Biking and Playing in St. George

We had the opportunity to go to St. George, Utah for a few days, so we made sure to pack the bikes, as they have such a terrific urban bike trail system. A different year we had biked to different playgrounds, so the kids were definitely on board with the idea that the biking was fun.

We started at Tonaquint Nature Park and headed upstream, following close to the Santa Clara River.

In about a mile we reached Mathis Park, which has to be among the top five playgrounds I have ever been to. Really, it's that good.

Why?

Well, they have a natural looking climbing wall, for starters.

The playground equipment is unique. And high. And you really don't want your kids falling off it. I didn't mind that Desert Girl kept her bike helmet on.

Did I mention that the playground equipment was unique? Check out this skateboarder-inspired piece. I had to try it out. So did a number of other adults.

One section had some equipment for younger kids, and Desert Girl was eager to climb to the top of this by herself. Twice.

They also had these spinner cups. I got in one and almost couldn't get out, I just kept spinning around. I forced myself out before I threw up. I couldn't walk straight. These are instruments of torture. But some kids (not Desert Girl) really liked them.

Here's a view of some of the equipment from above. The rope bridge led to a little tunnel. The slide was really steep. I know from firsthand experience.

Something else I had to try was this spinning disk. As you walked on it, it moved. It was definitely good for balance practice!

Desert Girl's favorite thing, though, was the megaphone, where she belted out Let It Go.

We had to leave, but the kids made me promise that we would return. I can't wait myself to go back and try out some of the things we didn't have time for.

Later in the day my dear mother-in-law watched the kids and I escaped for an hour-long bike ride. I decided to follow the Virgin River.

The trail wasn't especially busy, and it was such a nice change from being in a vehicle.

I love the bridges!

I checked out a section of trail I hadn't ever been on, and it was lovely.

A part that made me laugh was next to a putting range, where the netting protects the bikers and pedestrians.

If you head to St. George, they certainly have an impressive trail and parks system. They have the map on their website, or you can find paper versions around town.

Playing with Ice

It seems so crazy for it to be the middle of January and we've had weeks of good weather, sometimes in the 50s during the day. Nevertheless, we do have some small patches of ice left, like in the swimming hole. 

Desert Girl and I went and checked out the ice the other day, noting how the darker leaves had melted deep into the ice--and if they had holes in them, little ice protrusions stuck out of the leaf.

So I proposed an experiment. How about we made our own designs on the ice and come back in a couple days and see what happened? Desert Girl agreed and worked on spelling her name.

Well, the wind blew a little, so we didn't get perfect results, but we did find some letters and semi-letters in the ice.

The mud we put on the ice turned out even better, melting about an inch down.

I let Desert Girl take some photos. She likes to do that a lot.

Another favorite activity is breaking ice.  

Or throwing huge chunks of ice onto other ice or into water so you can get splashed with ice cold water. Who says we don't know how to have fun out in the country? Ha, ha

While the kids kicked and threw and splashed, I took photos. Ice is fascinating.

Enjoy each season to its fullest!

Random Photos

 I was going through my January photos and found a few I'd like to share. I went out to the Baker Archeological Site to try and get a photo of the full moon setting, but it turned out to be cloudy. That meant it was a gorgeous sunrise!

One day I saw a beautiful red-tailed hawk on a pole. I've seen lots of them, rough-legged hawks, immature bald eagles, and golden eagles this winter.

We had a couple mornings with inversions. It was really neat driving up the mountain and exiting the cold air layer and breaking out of the clouds. From higher up, it looked like giant white lakes had invaded the valleys.

I had Desert Girl check out a bird with binoculars. Do you think she saw anything?

1882 Winchester Rifle Discovered in Great Basin National Park

Back in November, the archeologist for Great Basin National Park, Eva Jensen, made an amazing discovery: she spotted an old rifle set against a juniper tree. She was able to read the serial number, which allowed her and her colleagues to find out that the rifle was made in 1882 by the Winchester Corporation.

Last week, this information and some photos were put on the park's Facebook page, and it went viral. It was interesting to see how the news spread so quickly to major newspapers and networks. It didn't even stay in the U.S., I had it come up on BBC News feed, and as you can see on the list below, the Irish Independent deemed it worthy to include.

The park's Facebook page gained 3,000 likes in a week, and hundreds of people speculated on how the rifle had come to be left there. We may never know, but it sure is fun to think about.

1. 

