A Snowy Train Ride

We headed to the East Ely Depot on a cold, snowy Saturday morning to ride the train. It was the annual food train, where you donate food and then get to ride the train. The bad weather deterred some people from riding the train, but we just added extra layers.

Desert Girl looked at her brother for guidance on this adventure. Desert Boy is an old hand at train rides. Well, at least for a three-year old.

Each train in the car had a wood stove in it, but it was still a little chilly. So I put Desert Girl in her warm oversuit.

Oh my goodness, can she get any more adorable? She garnered lots of attention from other train rides and the conductors.

She was pretty good at hamming it up.

Desert Boy enjoyed hamming it up, too.

He was in charge of the tickets.

It wasn't snowing much as we left the station and went on the tracks along the side of town. I wanted to get some different photos from the last time we took this route, last November. I think I mostly succeeded. Even though it was cloudy and cold last year, the views looked a bit different.

One thing I hadn't noticed last time were the city stables. Farm animals aren't allowed inside the city limits of Ely, so anyone who wants to have horses (or other large animals) can put them here.

We saw Dale at the train crossing, waving to everyone on the train. It was fun to wave back.

The Renaissance village was all decorated, and we hope we can visit sometime soon to enjoy the festivities there.

The passenger cars were also decorated in Christmas decor, which became obvious when we went through a tunnel and the little lights brightened the car.

Last time I wasn't fast enough to get a photo of the ore cars that were placed in the ravine to help stabilize the banks, but this time I got the shot I want.

The old West town looked forlorn in the snow. In fact, as we went up the canyon, it snowed harder and harder.

The fake cemetery has some amusing epitaphs.

It was a cold and snowy scene from the train.

Desert Boy really wanted to see the snow plow train, but it wasn't that snowy.

On the way back we amused ourselves with treats and photos.

Desert Boy even took a photo of Desert Girl and me that came out well.

It was a fun train ride, and we're already looking forward to our next excursion. The train holds many Polar Express rides during the next month that include visits to the North Pole to see Santa Claus. To find out more, check out the Nevada Northern website.

Winter--or is it spring--wonderland

We woke yesterday morning to gorgeous winter scenery. We were happy for the moisture, but the cold temperatures weren't so appreciated, especially because it was April.

The plants have started greening up, although it was a bit hard to tell under all the snow. The forecast was for warming temperatures throughout the day, so I figured the snow wouldn't last for long.

And I was right. On the way back from town, most of the desert snow had melted off.

I was amazed to see so much water in Sevier Lake. Usually this is a dry lakebed, with only the appearance of water from desert mirages under the broiling heat of the sun. I nearly got stuck trying to get this photo, as the sides of the road were very mushy from all the snowmelt. Oops. Fortunately I got back on the pavement after doing a little spinning.

Storm clouds started building on the way home, and we even got another squall with more snow. Fortunately it's supposed to be nice weather for Easter weekend.

Now that I've give you the weather report, are you ready for the traffic report?

Here it is: No delays expected.

Future Olympian in Training

Watching the Olympics has our competitive juices flowing. Plus Desert Boy got a cute athletic outfit from his great-aunt and the weather has been better. Mix all that together, and we are raring to go outside! We offered Desert Boy the sled for his Olympic practice, but he declined. I guess he didn't think we had enough snow to make it work.

Or maybe he realized how Eurocentric the Olympics are. When thinking about this post, I was contemplating that we are watching the Winter Olympics, yet it is winter for only half the earth. For the other half, it's summer. Do the people in the southern hemisphere feel slighted? I think I would. What is Rio de Janeiro going to call the Summer Olympics when they hold them in winter? Hmm...deep thoughts...

I don't have too many deep thoughts on this blog, but I figured it would be totally okay if Desert Boy was practicing for the Summer Olympics in winter, because after all it is summer on half the earth right now. And the sport he's practicing for is biking. It's still not apparent what kind of biking he'll be doing, but for now he's working on being king of the training wheel bicycle competition.

On this particular day we forgot his helmet, but ever since then we've made sure he has it because he crashes so much. He's got a plethora of bumps and bruises to show off, and he proudly shares them as badges of his riding dedication. He's got strong little legs; the first day we took him out he rode nearly two miles. (He also walked a mile when he got stuck with Daddy in the South Meadow. Needless to say, he slept well that night!)

