Ellora the HERO

Some days, you realize that your kids do listen to what you tell them. It's just the during the normal couse of a day you have to remind them so many time that you forget. Today we had just that happen. We stopped in Winnemucca, NV to streach our legs during the long journey across the Nevada desert. We found a park for the kids to play in while mom and dad rested in the shade eating fruit and drinking water (it probably would have sounded more romantic if I said wine and cheese, but that wasn't the case).

Anyway, while the kids we playing, some the locals started to come out of their houses now that the temps had come down. Our kids seemed to be having a good time until Ellora came over and said the one of the kids got hurt. She didn't panic and was very clear on telling us what had happened. She knew that an adult was needed and took action.

A little boy fell off the bars and hit his head on the way down. I (Jaime) found him under the jungle gym just sitting there in the sand with a HUGE bump on his forehead. I think he was in shock because he didn't know how to tell me where his parents were. So I picked him up and carried him to the group that were watching the football palyers and cheerleaders. His mother was there and quickly came over to comfort her son. By then he started to cry and I think was a good thing.... later, about an hour or so, Ellora went to see how he was doing. She took a picture so I could put it on her blog. The bump on his head had gone down slightly.

Here's to Hero Ellora for her quick thinking.

Back in Salt Lake City

Here we are relaxing in the pool at our hotel. Salt Lake City has been very warm. The pool was very refreshing.

Skies over Wyoming

On our way back, we had great views from the highway.

In this picture you can see the Continental Divide. The Great Divide, also called the Continental Divide separates the watersheds of the Pacific Ocean from those of the Atlantic or Arctic Oceans. It runs from the Seward Peninsula in Alaska, through western Canada along the crest of the Rocky Mountains to New Mexico.

Jackson, Wy

Here are some sites from Jackson, WY.

Ellora stands by her new friends.

Yellowstone National Park

Here we are at Yellowstone National Park. We spent our day watching water boil. :-)

It was another warm day, but thankfully we had a nice breeze that kept us cool.

This is Old Faithful in the background. I think my brother's blog has the video of the eruption.

Here is a video of a steam vent that was create in 1959 by an earthquake. The earthquake registered 7.3. You can also hear the wind that we had today in this video.

Salt Lake City, Utah

Here are some pictures that we took on our walk in Temple Square. We spent several hours here that we ran out of time. As you can see by the last pictures...the sun had gone down and the kids were getting restless.

The Tabernacle, home to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at the Temple Square.

The Assembly Hall, in this 1882 meeting hall, weekly concerts are presented.

Kids playing in the gardens.

Timpanogos Cave

Timpanogos Cave National Monument sits high in the Wasatch Mountains. The cave system consists of three spectacularly decorated caverns. Helictites and anthodites are just a few of the many dazzling formations to be found in the many chambers. As visitors climb to the cave entrance, on a hike gaining over 1,000 feet in elevation, they are offered incredible views of American Fork Canyon.

