a Yamaha V star. My wife's not sure what to think, but she's been very supportive in my decision. (Thanks Honey!)

Here are a couple of pics from this afternoon.

Moab

2008-04-30T20:22:00.004-06:00

I spent the day today doing team training activities in Moab with a trainer from Germany. I learned a ton about group dynamics and working with people. I also learned a lot about myself. After the training was done, my buddy took me out on the slick rock jeeping. None of the jeep pictures turned out because you really can't see how steep the hills were. I've never done anything like it. Here are a couple of quick images that I took while we were out taking pictures of wild flowers.

Cowgirl Bridal

2008-04-20T09:56:00.002-06:00

I've been going back through a lot of pictures trying to pull new ones to update my web site. I found this one from a shoot I did with Mallory. It had just snowed that day so the shoot was chilly and wet. She showed up so happy and excited for the shoot we couldn't help but make some very beautiful images. Mallory was a prime example of how what you bring to the shoot is reflected in the images. You can see more images of Mallory in my bridal gallery.

Tana & Jeff

2008-04-13T15:20:00.003-06:00

Tana and Jeff were married yesterday at the sunny Oasis Golf Club in Mesquite, NV. The afternoon ceremony was warm and sunny and the dancing inside was plain hot. Here is a pic of the couple just after the ceremony, one during the first dance and another at the end of the night where Jeff is going for the garter.

Congrats Jeff and Tana!

Today's wedding

2008-04-13T00:06:00.005-06:00

Here are a few shots from today's wedding. It's getting late so I haven't gone through them all. Tana and Jeff threw a great party. Maybe tomorrow I'll actually post some of them together. :)

Back in Nevada

2008-04-11T23:27:00.002-06:00

It seems I've been in Nevada a lot this year. I think this is the 3rd time this year. (That's a lot for me.) Tonight I spent the evening at a rehearsal dinner for a wedding I'm shooting tomorrow afternoon at the Oasis Golf Club. Look for posts from the wedding in the next couple of days.

My Top 25 Albums In iTunes

2008-04-10T20:10:00.000-06:00

And here are my top 25 Albums.

Top 100 Albums
-----------------------------
1. The Mouse & The Mask (Dangerdoom) - 227
2. Stand Still, Look Pretty (The Wreckers) - 177
3. Begin to Hope (Regina Spektor) - 115
4. In Rainbows (Radiohead) - 111
5. El Corazon (Steve Earle) - 66
6. Hang On Little Tomato (Pink Martini) - 60
7. Madvillainy (Madvillain) - 58
8. Palace Cafe (Cris Talley) - 58
9. Time - The Revelator (Gillian Welch) - 47
10. Boxed Set (Disc I) (Led Zeppelin) - 44
11. The Reminder (Feist) - 41
12. POP (U2) - 39
13. Gling-Glo (Bjork Gu›mundsdottir & Trio) - 39
14. Chutes Too Narrow (The Shins) - 38
15. Greatest Hits Live (Fleetwood Mac) - 37
16. Amnesiac (Radiohead) - 36
17. Pablo Honey (Radiohead) - 35
18. Master the Treadmill with Ok Go (Ok Go) - 34
19. Core (Stone Temple Pilots) - 32
20. Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd) - 31
21. The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter (Bonus Track Version) (Josh Ritter) - 31
22. Brass in Berlin (Giovanni Gabrieli) - 30
23. OK Computer (Radiohead) - 29
24. The Bends (Radiohead) - 29
25. Prolonging The Magic (Cake) - 28

Wow, I listen to a lot of Radiohead.

My Top 25 Artists in iTunes

2008-04-10T07:05:00.000-06:00

While I'm on the kick of analyzing the music I'm listening to, I figured I'd share the top 25 played artists in my iTunes. This isn't how I'd rank them as far as favorites, but here's the ranking by how much I listen to them.

Top 25 Artists
-----------------------------
1. Radiohead - 262
2. Dangerdoom - 227
3. The Wreckers - 177
4. Regina Spektor - 115
5. Pink Floyd - 106
6. The Police - 101
7. Willie Nelson - 85
8. Led Zeppelin - 79
9. Bob Dylan - 77
10. Counting Crows - 77
11. Steve Earle - 72
12. Beastie Boys - 70
13. U2 - 68
14. The Smiths - 63
15. The Shins - 61
16. Pink Martini - 60
17. Cris Talley - 58
18. Madvillain - 58
19. Dixie Chicks - 52
20. Cake - 50
21. Stone Temple Pilots - 47
22. Gillian Welch - 47
23. Feist - 44
24. The Grateful Dead - 40
25. The Sugarcubes - 40

Not Another Love Song

2008-04-09T07:52:00.000-06:00

So after my last post I started thinking about love and the music I listen to. I found all the songs in my iTunes collection that had the word "love" in them. After eliminating the duplicates and the songs the computer picked up mistakenly (like glove) I had a list of 116 songs which represents about 2.6% of my music collection. Kind of interesting. If you want to see the full list you can check it out here.

Love Is All You Need

2008-04-08T07:24:00.000-06:00

I've been reading the book Lovemarks:The Future of Brands and thought I'd comment on one of the subjects Kevin Roberts touches on when discussing complex secondary emotions and how it affects business.

LOVE

It's interesting how love is this universal truth each and every one of us understands to one degree or another. It affects everything we do. Roberts outlines the following 6 truths about love:

Human beings need love. Without it they die.
Love means more than liking a lot
Love is about responding, about delicate, intuitive sensing.
Who and what we love create different experiences.
Love takes time.
Love cannot be commanded or demanded.

As we show love for those whom we are trying to build relationships with, that love will return. In Love Is The Killer App, Tim Sanders suggests that sharing our intangibles with others is to show them our love. He says that ultimately, it's not what people think about you, it's how they feel about you.

In business, sharing our love with others will allow you to create relationships with people. These relationships are really the measure of success in my opinion. So I guess, all I need is love.