Our New Train Project

 Desert Boy and I were talking one morning over breakfast, and not surprisingly, the subject of trains came up. He talk about trains usually several times a day, but this particular morning he added in an adjective that gave me an idea and made me want to learn more.

We looked online to see if we could find a map of Amtrak routes that go near national parks. We found AmtraktoParks.com, which had some neat features. But we wanted to do something a little different. So I found an old map of the United States and we taped it to a big piece of cardboard.

 Next I drew all the Amtrak routes on the map in red. It was fascinating seeing where they followed an Interstate, where they followed a secondary highway, and in a very few places, where they followed no road at all. (And probably historically speaking, the railroad tracks were in many of those places before the roads were.)

Then we covered the whole thing with plastic Saran wrap, as Desert Girl was trying to abscond with the markers any chance I wasn't looking and add her own train routes. Desert Boy was pleasantly drawing volcanoes and other things he wanted to see on the excess cardboard around the map.

 We still wanted to do more to the map, such as add in some of the destinations, but before we got to that, it was time for a break. Desert Boy got out a couple little train cars and started chugging them around the train routes. He doesn't know many of the state names, but I think he might start picking up a few as time goes on, especially when the trains crash into each other. ("Caution, train crash in Texas. Please take alternate route.")

This is definitely a work in progress. It's been quite fun for all of us (except Desert Girl when the markers were taken away). It's also made me think about some possible vacations that could include the words "All Aboard!"

Winter Bike Riding

 It's been such a mild winter that we've gotten in a fair bit of bike riding. Desert Boy can really roll.

 Since the only paved roads in town are state highways and we don't have any sidewalks, it's nice to have an option where we don't have to worry about traffic so much. (I really think a sidewalk/bike path from one end of town to the other would be awesome!)

 Desert Boy is often off-kilter and I wonder if he's going to manage to stay upright, but somehow he manages to pull it off. He's got a really good sense of balance.

 Even the mountains don't have much snow on them! I'm supposed to help with a snow survey tomorrow, and we'll measure just how much snow there is.

Desert Boy's learned that one extra item is useful for winter riding: gloves. It might not be too cold, but it's cold enough to want a little protection!

Moon, Venus, and Jupiter

This was the sight to the west just a little while ago: a crescent moon with Venus hanging out a little below, with Jupiter looking down on them. It was noteworthy because all three are so bright! Tomorrow night (Sunday), Jupiter will be about even with the moon soon after sunset. You can learn more about what's coming in the night sky here.

And although I tried various camera settings I didn't get a very good photo. Fortunately Sky & Telescope offers a free astrophotography primer. Here's hoping for some warm nights to try out various settings!

Four-Year Old Attitudes

The other day we were fortunate to have Ava and Isaac come over for a play date. I get a kick out of watching the kids' interactions. At lunch time Desert Boy and Ava were delighted to have their own little table and they had quite the conversation.

First Ava got to say her piece.

It looks like Desert Boy had a different opinion.

I think he thought if he stared hard enough, he could get Ava to change her mind. Somehow, I don't think that would work. They're both stubborn kids!


It all ended well and they moved on to the next point of discussion.


Meanwhile the little kids were just peachy-happy eating their lunch. They don't have such long conversations--yet!

Then it was time to go play on the gravel pile in our driveway. Again there were some serious discussions and battles over who's in charge.

Ava finally decided she had more important things to do.

 We went over to Jenny's and the kids still had lots of energy, so we headed to the trampoline to wear them out. Jenny showed off some of her trampoline tricks. Cool!

Wow, those kids sure have a lot of energy! It was a fun day, and it's nice to try and have them wear each other out, because they do a much better job of it than I do!

Train Cafe--Nephi, UT

 We had so much fun at a train cafe a few weeks ago. When we were coming home from the city and my husband mentioned that there was a train cafe on the way, we jumped at the opportunity. It's J.C. Mickleson's in Nephi, Utah. We've been through Nephi quite a few times, but with the restaurant at the other end of town, I had just never been there. (Plus they don't say anything about the trains on their website--they should!)

As soon as we walked in, we knew that we were in the right place. We immediately saw lots of trains, some elevated above our heads. (I was trying out a new gizmo with a camera, hence the somewhat fuzzy photos.)

 We could watch the trains the entire time we were eating. (Or in Desert Girl's case, the entire time she was applying spaghetti to her face and clothes.)

 This was the view from our table of the very long freight train.

 We tried to get Desert Boy to count the cars, but he lost interest somewhere in the twenties.

The freight train even had construction equipment and tractors. It made a big impression!

I'm thinking we will be back to the Train Cafe sooner rather than later!