   1882 Winchester rifle found in remote area of Nevada national park

   The Seattle Times-15 hours ago

   The Winchester rifle manufactured in 1882 was found leaning against a juniper tree on a rocky outcrop in Great Basin National Park during an ...

   Researchers puzzled by discovery of 1882 Winchester rifle
   SFGate-2 hours ago

   1882 Winchester rifle found leaning on tree in Nevada mountains
   New Haven Register-13 minutes ago

   Prized 1882 rifle blended into tree
   Irish Independent-13 hours ago

   Mysterious rifle may have been propped against tree for over 100 ...
   CTV News-25 minutes ago

   1873 Winchester rifle found leaning against tree in Nevada's Great ...
   Blog-Sacramento Bee (blog)-Jan 16, 2015

   

   Irish Independent

   

   Sacramento Bee (blog)

   

   CTV News

   

   National Post

   

   Chattanooga Times Free Press

   

   Deseret News

   Explore in depth  (194 more articles)
2. 

   Researchers puzzled by discovery of 1882 Winchester rifle in ...

   WXYZ-13 hours ago

   RENO, Nev. (AP) - Researchers are trying to crack the mystery surrounding the discovery of a weathered, rusted Winchester rifle in the ...
3. 

   Abandoned 1882 rifle sparks archaeological quest in Nevada

   Los Angeles Times-Jan 17, 2015

   There it was, abandoned for the ages, propped up against a juniper tree in far-eastern Nevada's Snake Mountains, a Winchester Model 1873 ...

   132-year-old rifle found leaning against tree in Nevada 'where it was ...
   In-Depth-Telegraph.co.uk-Jan 16, 2015

   Explore in depth  (165 more articles)
4. 

   Researchers Puzzled by 1882 Winchester Rifle Found in Nevada ...

   CNSNews.com-17 hours ago

   This image provided by the Great Basin National Park shows a Winchester Model 1873 rifle found in Nevada. The gun made in 1882 was found ...
5. 

   1882 Winchester rifle found in Great Basin National Park

   KSL.com-Jan 15, 2015

   1882 Winchester rifle found in Great Basin National Park ... The rifle was found and recovered by park archaeologists in November, according ...
6. 

   Winchester rifle made in 1882 found propped up against tree

   KVAL-Jan 16, 2015

   Winchester rifle made in 1882 found propped up against tree. By News ... Great Basin National Park workers found a 132-year-old Winchester ...
7. 

   Discovery of Winchester rifle from 1882 puzzles experts

   The Columbian-12 hours ago

   A Winchester rifle made in 1882 was found in November propped against a juniper tree in Great Basin National Park, Nev., during an ...
8. 

   Researchers puzzled by discovery of 1882 Winchester rifle in Terrific ...

   USA DAILY NEWS-12 hours ago

   National Park Service This image shows a Winchester Model 1873 rifle located in Nevada. The gun produced in 1882 was found propped ...
9. 

   Winchester 1882 Rifle Discovered

   Montana Standard-Jan 16, 2015

   We provide this community forum for readers to exchange ideas and opinions on the news of the day. Passionate views, pointed criticism and ...
10. 

    132-Year-Old Winchester Rifle Found At Great Basin National Park

    National Parks Traveler-Jan 13, 2015

    Winchester Model 1873 rifles hold a prominent place in Western ... price to $25 in 1882 and were accessible and popular as “everyman's” rifle.

The Home Basketball Game is Only an Hour Away

 A couple weeks ago we went to the home basketball game. That meant driving an hour on dirt roads to the West Desert high school, which must be one of the most remote schools in the country. It only has about nine students in grades 7-12. Because that doesn't give them many players for sports, they teamed up with their nearest rivals, EskDale, located an hour away. Somehow they've been able to make this split school team work well, having won several games.

West Desert has a regulation-size gym, and we eagerly shared the bleachers with family and friends, some who had driven an equal or longer distance from the other direction.

This was the first basketball game for Desert Girl and Desert Boy. They were interested for awhile.

 There was really good attendance, as you can see by the nearly full bleachers.

It didn't take long for Desert Girl to want to go play.

Meanwhile, I was having some fun trying to capture action shots as the Hawks and Eagles played.

The Hawks won the game. Then we went into the cafeteria and enjoyed a $5 dinner put on by the PTO. It was tasty, and much appreciated, since we then had an hour drive home.

The Deseret News had a long article recently about the West Desert basketball team that is a great read and helps explain some of the adaptations to living in a remote place.