"If you've never seen an elephant ski, you've never been on acid." - Eddie Izzard

That is with the possible exception if you saw me ski before 2004.  I come to this sport of skiing a little like an elephant on skis and I guess I don't know you well enough to tell you whether I've never been on acid.  

Chapter 1 - The Name of the Beast

That Damn Motoski was aptly named. She was a hellish orange color; an orange so intense to the eye that one always paused upon seeing her to reflect on hell. As in, “How in the Hell did they come up with that damned orange color?” Hence the Damn portion of the name.

Motoski is more commonsense. She had a motor (actually an engine because as my dad the engineer often corrected, “Motors are electric; engines run on fuel.”) And, she had skis. Well, she had two banana-shaped lumps of metal with handles welded at the tip. In retrospect, those handles should have provided a clue.

If you (or anyone you know) are a writer, you won't want to miss this amazing opportunity. The First Annual Eden Writers' Fall Conference is being held at Red Moose Lodge in Ogden Valley October 19-20. We have an impressive line-up of presenters, including Hollywood screenwriter David Sheffield, NY literary agents Christina Hogrebe and Kate Schafer, Harpercollins editor Katherine Nintzel, Kay Lockner of AuthorMBA, and Louise Knot Ahern of The Working Writer. Additionally, we have many fun "extras" that you won't find at larger conferences, such as Yoga for Writers, presented by local yoga diva Rebecca Fox, Spooky Stories presented by The Eden Writers Circle, a raffle to win a critique by New York Times bestseller Susan Squires, a short story contest, a Novice Writers Retreat, loads of exciting give-aways donated by famous authors, wonderful local food, etc.

    Austin Bulloch (sophomore at Weber High School) entered the "Mountain Whispers of the Past" essay contest in the Spring 2006 competition, which was sponsored by a local chapter of the Sons of the Utah Pioneers.  Here is his first place research-backed essay on one of the valley's primary historical events:  The rise and fall of Swineville.

   There is a legend that is so amazing, and yet only few people know the real story. That story is the tale of a town once known as Swineville. This place with the strange name is Ogden Valley’s own Atlantis, for it exists underwater at the bottom of Pineview Reservoir.