Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Mountain Shadows RV Park, Part IV
September 8, 2006
When she had calmed down, we went home, but not without they boys trying on some cowboy hats.
Friday morning, we were in shock to find on the internet the news that Steven Jones had been placed on academic leave the same day we visited him at Brigham Young University. I guess that they thought his September 11 research and notoriety was too much for the school to handle. Given that he was teaching only one class in introductory physics that semester, I find it hard to believe that they thought he was taking too much time away from his classes. I was rather dismayed, in horror at the thought that our visit might have been the last straw for the university. Maybe it was, most likely it wasn't. When the government is a major source of funding for any endeavor, science departments at major universities, for example, you have to go with the flow or lose the cash flow. It made me think that America is not as free as it seems. Anyway, Dr. Jones, if you were booted because of our crashing your office hours, my deepest apologies.
In preparation for leaving Utah and heading to Tahoe, we went to the grocery store and had a relaxing day at the campground. But at night, we had to go check out the Utah State Fair. We had already ignored the Kentucky State Fair, and a few others on our trip. So it was really a must. We wouldn't have gone, because, really, a fair is a fair, but they were having a rodeo too!
Here is a picture of the main entrance to the carnival part of the fair. Flashy, eh? I wonder if this is the one Manny, my older brother, worked. Anyway, we ignored the midway at first so we could check out the rodeo. It was perfect timing! We got there just in time for bull riding! Yeeehaa! We watched for about 10 riders. Two of them lasted until the buzzer. It was a lot of fun, not because of any major injuries, just fun. The commentators made really stupid jokes between riders, such as: "My wife's like a record player. She's 33 45 78." Ar ar ar.
After that we ate dinner there. We didn't have any true fair food, meaning nothing fried or on a stick. Gyros and pizza were close enough. Of course, after we had that we walked by a really delicious-looking roasted chicken stand, but, oh, well. It had gotten chilly, so Zorah borrowed my sweater. In truth, there really wasn't that much to see at the fair. I wanted to go back to the bullriding, personally, but we had fun walking around. Zorah really wanted to go in this funhouse, so we bought some tickets and walked through with her. At one point, however, there was a metal plate that triggered a really loud noise when stepped on. It totally freaked her out and made her cry, so we had to carry her away from the place in a hurry.
In preparation for leaving Utah and heading to Tahoe, we went to the grocery store and had a relaxing day at the campground. But at night, we had to go check out the Utah State Fair. We had already ignored the Kentucky State Fair, and a few others on our trip. So it was really a must. We wouldn't have gone, because, really, a fair is a fair, but they were having a rodeo too!
Here is a picture of the main entrance to the carnival part of the fair. Flashy, eh? I wonder if this is the one Manny, my older brother, worked. Anyway, we ignored the midway at first so we could check out the rodeo. It was perfect timing! We got there just in time for bull riding! Yeeehaa! We watched for about 10 riders. Two of them lasted until the buzzer. It was a lot of fun, not because of any major injuries, just fun. The commentators made really stupid jokes between riders, such as: "My wife's like a record player. She's 33 45 78." Ar ar ar.After that we ate dinner there. We didn't have any true fair food, meaning nothing fried or on a stick. Gyros and pizza were close enough. Of course, after we had that we walked by a really delicious-looking roasted chicken stand, but, oh, well. It had gotten chilly, so Zorah borrowed my sweater. In truth, there really wasn't that much to see at the fair. I wanted to go back to the bullriding, personally, but we had fun walking around. Zorah really wanted to go in this funhouse, so we bought some tickets and walked through with her. At one point, however, there was a metal plate that triggered a really loud noise when stepped on. It totally freaked her out and made her cry, so we had to carry her away from the place in a hurry.
When she had calmed down, we went home, but not without they boys trying on some cowboy hats.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
A Comment on My Format
It seems that, uh, resizing the window messes up my picture format and slaps them around the page seemingly at random. So I think I'll start centering all my pictures. What do you think?
Mountain Shadows RV Resort, Part III
September 7, 2006
So the big day of our visit to Dr. Jones had finally arrived. When I call him that, I inevitably think of Indiana Jones. I suppose that they are actually a bit similar. Both expose themselves to danger in order to uncover the past. But anyway.
We got our Mapquest directions up on my computer and headed out.
I don't know if I mentioned it, but we have an aircard for mobile internet, so I was blogging a bit as we drove. I noticed a sticky film on the touchpad of my computer, but chose to ignore it.
