Picto Diary - 01 to 07 November 2025 - The Sun Tunnels

Above: Iron Canyon. Park City, UT. 01 November 2025.
Seasonal shoes.

Above:  Sun Tunnels, Lucin, UT.  03 November 2025.
Out and about in the Sprinter.  TIMDT and Freddie.
Four hundred plus mile round trip circumnavigating the Great Salt Lake.  Park City to Park City.

Somewhat familiar with Robert Smithson's land art, having been to Dia Beacon on the Hudson River Dia:Beacon | Museum | Maurice D. Hinchey Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area and to see, several times, Smithson's famous piece, The Spiral Jetty Spiral Jetty | Holt/Smithson Foundation I have wanted to see Nancy Holt's, Smithson's wife, land art piece, also in Utah, The Sun Tunnels. Sun Tunnels | Holt/Smithson Foundation 

At the day of the winter and summer solstices the sunrise, and sunset can be viewed through the sun tunnels. On those days self-declared druids celebrate the earth and sun cycle. Kind of like a mini–Burning Man.

Land art pieces like the Sun Tunnels and the Spiral Jetty cause reflection on the question: What is art? Does Caravaggio's David and Goliath, which I saw in the Prado Museum of Madrid in April 2025, fit in the same category as four huge pipes, in the middle of nowhere, aligned to facilitate the views of the solstices?

I was very happy to see the Sun Tunnels.  I have always loved visiting Utah's quirky remotely located sights:  SW Wyoming/Utah corner monument Bing Videos;  The Tree of Utah, 26 miles east of Wendover, UT on I-80 https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2230;  The Bamberger Monument on US 191 in remote Carbon County, UT Bamburger Monument | The Dye Clan; and, Utah's sole giant Sequoia tree at the Browse Guard station in the Pine Valley Mountains, Washington County A visit to Southern Utah's giant sequoia.
We had hoped to have lunch at the Cowboy Bar in Montello, NV.  I have had one of their famous burgers there a few times over the years.  But they were closed on Monday.  We waited until 3:00 PM to eat at El Chilito Mexican Restaurant in Tremonton, UT.

Above: Sun Tunnels, Lucin, UT. 03 November 2025.
Out and about in the Sprinter.

Above: Map showing Sun Tunnels location. 03 November 2025.
Out and about in the Sprinter.

Above: Transcontinental Railroad byway on original roadbed. Lucin, UT. 03 November 2025.
Out and about in the Sprinter.
I motorcycled this route circa 2010 with some friends.
The area resonated as I recently completed my second read of "Nothing Like it in the World," by Stephen Ambrose... the story of the construction of the transcontinental railroad completed at Promontory Point, Utah, about sixty miles as the crow flies from the location of the van in the image.

Above: Snow Creek Condos Pond. Park City, UT. 04 November 2025.
LSDM Walkers.
That's a lotta ducks.

Above: Creek Side Park. Park City, UT. 04 November 2025.
LSDM Walkers.
New sculpture.

Above: Willow Creek Park, Summit County, UT. 04 November 2025

Sebastion Saucedo and family. Sabastion. The best soccer player to come out of the state of Utah. On a break in his hometown with his family. Sebastion now plays professionally for Birmingham Legion FC.

Above: Northwestern Stables, Philadelphia, PA. 05 November 2025.
Mynduveroan and Glynda Good Witch take a break from dressage practice.

Above: Park City, UT. 05 November 2025.
Waxing Gibbous Moon.

Above: Quinn's Junction Dog Park. Park City, UT. 06 November 2025.
Freddie (Newfoundland) and Queenie (Samoyed) sizing one another up.

Above: Iron Canyon, Park City, UT. 06 November 2025.
Is it already that time of year again?

Above: LSDM Friday Colloquium. Wasatch Bagel. Park City, UT. 07 November 2025.

Topics du Jour:

Park City elections. Asked by Jay Hamburger whether he would concede, mayoral candidate Jack Rubin says he will follow the process.
Remarks of 05 November 2025 LSDM speaker, Anglican Bishop Tim Stevens... extolling multiculturalism.
US immigration. Assimilation versus multiculturalism.
Mamdani : Government run grocery stores? "I'll take that bet."
85% 18 to 29 female vote to Mamdani.
Honestly podcast featuring Shilo Brooks. Honestly with Bari Weiss - Podcast - Apple Podcasts
Downsides of LIHTC financing.  Extended affordability period for one.  Studio Crossing affordable units... no LIHTC financing.

Ideal city government template:  Mayor, board chairman.  City Council members, board members.  City Manager, CEO.  
Senior Center.  One ROMEO present today who is a member of the Senior Center... never goes.
Scion updates:  Sam, PhD candidate Aerospace Engineering, University of Miami; Bella, Denison University, Ohio;  Ari and Emily (Quinn Emmanuel), big law, Austin, TX.
La Société Deux Magots (LSDM) is a non-partisan ROMEO (retired old men eating out) group which meets daily, at 7:00 AM at Wasatch Bagel in Park City, UT. LSDM members are the rightful intellectual heirs of a group of authors and artists (Hemingway, Joyce, Sartre, Picasso, Camus, de Beauvoir) who met daily at Cafe Deux Magots, in Paris, France in the 1930's.  http://www.LSDM-Parkcity.com