Our Lexington Arch Adventure

 Last weekend the weather was perfect for our first camping trip of the season. After spending a good part of the day with friends, we set up our camp, which coincided nicely with Desert Girl's nap. Once she woke up, I was itching to explore, so the kids, our dog Henry, and I went off to explore an abandoned road.

 It went toward this intriguing looking canyon. Oh, the fantastic limestone to explore! The old road branched, and we went uphill.

The track eventually stopped, right near a pile of snow. I told the kids they shouldn't sit in the snow, but they did anyway. The are still excited by snow! They were even more excited by the candy snack I gave them--a real treat.

 When we got back to camp, it was time to start the much-awaited fire. Here's my one-match fire, nothing artificial added.

 The kids were enthralled. I saw how fast the old sagebrush wood was burning and went to gather more!

I didn't manage to get many photos of the campsite, I was just ready to relax. Sleep was so-so, as it usually is in a tent! Henry started howling in the middle of the night, and we guessed that a mountain lion was close by. Fortunately it wandered off eventually and Henry stopped howling.

 The next morning it was time to go for a hike, and as it had been years since we had gone up to Lexington Arch, that's where we headed (it's actually a bit farther than what the sign says--and 800 foot elevation gain, so it's not a super fast hike).

 I liked this little plant. (Still need to look it up!)

 The views were great, with the layers of mountains stretching out towards the valley.

 Here are my husband and Desert Boy on one of the many switchbacks. I carried Desert Girl most of the way on my back. That was a good workout! Finally we arrived at the scenic overlook.

 The mighty 75-foot tall limestone arch. Someday I want to come photograph it at dusk or dawn, and had even thought about it for this trip, but sleep took priority.

 Desert Boy was happy to get to the overlook, as it was our designated snack stop.

 The clouds were building, but no rain was predicted so we continued up to the arch.

 We found more snow, but it was a warm day (especially for April), so it was welcome.

 We stopped at the bridge to take photos. In big snow years water flows under the bridge, but not this year.

 The last few switchbacks were tough, but we made it!

 It's thought that an ancient cave was at the site, and the arch is all that remains of it. I found what looked like old broken-off cave formations in the rock. It's fun to imagine what the cave would have been like.

 We tried for a family picture with the self-timer.

 I like the spire off to one side of the arch. It gives it some extra character.

 We had the arch all to ourselves. It felt really remote.

Then I had the bright idea that instead of taking the regular trail back, we could take the old trail back. It hasn't been used for about 25 years, but I had found parts of it a few years back. And I had conveniently forgotten how hard it was.

 The first part was really steep, but the views of the arch were great.

 We had some nice hiking through sage and forest alongside the snow-covered ravine. We had to go around big trees and fallen trees that covered the trail.

 But then it got really tough, with thickets of rose and willow that forced us to go up on the hill and do more bushwhacking, which was a real challenge with little kids. Fortunately my husband was able to wrangle them through the worst of it.

We kept hoping we would get to the end, but the canyon kept going and going. We were tired!

Finally we got to an old mine that was near the end (my photos didn't turn out so well).

 Desert Boy managed to catch a lizard, which was a highlight.

 Here, mom, check this out!

We went by this old cabin, which was really cool. It was built lincoln-log style, without nails. That gives you an idea of how old it is! I wonder how long it took the miners to build and how long they stayed in it. We were feeling remote, but they must have really felt like they were out in the boonies.

 Finally we got to the end. We won't be coming down from Lexington Arch that way again!

Seeing the truck gave Desert Boy and my husband a second wind and they rode their bikes back to the campsite, which was another adventure involving crashes. But all ended up well, and all our rose thorn scratches have healed and we can start planning our next camping trip!

Millard County Cosmic Ray Center

I've passed the Lon and Mary Watson Millard County Cosmic Ray Center in Delta, Utah many times, and finally I decided it was time to stop and take a look. It's open Monday through Friday from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm. The cosmic ray center has been there since 2006, but the visitor center portion opened in the fall of 2011.

