Day 1 - Great Basin Museum

 We were off on vacation last week, and what a wonderful week it was! I'm going to try and squeeze in lots of posts so that our blog book is fairly complete. (Once a year I print the entire blog, and it is such a nice way to keep track of what we did that year.)

Our trip started with driving over the railroad bridge in Delta, UT and seeing the smoke from the nearby mountains fill the sky. This was the Clay Springs Fire, which required the evacuation of nearby Oak City for a night. It's grown to over 108,000 acres. Yikes! Many years, fewer than 100,000 acres burn in the Great Basin. Now just one fire has topped that. The fire costs $4.5 million to date.

 We couldn't do anything about the fire, so we headed to the Great Basin Museum, which opened at its new location on main street in late May.

 They have a lot more exhibit space, and the kids were happy to get out and take a look.


What caught Desert Boy's attention was a model train on the side. It turned out that this model train showed a replica of the roundhouse at Lynndyl, which is located a bit north of Delta. We had never known that there was a roundhouse there.

 It turns out sleepy Lynndyl used to be not-so-sleepy. It was the biggest Union Pacific terminal between Omaha, Nebraska and Los Angeles. The original Lynndyl Roundhouse was 8 stalls, and this was enlarged to 19 stalls about 1920.

They had an aerial image of the roundhouse, which looked amazing, so I decided we would look for it on Google Earth when we got home. Here's what we found:

Do you see the roundhouse outline? Desert Boy and I think it's so cool! We hope to take a trip out there some time. It's so exciting learning something new about the area, especially something about trains.

 We also took a look at some old furnishings.

 This chemistry set caught my eye. We still have a couple of these hanging around the ranch.

 The trilobite collection was extensive, as one of the world's best places for collecting trilobites is only about 30 miles from Delta.

 The glowing rocks were a huge hit with the kids.

Grant helped Desert Boy with the old switchboard.

We're going to have to go back to take more time to look at everything. I'm really glad they were able to move the museum to main street, as they should have lots more traffic now. So if you're in the area, take some time to see the Great Basin Museum!

Friends, Mather Overlook, and a Hike

 One of my best friends from high school, Alison, and her family came to visit a couple weeks ago. We decided to go up the scenic drive in Great Basin National Park and hike the subalpine trails. On the way, we stopped at Mather Overlook.

 This memorial for Stephen Mather (1867-1930) says "He laid the foundation of the National Park Service defining and establishing the policies under which its areas shall be developed and conserved unimpaired for future generations. There will never come an end to the good that he has done."

Stephen Mather was the first director of the National Park Service. This memorial was stolen but later recovered (on eBay, I believe), and now is solidly reinstated to the overlook which bears his name.

 The views from the overlook are gorgeous, with the stately Wheeler Peak topping a 1,000+ foot tall cliff.

 Some recently installed telescopes make it fun to look in detail.

 Desert Boy could barely reach, but he was certain he wanted to try.

Then it was time to go up to the lakes loop.

 Desert Boy liked any obstacles he could find. He enjoyed having a new hiking partner.

 We were all glad when we got to Stella Lake.

 Desert Girl was happy to pose.

 Desert Boy launched some 'boats.'

 Desert Boy really wanted to go swimming, so I told him to go ahead. I don't think he quite made it up to his knees when he decided it was too cold.

 Meanwhile Desert Girl decided she had to go swimming, too.

 Desert Boy put his clothes back on, tried to retrieve some of his 'boats,' and promptly fell into the lake. Sigh.

 Desert Girl managed to stay dry enough that when we found this snow drift she was ready to play in it. She even tried to make a snow angel.

 She really liked having new friends to hike with.

 Still, the hike was long for her little legs, and she had a long rest on the trail. I hiked with the kids back to the vehicle while Alison and her family went on to the bristlecones. We passed several people heading up there for the wonderful afternoon light.

We enjoyed that light on the way down, showing the creases and folds of the North Snake Range.

It is so good to have friends visit so we can take time to enjoy our own backyard. Sometimes it's easy to lose sight of what a wonderful place this is!

More Snake Valley Festival Photos

I was going to separate out the different events of the Snake Valley Festival, but that might take me forever to get posted, and I already have other things I need to catch up on posting. Instead, you can see some photos at the Festival website. But I can't just leave it at that. Here are some (okay, A LOT of ) different ones that are also a lot of fun. If you missed the festival this year, be sure to save the third weekend in June for 2013 and come out and have some fun!

 A yard sale!! That's reason enough for big excitement out here. This one is name-your-own-price.

 Jenna was sent out to round up some more business.

 We took a few plants home with us. And a few books.

 The kids got new water bottles and then we filled them with delicious lavender lemonade. The water bottles are only $3 from the Western National Parks Association bookstores.

 The parade entries were diverse and creative.

 Lots had a water theme, as the proceeds from the festival support the Great Basin Water Network.

 This Waterloo Boy was so cool! They brought it down from Gandy to show, and I'm so glad they did!

 We had a special appearance in the parade.

 The Garrison Fire Department showered the willing crowd.

 Brandon did a good job walking.

 The NCC Crew had a lot of energy, even after working on trails all week!

 As I was walking down the street I finally found the kids.

 They were hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa.

 Watch out King Kong, looks like you might get squeezed!

 I guess King Kong survived, because now it looks like he's going to get the trumpet player. Watch out!

 No Snake Valley parade is complete unless it has some farm equipment.

 I found the kids trying to talk Grandpa out of some money at the Carnival booths.

 Looks like they succeeded!

 Here's Desert Boy climbing up past T. Rex to King Kong.

 Then it was on to some painting. Kids love to paint!

 Somehow they managed to stay clean. I'm really not sure how.

These are some of the beautiful gourds they painted.

 
 They also played some games.

 Carol chatting with Mike Prince, a cowboy poet who provided some entertainment during the Festival.

 Hmmm...

 Lots of people browsed the silent auction.

 Then it was time for the water fight.

 Ava was drenched. So was everyone. Anyone who ventured onto the playing field got soaked.
It felt good.

 Desert Girl's first experience with cotton candy. She couldn't finish it all.

 More King Kong slide!

 Then it was time for a delicious dinner at the Border Inn.

 Isaac and Desert Girl hung out.

 Isaac really wanted Desert Girl's sucker and she wasn't willing to share. I love their expressions!

 The auction came next, and you-know-who was in attendance.

 There were some humorous moments during the auction.

 Then it was back to the Carnival. I don't think I can express adequately how much fun it was.

 Isaac was tuckered out.

 The ladder was a huge hit, and everyone in our family did it. Here's my husband.

 Desert Boy made it to the top.

 Desert Girl did quite well and wanted to make sure everyone was watching.

 Jenny.

 My husband and Desert Boy on the Scrambler. I rode it once and decided it had scrambled me sufficiently.

 Desert Girl went back to the ladder and ended up with some really static-y hair.

 The next morning we dragged ourselves out of bed to go run a race. At least I was planning to run, with my husband and the kids as cheerleaders.

 Helpers. Thank you!

 Beautiful sisters.

 Brandi and Ben. Brandi ran a really awesome race!

 And we're off!

 I quickly took my place at the back of the pack.

 Getting some water before I do the second loop to complete the 10k. I wasn't real fast, but I did it!

What a fun weekend! And if you made it all the way through this post, congratulations. Now take a well-earned break!