Goldilocks (6/20/24)

 Sitting in the camper with the air conditioner running literally all day is not our idea of fun (its very noisy) so for our next move we looked for some place cooler. And boy, did we find it. Moving north towards Salt Lake City is our game plan and since we loved Cedar Breaks National Monument when we were there, we headed that way again.

There is dispersed camping just outside the national monument, and we picked out a really nice spot. Being at 10,000 feet, the weather is totally different than Vegas.. It was sunny, but a little too windy and cool to sit outside. There were even pockets of snow near our campsite. Our intent the following day was to do a hike, but the wind was still whipping, and it was Cold! 

We elected to drive some back roads in the Bronco instead. That night the furnace ran a lot, and we realized the temperature had dipped into the 20s.

I felt like Goldilocks at this point. First it was waaaaaay too hot, then it was waaaaaay too cold. Time to move on, again.

Our next stop was Provo Utah, where we met up with our friends Liz and Randy, who were staying at the Elks lodge. Since they were busy entertaining their granddaughter, we took off for the nearby mountains to explore.

We had two goals- one was to hike and another was to drive the scenic road, looking for potential places to camp in the camper. But first we stopped at the visitor center for Timpanogos Cave National Monument.  Before we even got inside we were approached by someone who asked if we were doing a cave tour. Of course, we had no idea that there even IS a cave tour. He explained what it was and offered us free tickets because he had overbought for his family reunion. That changed our plans, but that’s ok too.

The cave tour begins with a 1.5 mile hike up a paved trail. There is 1100 feet of gain, so they give you an hour and a half to do it. 

It was pretty warm that day so by the time we got to the top, we were ready for the 45 degree cave. 

It is actually three caves, which have been connected with tunnels. We have been in many caves so this one was just ok for us, but the price was right.

One of the people we met in the RV park told us about a nearby museum (Richard W Erickson Foundation Antique and Classic Power Museum) that they thought was pretty awesome, so we decided to check it out. When we arrived, the place looked closed, but we parked the Bronco and walked around. It was acres of open air, and lots of buildings.

A few minutes later we ran into the owner, who had seen our car and was looking for us. Turns out the museum is really only open a few times a year for special events, or by appointment, which we didn’t have. She was gracious enough to show us around for an hour or so.  Her dad had owned the property and started collecting vehicles of all sorts, many years ago. 

He left a trust hefty enough to take care of the property. There were probably a dozen buildings, each holding a particular kind of nostalgia…one building is bicycles, one is race cars, etc. After a couple of hours we said goodbye to Pam, with the promise of sending her a few things we think she needed from our collection of stuff in the garage.

Before leaving the area we reached out to one of Paul’s (second? first cousin once removed?) cousins on his mom’s side.  We had an awesome dinner with Lori and her husband Rick, but of course, I took no pictures.  Paul wanted to pass along to Lori all the memorabilia he had about the cabin in West Yellowstone that has been in the family for generations.  Lori and her family still spend time at the cabin every summer.

The main reason for our visit to Salt Lake City, was to fulfill Paul’s parents last wishes.

Once they both passed, they wanted their ashes to be buried together in their plot in Salt Lake City.

Paul’s grandparents and great grandparents are also buried here.

They wanted no service of any sort, so it was just Paul and I, doing what they asked.

Our last afternoon was spent at a house on Murphy’s Lane in Salt Lake City. We have visited this house before, with Paul’s mom, but that time, there was no one home. This time there was.

The house used to belong to Paul’s great aunt and uncle, Alla and Tom Mulhall. At that time there was a house and a cottage. The cottage is now gone but the house has been restored very meticulously.   During World War II Paul’s mother and grandmother lived in the cottage while Paul’s grandfather, James Vegene Laird, was away fighting for his country.

Built in 1848, the original owner of the home was Robert Gardner. He and his brother also started the first saw mill in Salt Lake City. In 1928 the house was sold to Paul’s great uncle and aunt, but in 2012 the Gardner family regained possession of it, and decided to restore the house. It is now the oldest house in Utah that sits on its original foundation.

We met Sherril, a member of the Gardner family, because she happened to be staying at the house. Paul had brought whatever documentation he had regarding the house and his family’s part in its ownership, and he gave all of it to Sherril. She, in turn, happily showed us around the property, showing us the restoration that was done.

Our visit to Salt Lake concluded, we continued on our Goldilocks journey, seeking higher (and cooler) ground, in a national forest.