We arrived without incident at the BYU campus and attempted to drive somewhere close to the Science Center, but were stopped by a security guard who asked us if we were dropping Ian off for class. He then directed us to a visitor parking lot, where a student in the parking booth asked us if we were students or staff. We said no, and she waved us through. We had a nice walk up to the science center, weathering the curious stares of many of the people we passed. I guess that they don't see many families strolling around the campus. It was still early, so we looked at some of the exhibits. Zorah liked the pendulum clock quite a bit. I guess I must have too, since that is the only one that I remember. We sat down to outside of Steven Jones's office. Ian and Brian were practically vibrating in anticipation. I was practically vibrating trying to find a way to keep Zorah occupied. While we waited, Brian took this picture of the professor's deparmental picture.
I got out my pen and notebook to draw with Zorah. She was "writing" scribbles, and I asked her to tell me what she was writing. As she told me, we wrote it down. It was a story, which she still hasn't finished yet. Here it is:
Ooshishikashi doesn't know where her mother is. She fell to the bottom of the sea. She will just have to think bravely. So, maybe she should get some goggles and a snorkel so she can swim to her.
Then her dad says: "Maybe I should go with you." He should find some big things to wear to go with her.
When her mother fell off the cliff, Ooshishikashi tried to catch her, but she missed.
Not bad, for three years old, huh?
When office hours were almost over, and Brian had consulted the department secretary, around the corner came Steven Jones. After seeing various news and film footage of him, it was strange to see him in person. Brian's first reaction was to do that worshipping thing. You know, the Wayne's World we're not worthy bowing thing, but without the auditory part. Of course, Dr. Jones looked at him like he was a freak. But he then very politely answered Brian and Ian's questions. They had about a thirty minute discussion while I watched Z, who sometimes participated, then we shook hands and left. I was considering taking a picture to commemorate the event, but didn't want to impose on him anymore than we already had. In retrospect, I should have. As we exited the science building, Brian and Ian were beaming. Brian jumped up and down and whooped and Ian had a big grin on his face.
We had lunch at Carrabba's, where Brian got a free meal because his food came one minute after ours, then headed toward the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point. It professes to be the largest dinosaur museum in the country. I don't know whether this is true, but it certainly had a nice trompe l'oeil outside. I wanted Brian, Ian, and Zorah to run away from it in this picture, but there are only so many corny things you can attempt to make your family do.
One advantage to homeschool RV trips, is that attractions are not crowded with school-aged kids and overwrought parents. Zorah was able to run around the museum without having to watch for people or wait her turn at various exhibits. There was a huge erosion watertable in the middle of the museum which I was surprised to find didn't interest her. The dinosaur skeletons were fascinating to her, of course, and a puzzle section with different woodcut dinosaurs that fit into slots in the wall. She and Ian did fossil rubbings and hung out for a while in this cave unmolested by the kids who would have been there if it weren't school season.
At the end of the museum were three large sandpits, called archaeological digs, where you could take brushes and brush off the stegosaurus "fossils". I think if you were really diligent, you would come up with little plastic stegosauri. In there were three moms and assorted pre-school kids. There were three boys in one of the pits, and five or so girls in the other. Zorah played with the girls for a while, then wanted a change of scenery, so she tried to go into the boy pit. She came running out crying that they wouldn't let her in. A mother who was sitting there nursing her baby said that the boys had done that to her daughter too. Their mothers were busy socializing and didn't realize what was happening. So I went in with her, knowing the boys would not tell me I couldn't come in. We happily brushed sand off the stegosaurus until she was ready to go back into the other pit. Then one of the girls wouldn't let her use the brushes in the other pit. So again she came running to me crying. The social mother scolded her son by mistake, then turned around and scolded the offending daughter, and all was well. Aren't kids great? LOL.
After such a busy day, Zorah and Ian had a relaxing hot tub.
We got our Mapquest directions up on my computer and headed out.
