What Happens in Utah

Nicole and Chay went on the Stake 3 day Pioneer Trek that takes place every 4 years.

Nicole was a Ma this year and Chay has been looking forward to going since Nicole went 4 years ago.

What I found interesting was that the bag given to Nicole to pack her Pioneer supplies was a coffee bag.

About to head out....6:30 am.

Why is it that locals don't see some of the local tourist sites?

The Golden Spike, the location where the last spike was placed in the railroad which joined the East and West, is located about 1.5 hours from Salt Lake City. I decided that we needed to see some of the local attractions.

The entrance takes you right into the gift shop and that's always a good time.

The kids were playing with flip books that made the pictures move like a movie. I remember doing the same thing with my siblings when we were young and on vacation. (And doing these short trips really do feel like we're on vacation)

...not a pioneer trek but, Blade needed to lift the wagon to get a feel for it.

This is how it looks when I just take the picture in the bright sun...

(I suggest enlarging the pictures to get a better look)

This is how it looks when I do the "1-2-3" before I take the picture and everyone knows when to open their eyes and look.

These are trains from California and Nebraska that met at Promontory Point.

The "West" train.

This wasn't acting for Blade...he was telling me to hurry because he was scared. (He knows that when Mom tells him to do something for a picture...he better do it. It was Chay's idea, and it was a good one)

The tie between Chay and Blade is the last tie that was laid. It's lacquered and all nice.

The traditional making of a souvenir penny.

Then we went on a walking trail where the original railroad was.

The gravel pile at the beginning was BIG fun.

Leave it to the oldest to kick rocks off the edge to risk a rock slide...

The fun slide down for each one.

While walking the trail, we actually came upon old spikes.

It's a National Park so we didn't keep any of the spikes.

This was a weird request by Nicole but Chay was willing to participate. The plan was that Nicole was going to spit her gum out and Chay was going to catch it.

Don't worry, Nicole was laughing so hard that she couldn't get a "good" spit out and so there wasn't any gum for Chay to catch.

Blade found a splinter and Chay was working hard to get it out. The surgery was unsuccessful so Blade still has it in his palm.

Other things on my list of things to do this summer are see the Copper Mines near Draper, Timponogas Caves, and do a hike or two. And in the near future I would like to go to the Grande Canyon and some of the Canyons in Southern Utah.

I'll keep you posted...