Here's a short video of Desert Boy riding on the pavement that's not too far from our house. Getting to the pavement is a little tricky, but he's getting better at it. I wonder what the kids who live in the northern part of the valley do--some of them have to go over an hour to get to pavement. Yet they still have a school with grades K-12; those kids certainly have a different story about growing up than most everyone else in the U.S.

In this second video, you can see some of the beautiful mountain scenery near us. It's always nice to see snow on the mountains--and have our roads down in the valley clear!

Elk Crossing

I'm cleaning out my photos and found these that I took in December. We were on our way to Ely with a light snow falling when we spotted an elk crossing the road. He was joining some elk on the other side. (I feel like I should have some witty repartee about 'Why did the elk cross the road?' but my brain is functioning rather slowly today. If you can think of something, leave it in the comments!)

The highway department has recognized this area as a deer and elk crossing and even has it posted. If my photo came out better I would send it to them.

One of the most impressive things about elk is just how big they are. They are about double the size of mule deer, with elk cows (females) weighing around 500 pounds and mature elk bulls (males) weighing around 700 pounds. For more info about elk, click here.

Winter Scenes

We haven't been getting out and exploring the desert as much as I would like to this winter, but I did stop and take some winter photos the other day. We haven't had much snow here this winter, it seems the storms dump as they go over the Sierra Nevadas and then split by the time they get here, either going north or south. So when we finally got a little snow last week, it became a winter wonderland.

The birds are really enjoying all the trees that have berries left on them. I even saw a flock of cedar waxwings, which was a treat.

I liked the symmetry of the outdoor amphitheatre at EskDale. During the summer we go to a Fourth of July celebration here. It's almost hard to imagine now.

At the bottom of the amphitheatre is a basketball court. The basketballs look a little lonely right now.

Our latest storm gave us even more snow, and Desert Boy and I had fun playing in it yesterday. We'll be heading out again today to make the most of us before the elusive desert precipitation disappears.

Dinosaur Tracks

Desert Boy got his first pair of snowshoes this Christmas, and yesterday we decided to try them out. The valley is pretty much snowless, so we had to drive up to nearly 7,500 feet in the mountains to find some snow. Unlike our friends and family in other parts of the country, we've been having a snow drought. We want some snow!

The snow was a bit crusty, so there wasn't much give when Desert Boy walked on it. The flip side was that he didn't sink in.

He did quite well for a first time snowshoer, not tripping too much. Of course it helped that most of the time Dad was on one side and Mom on the other.

Stomp, stomp. The tracks didn't come out too great, but we'll try again.

Eventually it was time for Desert Boy to get a ride on the sled. Even dinosaurs get tired.

He didn't want to take his snowshoes off. They look really big when he sits like that!

But eventually his boot fell off. And then he fell out. And then he got cold. And then it was time for the dinosaur to head back down to a lower elevation and warmer weather. It's not easy being a dinosaur!

Playing on Ice

We discovered that although the snow has melted off the meadows near our house, the ditches are still full of ice and snow.

Desert Boy thought the ice was really cool and couldn't wait to go walking on it. Since there's no water running under the ice, we knew it would be safe for him to slide along.

The slippery ice was instant fun.

Desert Boy says, "Follow me!"

He liked it when the ice cracked under him.

You can see how dry everything is--we've had a dry winter so far.

Then we got to a patch of slippery ice and Desert Boy pretended he was an ice skater.

Complete with falling down! It's fun to enjoy the simple things of life.

Happy Second Day of Winter

We're in the middle of a snow storm, which is appropriate for the second day of winter. The good news is that the days are getting longer now!

To celebrate, here are some photos from last weekend, when we went to get our Christmas tree.

Our plan was to drive up high enough in the mountains to get a white fir tree. They are so pretty, and the BLM permit is only $4. But the snow got a little deep.

We drove until the trucks wouldn't go any further, and we were still far from the white firs. So that meant plan B: get out the sleds and have some fun!

Megan is concentrating hard as she pulls two sleds. She is always warm, so that's why her coat is open.

Desert Boy didn't get along with the snow quite as well. He quickly tipped out of his sled and got snow covered and didn't like it.

Sometimes sledding isn't so fun.

Fortunately a little hot chocolate and some cookies can quickly brighten everyone's attitude. Not that you can tell by this photo! I love the grimaces--but they really did feel better soon.

Yum!

My husband found a nice pinyon pine tree and we took that home.

Desert Boy was old enough to help decorate it--at least he was old enough to pick up ornaments and give them to Dad to put on the Christmas tree!