Hill Aerospace Museum

On Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, we headed to Hill Aerospace Museum. It's one of the few places that is open on Sunday, so after church we headed there before continuing on to Golden Spike National Historic Site.

Hill Aerospace Museum is free, so it's popular. But it is so huge, it can accommodate a lot of people. It also houses so many exhibits that it can be a bit overwhelming. I found myself drifting along and reading a little here and a little there.

I was intrigued by the Navajo Code Talkers exhibit. I had heard that the Navajo language was the only unbreakable code in World War II, and it was interesting to read more of the details.

The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) section also caught my attention. I hadn't realized how many women pilots flew in World War II, and although they helped the war effort greatly, their efforts were mostly ignored until decades later.

Seeing the huge flag at one end of the hangar reminded me of how grateful I am to all the servicemen and servicewomen for all they do. I feel very lucky to live in a country where we can take our freedoms for granted (even though we shouldn't!).

My husband knew lots of information about many of the planes and helicopters. I listened with interest, but have to admit that I didn't retain much.

Even fighter planes need a little dusting now and then.

The exhibits continued outside, with some really massive planes.

The museum has a nice gift shop. To ward off Desert Boy wanting something everywhere we went, we gave him five dollars and told him he had to choose where to spend it. This ended up being the spot, and he picked out his very own plane and it kept him happy.

We really enjoyed our visit and look forward to returning some day. By the way, the museum website has lots of information about each exhibit, so you can prepare before a visit or refresh your memory afterwards!

A Sunday Picnic

We wanted to get out of the house on the weekend, so we decided for a little picnic. Once we found our spot, we settled in. And Desert Girl made faces. She's good at those.

Desert Boy was quite contented with carving sticks with his pocket knife. He's managed to nick his fingers a few times, but overall he's been doing well with the knife.

One of the fun parts of picnics is eating foods we don't normally eat. The kids love Go-Go Squeezs, but I cringe at all the extra packaging that is thrown away. Fortunately, some enterprising companies have made refillable squeeze containers, and on Ebay I was able to get ten new ones for about $15.

After we ate, it was time for a nap. At least that's what we parents thought!

 The kids had some other ideas in mind. Eventually we told them to go climb the trees. Or something like that. Whatever we said, the next thing we knew, they were actually in the trees.

 Up, up and away!

 Desert Boy figured out how to slide down the smooth white aspen bark. It was a rather fun diversion and he did it several times.

Of course if her big brother does it, Desert Girl has to give it a try! (Even if she is wearing sparkly red dancing shoes.)

Sometimes I wonder if the picnics and hikes are worth all the effort. It's a lot of work to pack up and then clean up afterwards. But when we're in the great outdoors, something memorable usually happens, like the tree climbing on this trip. I think that makes it worth it, even if I have to go home and take a nap afterwards!

Desert Destination: Golden Spike National Historic Site

 With our son's love of trains and a desire to see as many National Park Service units as we can, we headed to Golden Spike National Historic Site over Memorial Day weekend. It's open seven days a week (important to know in trip planning, as so many places are closed on Sundays in Utah). It's about an hour's drive from Ogden, Utah. The first "Golden Spike" sign we saw was not inspiring, so I felt relieved when I saw this cool park sign.

 From the visitor center we could see the two engines, Jupiter from the Central Pacific Railroad and Engine 119 from the Union Pacific Railroad out on the tracks, gleaming in their recreated glory to celebrate the meeting of the Transcontinental Railroad. This was a key moment in our nation's history, as it reduced travel time to get from the East Coast to the West Coast from weeks or months (by horse and wagon or sailing around Tierra del Fuego) to about six days.

 The original engines were used as freight engines after the historic meeting, then later scrapped for about $1000. So the engines out there today are not originals, but they have been rebuilt to the original specifications.

The attention to detail is fantastic. I had to point out the flag to Desert Boy and ask him if he noticed any difference between it and the one at the visitor center. He didn't quite see that there were a lot fewer stars on the 1869 flag.

Every day during the summer Golden Spike has steam demonstrations, starting up the engines. They said Jupiter has a square wheel (something I don't quite understand), so they were only using the 119.


The ranger warned us it could be noisy. (Desert Girl's fashion choices amuse me every day.)


We all stood back as engine 119 departed.

 Then it chugged onto a siding near the visitor center, then backed up and returned to its starting place. The demonstration was just the right length to keep the kids interested. On Saturdays they do a reenactment of pounding in the golden spike (there were actually four spikes pounded in the ceremony).


We tried for a family photo. Some day the kids will appreciate these, even if they don't at the time we're taking them!


Then it was time for Desert Girl to work on her Junior Fireman booklet (ages 3-5) and Desert Boy to work on his Junior Ranger booklet (ages 6-12). They both had quite a few activities, which meant that we learned more than we would have without doing them!