I don't know if I mentioned it, but we have an aircard for mobile internet, so I was blogging a bit as we drove. I noticed a sticky film on the touchpad of my computer, but chose to ignore it.We arrived without incident at the BYU campus and attempted to drive somewhere close to the Science Center, but were stopped by a security guard who asked us if we were dropping Ian off for class. He then directed us to a visitor parking lot, where a student in the parking booth asked us if we were students or staff. We said no, and she waved us through. We had a nice walk up to the science center, weathering the curious stares of many of the people we passed. I guess that they don't see many families strolling around the campus. It was still early, so we looked at some of the exhibits. Zorah liked the pendulum clock quite a bit. I guess I must have too, since that is the only one that I remember. We sat down to outside of Steven Jones's office. Ian and Brian were practically vibrating in anticipation. I was practically vibrating trying to find a way to keep Zorah occupied. While we waited, Brian took this picture of the professor's deparmental picture.
I got out my pen and notebook to draw with Zorah. She was "writing" scribbles, and I asked her to tell me what she was writing. As she told me, we wrote it down. It was a story, which she still hasn't finished yet. Here it is:Ooshishikashi doesn't know where her mother is. She fell to the bottom of the sea. She will just have to think bravely. So, maybe she should get some goggles and a snorkel so she can swim to her.
Then her dad says: "Maybe I should go with you." He should find some big things to wear to go with her.
When her mother fell off the cliff, Ooshishikashi tried to catch her, but she missed.
Not bad, for three years old, huh?
When office hours were almost over, and Brian had consulted the department secretary, around the corner came Steven Jones. After seeing various news and film footage of him, it was strange to see him in person. Brian's first reaction was to do that worshipping thing. You know, the Wayne's World we're not worthy bowing thing, but without the auditory part. Of course, Dr. Jones looked at him like he was a freak. But he then very politely answered Brian and Ian's questions. They had about a thirty minute discussion while I watched Z, who sometimes participated, then we shook hands and left. I was considering taking a picture to commemorate the event, but didn't want to impose on him anymore than we already had. In retrospect, I should have. As we exited the science building, Brian and Ian were beaming. Brian jumped up and down and whooped and Ian had a big grin on his face.
We had lunch at Carrabba's, where Brian got a free meal because his food came one minute after ours, then headed toward the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point. It professes to be the largest dinosaur museum in the country. I don't know whether this is true, but it certainly had a nice trompe l'oeil outside. I wanted Brian, Ian, and Zorah to run away from it in this picture, but there are only so many corny things you can attempt to make your family do.One advantage to homeschool RV trips, is that attractions are not crowded with school-aged kids and overwrought parents. Zorah was able to run around the museum without having to watch for people or wait her turn at various exhibits. There was a huge erosion watertable in the middle of the museum which I was surprised to find didn't interest her. The dinosaur skeletons were fascinating to her, of course, and a puzzle section with different woodcut dinosaurs that fit into slots in the wall. She and Ian did fossil rubbings and hung out for a while in this cave unmolested by the kids who would have been there if it weren't school season.
At the end of the museum were three large sandpits, called archaeological digs, where you could take brushes and brush off the stegosaurus "fossils". I think if you were really diligent, you would come up with little plastic stegosauri. In there were three moms and assorted pre-school kids. There were three boys in one of the pits, and five or so girls in the other. Zorah played with the girls for a while, then wanted a change of scenery, so she tried to go into the boy pit. She came running out crying that they wouldn't let her in. A mother who was sitting there nursing her baby said that the boys had done that to her daughter too. Their mothers were busy socializing and didn't realize what was happening. So I went in with her, knowing the boys would not tell me I couldn't come in. We happily brushed sand off the stegosaurus until she was ready to go back into the other pit. Then one of the girls wouldn't let her use the brushes in the other pit. So again she came running to me crying. The social mother scolded her son by mistake, then turned around and scolded the offending daughter, and all was well. Aren't kids great? LOL.
After such a busy day, Zorah and Ian had a relaxing hot tub.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Mountain Shadows RV Resort, Part II
September 6, 2006
Wednesday we couldn't go visit Steven Jones, since his office hours were on Thursday. I had suggested to Brian that he call Dr. Jones and schedule an appointment, but he was reluctant to do so. I guess it would have been a little awkward. We decided instead to go to Salt Lake City. I already knew how to get there, of course, both the long and the short way. Ugh.
In any case, we set out and drove into the city. We were somehow under the impression that the Great Salt Lake would be within Salt Lake City. After driving around a bit without seeing any signs for this landmark, we pulled into a gas station and asked. They directed us a half hour west of the city. As we drove out into the Utah desert, I searched expectantly for the Salt Lake. I thought I saw it, but couldn't be sure. Then we saw a strange mosque-like building fast approaching. The definition of incongruous, but it must be the Great Salt Lake welcome center! So we pulled in. I think there were maybe four cars there, and none of the doors seemed to be open. Finally, we found one around the back and walked in.