A Slight Detour and then Wyoming! (08-09-17)

So at the last minute we changed our route and our plans.  We were so close to Salt Lake City, we decided to take advantage of the excellent genealogy library there and made a reservation for 3 nights at the local KOA.


  Ordinarily we avoid KOA RV parks because they cater to families and have lots of perks that we don’t care about.  But this KOA has one perk that we DO care about- a shuttle bus to the LDS family research library.




We spent a day and a half doing family genealogy.  Paul and I have both hit a few roadblocks.  He loses the Porter name in 1862 and I decided to work on my Campbell ancestors in Scotland.  Neither of us made much headway but we ruled a bunch of stuff out, so that is progress.






Our last day in town was spent running around. We visited the graves of Paul’s grandparents, and bought new hiking boots at REI.  I love shopping at REI because they have a very generous return policy. I was in the market to replace my “go-to” hiking boots- mid profile, desert boots- not waterproof , so they are cooler and lighter. I literally wore mine out after 6 years.

From REI we drove right to the Millcreek Canyon trailhead and hiked almost 5 miles round trip to an overlook of the city.  It was a good test of my new boots and they were excellent.

Once we were off the trail we headed to Costco to bulk up before heading north. We were really overwhelmed by this store- it was huge!!!! It had a 5 aisle walk in refrigerator, with jackets near the door, so you could borrow one and not be cold while you shopped.

We didn’t realize until we left that this is actually the largest Costco in the world!






From Salt Lake City we drove up to Wyoming. We have a few friends spending the summer in this state, and it was on our agenda to visit them all.

Our first stop was to see Tom and Dianne (the couple on the left), where they are camp hosts, at a small BLM (federal) campground in Pinedale WY.  We took advantage of our friendship and had several things shipped to us at their campground.

  

As a bonus for us, we got to spend some time with Mike and Kathleen.  We had met them before, but this trip we got to know them better, and had an awesome time! They have been full timing for 6 years.







One of our adventures was to a small but very well done museum-The Museum of the Mountain Man.

The Pinedale area has a long history. It was the hub of something  called the Rendezvous, during the height of beaver trade of the 1800s.





While beaver pelts were in high demand for fashionable hats, mountain men  would spend months trapping beaver. Once a year they would meet up with buyers and providers.  They would sell the beaver pelts to the buyers and get the supplies they needed to survive a year, from the providers.




The first Rendezvous was just one day but within a couple of years, they lasted weeks, and became a sort of festival in addition to a way of re-provisioning and selling goods.

Hugh Glass was one of the frontiersman who had a very interesting encounter with a Grizzly bear.  His story was recounted in the movie The Revenant. I haven’t seen the movie yet but after reading about his real life drama, I think I will try to see it.

After many years of beaver hats, suddenly, fashion dictated that hats be made of silk, and the beaver pelt industry died a quick death.










One afternoon, Paul and I explored the other side of the highway from the campground. This gorgeous area is a place where you can fish and/or camp, depending on what you feel like doing.










As we were driving down the gravel road we were on the lookout for wildlife. And then we saw this. We thought they were sign posts of some type.












Upon closer inspection we realized that they were, in fact, a pair of Bald Eagles.  Later in the afternoon we watched them search for fish in the river.














On our last full day in Pinedale, we drove up to Jackson to visit with our good friends, Dave and Nancy. During the summers, they work on the Elk Refuge in Jackson.








The Elk Refuge was created when the townspeople and the Elk came into conflict, in the early 1900s. Every winter the elk migrated through the area, eating the ranchers’ hay and grasses. To keep everyone happy, the refuge was established to feed the elk in the wintertime, when food was scarce.



What that meant for us, is that we saw….. no elk. Although we did see this good looking coyote. The elk only come here in the winter. so yep, no elk for us.












Although Nancy has varied talents and interests, Dave is all about anything mechanical and technical. He spends his days fixing and tweaking anything that has an engine.  Paul was jealous.










We got the V.I.P tour of all the parts of the refuge, including the huge Quonset hut where the alfalfa pellets are stored, waiting for the arrival of the elusive elk.

Nancy and Dave have been here for quite a few summers, and this year Nancy decided to grow her own garden.  We were lucky enough to be the recipients of some extremely fresh lettuce!

Back at the campground we had one more sunset and campfire before moving on…














…next stop-   Yellowstone National Park!!