Old Cove Fort

Old Cove Fort has been authentically restored to resemble the structure maintained by Ira Hinckley in the mid- to late-1800s.
In the fall of 1849, Brigham Young asked fifty men to explore the regions south of the Salt Lake Valley under the leadership of Parley P. Pratt. This Southern Exploring Company passed through the Cove Creek area before returning home to recommend the settling of locations north and south of here. Within a few years, many of the familiar towns traveled through the Cove Creek region, as did a growing number of travelers on Church and government business and immigrants traveling to further destinations such as California.
On April 12, 1867, Brigham Young wrote a letter to Ira Hinckley asking him to take charge of building a Fort on Cove Creek, located in central Utah, a day's journey from the town of Fillmore, on the north of the town of Beaver. This fort, built instead of a town because of the scarcity of water was to be a way station for travelers along the "Mormon Corridor"—settlements stretching from Idaho to Nevada connected by a network of roads, telegraph lines, and postal routes. Ira left his home in Coalville, Utah, on April 17 for his new assignment, with his family to come later.
Between April and November 1867, quarrymen, stonemasons, and carpenter from central Utah settlements labored together to construct the fort. Built of black volcanic rock and dark limestone quarried nearby, the walls are on hundred feet long and eighteen feet high. Lumber, mostly cedar and pine, was used for the roof, twelve interior rooms, and the massive doors at the east and west ends of the fort.
For years the fort bustled with activity. "In those early days it was not isolation to be at the fort," said Ira's daughter, Luna. "The news of the great, growing West throbbed over the line into the telegraph office at the fort and through (the) post office passed the news of the new western empire" delivered by Pony Express riders. Children laughed as they played in the inner courtyard. Daily, two stage coaches with a variety of weary travelers rumbled up to the Fort. Mormon families, some of whom were moving to new communities, unhitched their teams from their heavy loaded wagons and led the horsed to the bard. Cowboys tended the tithing herds, and a blacksmith changed metal into horseshoes with his hammer. Evening conversation was lively around the long table where each night a new variety of visitors, including mail carriers, artist, miners, Indian or Spanish traders, or Mormon families, joined the Hinckley family for dinner. Afterward, everyone attended family prayer. At night the air might be filled with music as the cowboys sang around their campfire.
Visiting the kitchen at Cove Fort brings one back to a time when Utah was an unconquered frontier land.
For more than twenty years Cove Fort served an important function, but as times changed so did the need for the fort. By 1890 the Church leased out the for and after the turn of the century, sold it to the Otto Kesler family. Nearly one hundred years later, in 1988 the Hinckley family purchased the fort from the Keslers and made a gift of it to the Church as a historic site. Shortly afterward, efforts to restore the fort to its original condition were begun, and on May 21, 1994, Gordon B. Hinckley, later president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dedicated the Historic Cove Fort Complex.
"It is our hope that Cove Fort will serve as a modern way station—not as a shelter from physical fatigue or protection from the elements—" said Stephen D. Nadauld, speaking at the 1994 dedication, "rather, we hope it will serve as a spiritual way station where we can be reminded of the faith of our forefathers, where we can refresh our sense of sacrifice and obedience and our dedication to duty, where we can be reminded of the values of work, provident living, self-sufficiency, and family unity."
The fort contains 12 rooms, six on the north and six on the south, and each has been restored to its look and feel from the 1867-1877 period. The rooms contain authentic furnishings and artifacts. Cove Fort is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to sunset except in bad weather. Free picnic areas and rest rooms are provided. More information is available by calling (435) 438-5547. Cove Fort is located near the intersection of I-70 and I-15-one mile north of exit 1 off I-70 and two miles south of Exit 135 off I-15.

The kids had a great time at the Fort. We thought this was going to be a short stop to streach our legs, but we really enjoyed the time we spent at the Fort.

Iron Mission State Park Museum - Cedar City, Utah

After visiting Zion National Park, we made our way back to I-15, we spent the night in Cedar City where we visited the Iron Museum.

Iron Mission State Park Museum tells the story of development in Iron County when in the 1850s, Brigham Young sent Mormon missionaries here to mine and process iron. Museum displays include horse-drawn vehicles used from 1850 to 1920 and a collection of pioneer artifacts. An iron industry exhibit features the only known remaining artifact from the original foundry - the town bell.

In addition to the permanent collections, changing special exhibits highlight artists from the local region, as well as rarely seen artifacts from the museum's collections. Other items of interest include several historic cabins, a large collection of horse-drawn farm equipment, and a replicated pioneer household.

Zion National Park - Utah's First National Park

Massive canyon walls ascend toward a brilliant blue sky. To experience Zion, you need to walk among the towering cliffs, or challenge your courage in a small narrow canyon. These unique sandstone cliffs range in color from cream, to pink, to red. They could be described as sand castles crowning desert canyons.

Did You Know? California Condors, which were released in Vermillion Cliffs, Arizona, in the late 1990's, are increasingly being sighted in Zion National Park, especially near Lava Point.