Our first Pioneer Day

Utah's state holiday was officially celebrated yesterday but kicked off for us last week with a neighborhood parade complete with bag pipes and tractors. Since then there's been nightly rodeos, fireworks, and other small town festivities.

Pioneer Day marks the entrance of settlers into the Salt Lake basin. The overwhelming majority of those were Mormons but it is possible to enjoy many of the fun events without being LDS; kind of like more than Christians celebrate Christmas.

When you dig a little deeper though this state holiday is a little unusual. I can't imagine the state of New Mexico, for instance, celebrating the arrival of Anglos. Pioneer day is only possible in Utah because the culture here is so monolithic. The "Taste of the Town" event in our city last night was attended by at least a thousand, with very few exceptions all of those were the same ethnicity.

The history of the man who led the Mormons into Utah is also not something many would hold up as worthy of celebrating. Brigham Young had as many as 55 wives, held a number of uncouth views, and by some accounts attempted to start his own country called Deseret in the western region of America.

But this state holiday, like others, appears to be largely a secular event and so even interracial, non-LDS families like mine can enjoy it.

Utah beauty

This evening's view from the deck.

Southern Utah

We spent the long weekend making good memories at Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park. Some pictures, in no particular order.

Zion National Park
"The Narrows" of Zion where the Virgin River has carved out a slot canyon
Bryce Canyon's HooDoos
This tunnel was one of Zeke's favorite features of the vacation. Constructed in the 1930s, it was quite the engineering marvel of the day. It stretches over a mile long with several galleries (large "windows") that present stunning views of Zion's peaks.

Fishing at Duck Creek Pond
Some more pictures at Bryce


Campfire at the cabin in Duck Creek Village

Our first family hike in Utah

The temps broke into the 70s this weekend so we enjoyed some of the nearby Rocky Mountain scenery. After an easy hike around the lake we got to the real reason for the expedition--dinner at The Oaks. Nestled along the bank of the Ogden River, this is a delightful place for a casual dinner and dessert.

A visit to Salt Lake

The Great Salt Lake has no outlet and so the mountain water that finds it way to the lake eventually evaporates leaving the shallow lake water that remains two to five times as salty as the ocean.

One prominent sign in the Visitors Center declares, "Not everything is dead", which wins the prize for most morbid welcome center banner. Brine shrimp the size of a grain of rice thrive and provide a rich meal for the Utah state bird, which surprisingly, is the seagull.

The state park is a large, mountainous, high desert island in the middle of the lake. It has become a preserve for bison, antelope, and people on bikes. But the first thing you notice is the powerful salty odor of the dried out marshes that line the receding lake this year.

But once you drive onto the causeway and out to the island it's a more pleasant and scenic environment.

We found our way to the "beach" which was a little chilly today but will probably make for a popular summer spot for the kids.

April in Utah

That's Eli in our backyard. He's on Spring break, snow-sledding! 4 inches and still falling.

Spring...Hello?