Next it was time to get the books checked and get their badges. It was the first badge Desert Girl had earned, so she was mighty proud.

From there we went to take the West Auto Tour route, but for some unknown reason, it was closed. I would have liked to have continued on to the Spiral Jetty, but we were in our van and the road becomes high clearance for the last three miles, and I really didn't want to walk with two kids that were starting to get whiny.

So we turned back and took the East Auto Tour Route, which follow along the old railbed.

 From the drive we could see the flats with their occasional pools of water. This is quite a desolate spot, and if it weren't for the meeting of the railroads, very few people would come out this way.

 Can you see the two cuts in the photo above? The two railroad companies built miles of parallel track to increase the amount of government land they received. Finally, Congress put a stop to it and declared they would meet at Promontory Summit. Nevertheless, the land still bears the tales of this competition nearly 150 years later.

 We stopped so Desert Girl could climb by the Chinese Arch. It was difficult to get and keep railroad workers during the construction, as mining enticed many would-be workers with promises of quick gold. The Chinese were instrumental in completing the railroad.

 Desert Girl doesn't care if she's wearing a dress, she'll still climb.

 Life is good.

After leaving Golden Spike, instead of turning back towards the Interstate, we turned the opposite direction and drove about a mile. I had read on the blog Tips for Family Trips about the ATK rocket display and figured that might be fun.

 My husband was absolutely enthralled! Desert Boy had fallen asleep, so Desert Girl and I wandered around. She wasn't too excited about rockets, but she really, really liked the pink rocks.

 She also like balancing on the curb (clutching the rocks and with her new badge attached). It's nice when we can all find something to be happy about!

A Jaunt through the Woods

 Back in mid-May I took the kids and their friend Charlie for a quick hike on the trail between Grey Cliffs and Baker Creek Campground in Great Basin National Park. It was a cold day, so we had to bundle up, but we were all eager to get outdoors.

 I had my camera in tow and took a lot of flower photos. A lot. But I'll refrain from posting them all and just include a couple of the best, like this beautiful Erigeron (fleabane--such an ugly name for such a beautiful flower!).

 This short trail has a fun bridge on it. Bridges are always fun.

 We stopped and took a closer look at these tent caterpillars (at least I think that's what they are) on the rose bushes. I was surprised how many tents were there, and when I got closer I saw the caterpillars crawling. The kids loved that!

 Charlie and Desert Boy puzzled over the huge skeleton under a pinyon pine. They examined the very large hoof, and with some help determined that it was an elk skeleton. A few years ago a mountain lion killed it, and it's so cool to still see the remains. The reminder of the mountain lion makes me tell the kid to stay close enough that they can see me.

 We progress further up the trail to a huge meadow with a pyramidal contraption in it. I know it's part of an old grazing study, but the kids decide it's a trap. They take long sticks to poke whatever might be in it.

After a long snack break, we head the short distance up to the trailhead. We get to it and I tell the kids we can turn around.

 They take off running down the trail. I guess I hadn't worn them out enough!

 I really like the aspens with their newly leafed-out appearance. They seem so gentle and romantic. The kids actually pause long enough that I can take their photo.

Okay, one more flower photo, a shrub with reddish bark that is now bright with white flowers: Saskatoon serviceberry.

Just thinking about what other flowers makes me want to grab my camera and head back in the woods. In fact, we're going to do that in just a couple hours. Have a great weekend and week, and I hope you can get out and enjoy some wildflowers!

Come to the Color

So many flowers are blooming right now. I feel like I'm seeing old friends as I recognize them. Some flowers are new to me, and they become new friends. I'm a bit behind in identifying some, but I do try to take lots of photos so I can eventually learn their names.

As I was driving to work this week, I spotted cactus blooms from Plains Pricklypear Cactus (Opuntia polyacantha). Flowering cacti have a special place in my love for flowers. The contrast between the prickly, mean cactus pads and the beautiful, delicate blossoms is something I will never be able to fully comprehend. But I can enjoy them, so I braked and went over for a closer look.

  I quickly saw that I wasn't the only one attracted to the colorful flowers. Bumblebees buzzed from one flower to another, and upon closer inspection, I could even see the pollen sticking to the bees hairs.


Flies and beetles wandered around the petals. National Pollinator Week is June 17-23, but I'm already appreciating our wonderful pollinators! I've planted native flowers in my yard to try and encourage even more pollinators to come visit.

 I was surprised to see this little spider hiding out in the cactus flower. What was it doing? Eating some of the insects that were attracted to the flower? Maybe visiting beautiful flowers isn't quite as peaceful as we think!

 I've been developing a better appreciation for spiders as I get ready for the Great Basin National Park Arachnid BioBlitz, to be held July 8-10. If you want to learn more about spiders and other arachnids, this is an event you won't want to miss!

I've got to go--so many wildflowers to go and visit this weekend!