Inside, visitors are greeted to a pleasant space with signs around the walls explaining why the University of Utah and about 30 other universities from China, Russia, Korea, Belgium, and the United States are studying cosmic rays.

I have a more detailed post about what they're studying, some fun photos, and my amazingly wonderful wit here. (Are you still reading this post? Why haven't you clicked on that link yet??)

Okay, to continue...(now that you surely have read my previous post)...


One wall is dedicated to the Topaz Internment Camp, where thousands of Japanese-Americans were locked up during World War II without ever being charged with anything. The camp was just a few miles outside of Delta, and you can learn a lot more about it here.

The Topaz Museum was just awarded a large grant to build a new museum, which will help better tell the story of what happened in one of the darker chapters of American history.

 So, if you're in Delta on a weekday in the middle of the day, stop by this small visitor center and learn a little more about the history, the science, and more about the area. You can also get your very own Telescope Array Project t-shirt (only $5 when I stopped in, what a deal!). Check out the Telescope Array's website for more details.

A Rocky Hike

 On the way back from my triathlon in Orem last weekend (it was great, I really felt good on the bike portion, which was a nice change), we stopped at a rocky outcropping. Where I grew up in the Midwest, we would call this a mountain, but out here in Basin and Range territory, we get a little picky about what we call mountains.

Desert Boy wanted to go for a hike, and I've always wanted to explore this rock. So we took the road less traveled, went through the gate, and drove up the two-track road. Then we piled out of the van and started up.

 The storm clouds added drama to the stark scenery. Beams of sunlight highlighted limestone cliffs pocked with holes. Could any of them be caves?

 I really loved the clouds. I figured it might start raining before too long, so we couldn't dawdle. My goal was to get to the top of the rock. But when we decided we couldn't get to the top with the kids safely, we went to plan B: walk around the rock outcropping.

 Desert Boy enjoyed the rock climbing challenges.

I enjoyed taking photos.

 We found that there were ledges most of the way around the rock outcropping, and that made for relatively easy hiking.

 Most of the ground looked brown, but I found a few bright colors from small desert wildflowers, like the purple Arabis above, blue flax, yellow bladderpod, and orange globemallow.

 The desert looked so big.

 We found a little alcove that was cool.

 Here's another view of that alcove. Maybe it isn't so little!


The way the rock has eroded away makes for some interesting shadows.

Sometime we'll go back with helmets, harnesses, and a rope and see if we can get to the top. It doesn't look that hard to go up, but I'd like Desert Boy and Desert Girl to have a belay for the way down.

Now every time we drive past this rock, I'll think of the great lighting we had during our hike around it and our little adventure.

Advance Copy

 I received a special package today, from Utah State University Press. I waited till my husband got home so he could join me in opening it (and take some photos for me!). This is something I've waited years and years to receive.

 The package was a little tricky to open! Fortunately my husband had his knife handy.

 It's a book! But not just any book...

 It's my book! Welcome Great Basin National Park: A Guide to the Park and Surrounding Area!

 This was the first time I've seen it all put together. I've reviewed and edited so many versions of the manuscript, but this is the first time to flip through the pages in book form (6" x 9"), feel the heft (it weighs over three pounds!), and see the entire layout. The color photos look awesome!

 I can't remember the exact number of photos, but it's over one hundred.

We still have to wait a few weeks for the rest of the copies to arrive. They're literally on a slow boat from China, then a fast train to Chicago (to the University of Chicago Press Distribution Center), and then on trucks to various places that order them. You can see more about the book at the Utah State University Press website, my author page, or by clicking on the link to the right.

I have to admit it all feels a little overwhelming, sort of like giving birth. Thank goodness giving birth doesn't take as long as publishing a book!

