Category: Photo Journal

Firefighters Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser – Good Food for a Good Cause

I recently wrote a post for Sundance Resort’s Blog about their annual Firefighters Pancake Breakfast that was held this past Saturday. It’s a fundraiser that benefits the local North Fork Fire Department, our small emergency services provider. It was great to get to know my community fire fighting force a little better, especially since many of them are volunteers.

My neighbor has been the volunteer fire chief for the North Fork Fire Department for over a decade. Through that position he has trained for thousands of hours on first response, swift water rescue, technical ropes rescue, wildfire prevention and response as well as traditional structure fire response. Car accidents, medical emergencies, avalanche crises, he has dealt with all of these and more, all for free.
Last Saturday as I enjoyed the best pancakes of my life at Sundance Resort, I was happy to support this amazing group of people who work so hard to keep my home and family safe all year long.
Thank you to all the service men and women out there. Your sacrifice is greatly appreciated.

Baby Animal Season at This Is The Place Heritage Park, Salt Lake City, Utah

I love springtime, especially as a mom. Not only does warm weather return, but flowers, gardens, and new baby animals offer countless opportunities to experience the outdoors with my tots.
During spring break I convinced my mom to have a grandma day at This is the Place Heritage Park in Salt Lake City. I had never been there before but had heard that every year they have baby animals come to visit and I wanted to see some cute chicks. So my tots joined their cousins on a fun filled day in the past.


In addition to baby chickens, goats, pigs, donkeys and cattle we watched a rope maker pull rope, pounded prints into leather, learned about trapping and tanning animal skins, panned gold, rode on ponies, splashed in a fountain and took a train ride. I had no idea there was so much to do here!

This is the Place Heritage Park is an outdoor museum with buildings from the 1800s and people dressed in period garb. The location boasts a monument marking Brigham Young’s arrival in the Salt Lake Valley leading Mormon Pioneers in 1847. Reconstructed log cabins, homes, a farm, leather works, and the old Deseret Hospital are available for exploring at this State Park.

Of course my tots enjoyed the baby animals, but they also really liked riding the train and panning for gold. I enjoyed the fluffy chicks as well, but mostly I liked watching my kids’ reactions to them. Spring is the time for all things young and cute, including Big E and little g.

Information:
Park Hours
9:00 – 5:00 Monday – Saturday
10:00 – 5:00 Sunday
Visitor Center Hours
9:00-6:00 Sunday – Saturday
Admission
$11 adults, $8 kids and seniors, Free 2 years and younger Monday-Saturday
$5 adults, $3 kids and seniors, Free 2 years and younger Sunday

For more information click here for the This is the Place Heritage Park website.

Sand Flats Recreation Area, Moab, Utah

As an early Christmas present, Mountain Dad got a Polaris RZR 4 1000. I was skeptical of its usefulness, having never been ATVing or off roading before. But both Mountain Dad and I were amazed at how much fun it is to drive! It’s an awesome mix between a sit on top ATV (all terrain vehicle) and a full sized Jeep – with seating in back for the tots.
Since we got the machine at the beginning of the coldest season of the year, we planned to try it out first in a warm, fun climate. We chose Moab, Utah because with Red Rocks everywhere, it had to be warm, right?
Wrong. The high temperature during our three day trip was a whopping forty five degrees. I was lucky that I grabbed my winter coat at the last minute and that last year’s gloves were still in the pockets.

 

 
The first trail we tried out with the RZR was in Sand Flats Recreation Area, the same area of the famed Slickrock Bike Trail. My sister and brother-in-law came along with their kids which was great. Not only did Big E and little g have playmates, but my brother-in-law Jonathan has more than fifteen years experience off-roading in Moab. 
Per his suggestion, we tried out the Fins and Things 4×4 trail off of Sand Flats Road and had a total blast. While the tots were more interested in climbing on Diving Board Rock, Mountain Dad and I climbed rocks of our own.
 

 
The RZR was really fun and I can’t wait to try it out in a little bit warmer weather.
Trail Info:
Location: Sand Flats Recreation Area – less than five minutes from downtown Moab
Difficulty: Intermediate. Some spots had steep, rocky sections
Time: 1.5 hours

 

Ogden’s George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park, Ogden, Utah

Happy Anniversary Ogden Dinosaur Park! This year marks the 20th anniversary of the George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park in Ogden and the tots and I went to check it out, along with their cousins.

 

 

Ogden Dinosaur Park consists of a museum surrounded by a collection of outdoor dinosaur statues and a children’s playground. Little g and Big E most enjoyed the dinosaur playground where you slide down a Pteradactyl, climb inside a dino skull and run under a Brachiosaurus.
What little g didn’t like were the dinosaur noises sounding in the bushes. She spent most of the time with hands over her ears to block out the noise.
From Triceratops to Brontosaurus we explored the gardens on a quest to find the coolest creature. The kids all decided this was it – Velocoraptor! It was fun to see the dinosaurs in their “natural habitat”.
Inside the museum were fossils, interactive displays and complete dinosaur skeletons. The best part for me was an animatronic T rex and Triceratop family that moved like real dinosaurs did (I imagine). There’s also an area to watch paleotologists brushing, catogorizing and caring for dinosaur bones in real time.
Although the museum was cool, my tots and I visited it as almost an after thought since the outdoor dinosaurs were so fun. It was also cool to see the Halloween decor set up for their Haunted Halloween Carnival. If you’re interested in that you better act fast, October 25 and 26th are the final days!

 

Info:
Price: $7.00 adults, $5.00 kids ages 2-12
Time: 1-3 hours
Tips: Check out their different seasonal activities at www.dinosaurpark.org.