A Trip Up Lexington Canyon, South Snake Range

 One Sunday in early May we decided to go up Lexington Canyon and check it out. This area burned several years ago, and subsequent flash floods had washed out the road in places. I was surprised to see a culvert back in place and relatively easy travel (meaning we didn't have to use 4 LOW, high clearance and 4 HIGH were sufficient).

We drove to the end of the road on the Lexington Arch spur. ATVs can go farther, but we didn't want to risk damage to our truck, so we got out and walked.

Our new dog was happy to go exploring with us.

Desert Girl is very much into entomology, so she was noticing the colorful beetles.

I was enthralled with the flowers, like this scarlet gilia.

After awhile, we turned around, and Desert Girl wanted to walk back in the old creekbed, so we went over there. To my surprise, we soon saw water emerging from the rocks and were following a little creek.

When we got back to the truck, Desert Boy and I got on bikes and biked down the road. Desert Boy didn't think he was going to like it, but he soon changed his mind.

We stopped periodically to photograph flowers (maybe an Agoseris?)

As we were preparing to cross the creek on our bikes, I heard a rattling. We went back and found a rattlesnake!

Some areas have recovered well from the fire, and others not so great.

My husband and Desert Girl went up the north fork while Desert Boy and I continued whizzing down, almost no pedaling required.

The riparian vegetation is coming back great, especially the cottonwoods and rose.

The wildflowers were gorgeous. Here's a pink penstemon.

We stopped at the cabin and thought about what it would have been to live in this area 120 years ago.

Then to more flowers. (Maybe Penstemon pachyphyllus?)

A buckwheat, I believe.

More penstemon.

And more penstemon.

Here's a view of the culvert. Water was trying to creep around the side, so I don't know how long it will last.

A blue/purple flower, but it's not penstemon!

 This is larkspur.

And something bright and orange to finish: globemallow!

I haven't been to Lexington Arch in years, maybe this will be the year to get there! As you can see, there's lots more to see than the arch in this canyon. 

Upper Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive

The Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive opened to Mather Overlook the beginning of May, and I couldn't wait to go up there. I woke up early one morning and headed up the mountain to enjoy the sunrise.

There were beautiful clouds in the sky, and the sun was just peeking out.

Since the road was closed, I figured it would be a great place for a brisk walk. This sign didn't make it through the winter.

The birds were singing, mountain chickadees, red-breasted nuthatches, Townsend's solitaires, hermit thrushes, and Cassin's finches (below).

I had to walk half a mile before I found enough snow to cover the road, right at the 9,500 mark.

Someone had ridden bikes through the snow and on up the road. That gave me an idea about returning.

I turned around there and headed back down, enjoying the solitude and the views.

I checked out the RAWS Mather Station. It often has some of the highest wind speeds in a couple counties.

On the way down, I had to stop and get a photo of the "Heart of the Mountain."

It was so much fun that we went back up a few days later with friends and bikes.

The kids really enjoyed playing in the snow. I think the adults liked it too!

It's great to be outside!

The road has now opened up to trailheads, so soon we'll be out exploring the trails.

BYU's Paleontology Museum and the Aquarium in Draper

 It turns out I did have more photos from the spring break trip, they were on my phone and I'm not so good about downloading those! And my memory has already slipped, and I don't remember what all we did. (Part of the reason I blog! The search function is awesome to find those memories that are kind of vague.)

One of our first stops was BYU's Paleontology Museum. It's a free museum and has some some great exhibits. And since Desert Girl wants to become a paleontologist (and a marine biologist and an artist and a detective), I thought it would be fun to stop. You can tell by their expressions that the kids had a good time!

 They seem to have got eaten several times.

It was cool watching paleontology students at work.

Then it was time to get eaten again.


Fortunately they survived and we headed over to the Aquarium in Draper. It was our first time there. We enjoyed the variety of exhibits, including some interactive ones.

The jellyfish were magical.

And the huge tank was mesmerizing, with fish slowly swimming by.

Desert Girl was super excited when she spotted a sea turtle, one of her favorite animals.

The sting rays didn't really want to be touched--the docent said that a lot of school groups had already come by that day.

So after a trip to the aquarium, it's only fitting to go eat some sushi, right?

 Desert Boy decided he liked it.

And later we had some Indian food. We're trying to expand our horizons in more ways than one! (Sometimes it's more successful than others.)

Spring Break Trip to Idaho

 It's the last day of May and I'm still trying to finish blogging about April! (Although come to think of it, I still have a post from last fall I never got up, sigh.) For spring break, which was over Easter, we drove up to Idaho to reunite with some friends that had moved away. We had a leisurely drive up, taking two days to do a 6.5 hour drive, which meant we had time for sightseeing. One stop we really enjoyed was the Hill Aerospace Museum near Ogden, Utah.

We had been there before, but the kids didn't really remember it. And there's so much to see, it's worth multiple visits. Desert Girl was ready to give a speech.

A really nice education specialist helped the kids make helicopters, which they then released over and over from the second-floor deck. (Notice Desert Girl's longer hair--she soon got it cut, which she doesn't really like, but which looks really cute on her.)

We arrived at a huge cabin that fit all five families. It was hard to call it a cabin! Desert Boy was wiped out and took a nap.

Fitting food for a long weekend into the refrigerator took some creative organization skills. Everyone brought eggs, so we had more than enough!

It was so fun to chat--often over food or food preparation.

We also had fun dyeing eggs.

And then on Easter morning the kids had to sit on the stairs and wait to be released.

This was one of my favorites--Desert Girl had to rock climb to get to the egg.


After a group photo,


it was time to eat again. We often ate in shifts.

Then it was time for more fun. We really loved Lava Hot Springs, but I didn't manage to get a single photo there. But we spent a whole day soaking in hot water and then playing at the aquatic center. We also built a zipline in the yard and played on that awhile.

I took the kids to church in Soda Springs later in the day on Easter Sunday, and we enjoyed the geyser that goes off every hour on the hour.

The water is just warm, not hot. It makes some beautiful travertine.

On the way back we explored some of the Oregon Trail and also learned about how the lava flows changed the flow of the Bear River. That was something I hadn't really contemplated, and it was fascinating to think about how a big river had totally changed course and stopped flowing to the ocean because of lava.

Desert Girl is near the Bear River at  some cliffs that were a landmark for the early travelers.

The last evening we went for a rambling walk up on the Idaho mountainside.

We saw lots of deer.

And made our way through a recently burned landscape.

I challenged Desert Boy to a race up the mountain. He was feeling energetic, I wasn't, so I just took photos and gave him a $1 for winning. He was happy about that.

The kids are learning some good life skills, like how to get through barbed wire fence.

These girls would love to spend more time together! It was so nice to visit friends we hadn't seen for many months. Hopefully we can get together again before too long.