Sheep Shearing

 In 2009 I tried to go watch the sheep shearing, but got there just as they were packing up the last of the wool. (Click here to see that post and interesting comments.) This year I did a lot better. We got out to see some of the setup (seen in my last post), and we went back the next day to see the sheep shearers in action.

We got there in the late morning and found that hundreds of sheep had already been sheared.

 The wool sorter was busy taking wool from the shearing trailer and placing it in the appropriate bin.

We found Morgan, our wonderful hostess from the day before, and she led us into the sheep shearing trailer. Desert Boy was a little intimidated at first by all the noise, mostly from the generator and electric motors used to power the clippers.

 The sheep trailer is a bit cramped, with space for seven shearers to wrestle 200-pound animals. The first step is for the shearer to tumble a sheep from the little platform under the curtain and onto the floor.

 Then he starts shearing the belly.

 Next up are the rear legs. The wool is really thick, and it looks a little strange as the big, bulky animal is generally transformed into something much smaller and bonier.

 After the rear quarters are exposed, it's time to start near the ears. During the whole process, the sheep was surprisingly docile. I have a feeling that not all are quite that easy to work with. It must also take a lot of practice to get the sheep into just the right position to shear efficiently and quickly.

 Some of the shearers use harnesses to shear, as bending over all day is really hard on the back. They usually start at 7:30 am, work until about 10, take a 15-minute break and then work till noon. After an hour-long lunch, they work all afternoon with a 15-minute break about 3 and finish around 5:30 pm. That would be a lot of bending and wrestling sheep. With seven shearers, they can shear over 1,000 sheep in a day.

 The wool came really nicely off the back of the sheep. It made me remember a wonderful sheepskin we had at home when I was a kid.

 The shearer is almost done, and you can see the huge pile of wool on the floor. It seemed nearly as big as the sheep!

 Then the shearer opened a little door, directed the sheep in the right direction...

 ...and out went the sheep. The whole process took about three minutes.

Time to clean up! This was the last sheep for this shearer before lunch, so he cleaned his clippers, oiled them, and got tidied up before leaving his work area.

 This sheep shearing outfit is owned by Cliff Hoopes, seen above. He's from Wyoming and shears in several states.

 He stopped and talked to me before heading to lunch. He wanted to know if I was involved with the water effort, referring to the opposition of Southern Nevada pumping thousands of acre-feet of water from the desert in east-central Nevada over two hundred miles south to the Las Vegas area. I said yes. He said he wanted people to know that he was against that pumping. If the water tables drop and the sheep don't have all the food and water they do now, he'll be out of business out here. He currently shears about 45,000 sheep in the area, and he said he's just one of the shearing outfits.

 In addition to the shearers, he also employs folks to operate the wool press. This expensive machine compacts the wool.

 Wool from each bin is pressed.

 It's getting smaller.

Then the bag is closed and marked with a number, the brand (Okleberrys) and the quality of wool.

 Desert Girl had fallen asleep on the way out to the sheep shearers', but Desert Boy was eager to check everything out, and Morgan was so nice to show us around. While she answered Desert Boy's questions, I wandered around a bit, taking some photos.

 I talked to Edwin, who agreed to pose for a photo when he realized that he had taken video of me dancing at the Sheepherders' Party. It must have been a pretty funny video, because he kept laughing as he mentioned it!

 This was the lunch spot for this young man.

 On the way back to the van we passed the empty chute, where the sheep are painted with the brand.

 There was also a branding iron in the fire, but I didn't see any sheep branded. Anyone know which sheep get branded? (Please leave a comment if you do.)

The sheep look really strange after being sheared, in particularly they look so bony! You can find out a little more about shearing from this article in The Prairie Star, written this January about Cliff Hoopes' shearing operation.


Finally, I wanted to end with a photo that really shows what a fenceline can separate:

The unsheared sheep sure don't look too concerned about how they will soon look. With hot weather fast approaching, I bet they don't mind losing their heavy wool coats.