SLC and LDS (06-05-12)

We had a dual purpose for visiting Salt Lake City. The first was to do our usual exploring, but Paul's mom wanted to visit the city where she spent her teenage years, so she flew in the day after we got there.

Having never seen Great Salt Lake (me, that is), which is surprisingly the largest lake west of the Mississippi river, one of our first outings was to Antelope Island. The views of the lake from the island were excellent, and we spent a few hours thoroughly enjoying the wildlife.

There were quite a few antelope, as well as Pelicans and assorted other birds, but the really fascinating viewing was the bison.

As we drove the scenic loop on the island, we saw quite a few solitary bison and were quite happy with that, but then we came across the whole herd!

We watched as hundreds of Bison came down the nearby hills and headed for the lakefront. Some sauntered, and some literally ran down the hill.  Most of them were cows with their calves, with lots of adolescent males following them. The older bulls are more solitary and tend to keep to themselves. Some of the herd crossed the road right in front of us, allowing us to get a good look at them.

It was a unique experience to be able to watch them for quite a while, in their own element, just “doing their own thing.”

Bison were re-introduced to the island many years ago and the herd has grown to the point that every year, when they round them all up in the spring for their inoculations, they sell off some of the bison to manage the herd size.

  

Temple Square is where you can find out about all things Mormon- or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS). I was extremely impressed with everything about this place. The church provides free shuttle service, innumerable free tours, free access to libraries, the trolley system, museums, the tabernacle, musical programs etc.  There are many missionaries available to answer any and all questions you may have.They give tours in about 20 languages.  And no, no one tried to “convert” us or hassled us in any way at all.  Everyone was smiling and helpful. Wow. It was very clear that they are very willing to teach visitors about who they are and the history of their church.

The gardens in the square are beautiful and make for great place to stroll. There are tons of interesting sculptures.  I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the gold “Angel Moroni” at the top of the Temple, was sculpted by Cyrus E. Dallin. I am familiar with Dallin’s work because he lived in Arlington, the town I grew up in, and several of his sculptures are showcased throughout the town- there is also a library and a school named after him.  I did not know that he also lived in Utah at one time.

Of course, no visit to SLC would be complete without hearing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Our only (slight) disappointment was when we learned the short service, called The Spoken Word, would take place in the Conference Center, due to the crowds that attend in the summer time. Still, the service, and the music, was beyond amazing.

The service takes place on Sunday morning.  The doors open at least an hour before the service, during which time we could listen to the choir practice, and take any pictures we wanted.  Once the service, which is broadcast live on the radio, starts, no more pictures are allowed. 

We actually did still get to see the Tabernacle, and hear the 11,000 pipe organ, when we attended the 2 pm organ recital.

Only church members are allowed in the Temple itself, which is used for religious and enrichment programs.

We headed to “This is the Place” Heritage Park, where we enjoyed the monuments and the small visitor’s center/museum that tells the story about the arrival of the Mormons in Salt Lake City in the mid 1800s.

In the 1840s, the Mormons living in the mid west were persecuted to the point that they began a mass exodus from the state of Illinois and other nearby states. Led by spiritual leader Brigham Young, who had researched potential areas to settle, they took handcarts full of their belongings and headed west. After 1300 miles and over 3 months of traveling, they crested the hill overlooking Salt Lake valley, and Brigham Young declared “This is the right place”.  Over the next 22 years, over 70,000 Mormons made the trek to the Salt Lake area in the largest exodus of a single group in American history.

Paul’s family has been in the Salt Lake area since the early days of Mormon settlement. The medallion on this grave signifies that the person buried there (Paul’s great-great-great Grandfather) was one of the original Mormon pioneers to come across the country.

Driving around Salt Lake City visiting the old family home and gravesites gave us all the genealogy bug. We spent quite a bit of time researching in the Family History Library.  This is an incredibly well run library. As first time researchers, we were shown a movie about what the library has to offer, then we were handed forms to use for the information we found, and were escorted to computers so we could get to work! Paul and his mom worked on their family, with the help of a woman missionary.   I was curious about my dad’s family because  I didn’t know that much about them. I also had someone helping me for the first hour or so. I discovered that after my great-grandfather died, my great-grandmother remarried.  I had no idea! (If you get the bug, familysearch.org is a good place to start)

Before leaving the area, we met up with some of Paul and Gerry’s family for dinner.  Everyone had stories and pictures to share, and we all had a great time!