It was dark, high-ceilinged, and empty, or seemed so, and no one answered when we called. After a minute or so of creepy wandering around, we saw a souvenir store within the building. A video about Salt Lake was playing on a monitor, and all the lights were on, but, still, no one was there except one other confused tourist who had also just arrived. Brian, Ian, and Zorah continued to look for someone to ask about the lake while I went to the bathroom. It was around the corner from the store. I found the light switch and harsh fluorescents buzzed on and flickered. I don't know if you have ever seen the movie Silent Hill, or played one of the games, but I was expecting one of the twisted creations from them to jump out of the stalls. Or maybe something from the first Alien movie. Adding to that was Zorah's plaintive voice calling "Mama!" a few times as I was washing my hands.
When I came out of the bathroom from hell, Brian had managed to find an employee! He said that we were free to walk down to and/or into the lake. In the past two days, apparently, the lake had dropped from close to the obvious shoreline, to a level like low tide in Hilton Head. Also in the store was a model of the mosque as it used to be. Seems that the Great Salt Lake was
quite the resort destination at the turn of the century. After a little Wikipedia research, I found out that the place was called Saltair, and was built in 1893. It burned down twice. The horrorshow version we visited was built in 1981, of course to none of the former glory of the original, further evidence that they just don't make things like they used to.
But enough history! We decided to walk down to the water, of course.
Since the water level had dropped so low, we ended up walking quite a long way. I took off my shoes to feel the sand, which was grey to black in color, and dry and crusty with salt. In parts, salt deposits had dried and hardened into sheets which Zorah had fun crumbling with her hands and crunching with her feet. As we walked, it seemed as if wind was blowing a layer of sand across the surface of the beach. But it wasn't sand. It was bugs! Millions of sandflies swirled and eddied away from our feet. I took this picture of them. With the feathers there, it looked like they had all swarmed onto a bird and eaten it. Seriously.
As we came to the water, the sand took on almost a quicksand consistency. If you stood in certain areas, you would sink at least a couple of inches into the fine muck, and a faint
sulphurous smell would rise out of the water as I pulled my feet out and churned up the stuff. The water was nice and warm, though, so Brian and Zorah decided to go swimming. We hadn't planned on it, so they went nudie. Ian and I declined to participate, for obvious reasons.
Fortunately, more people appeared, ant-like at the distance we had to walk to get to the water, so Brian put on his shorts. If you would like me to get rid of this picture, or post it with black rectangles in the appropriate places, feel free to leave a comment stating as much. :-)
Zorah frolicked, sat, splashed, made sandpiles (or muckpiles, as the case may be), and smushed others. She didn't want at all to leave, and had salt crusted on her face, hair, and everywhere else when we left. If you want to see more pictures of the Salt Lake, perhaps the Silent Hill bathroom, or the weird things people drew or made on the beach, feel free to comment.
One other odd thing was that very few of the people who visited while we were there, and took the time to walk out to the water, didn't take off their shoes and wade. I mean, wouldn't you want to see what the water felt like? Maybe with the bugs and Saltair's unique ambience they felt like they would get sick from it. Funny when you consider that it is actually supposed to be a restorative.
So our overall impression of the Great Salt Lake? It would more aptly have been named Lake Eerie. The whole thing, including Saltair, had an alien quality unmatched by anything else I have ever experienced. Close to indescribable and definitely unique, when I think about the Salt Lake, I feel confused. Everyone else must have too, because after that we returned to the comfortable familiarity of our trailer park. LOL.
In any case, we set out and drove into the city. We were somehow under the impression that the Great Salt Lake would be within Salt Lake City. After driving around a bit without seeing any signs for this landmark, we pulled into a gas station and asked. They directed us a half hour west of the city. As we drove out into the Utah desert, I searched expectantly for the Salt Lake. I thought I saw it, but couldn't be sure. Then we saw a strange mosque-like building fast approaching. The definition of incongruous, but it must be the Great Salt Lake welcome center! So we pulled in. I think there were maybe four cars there, and none of the doors seemed to be open. Finally, we found one around the back and walked in.
It was dark, high-ceilinged, and empty, or seemed so, and no one answered when we called. After a minute or so of creepy wandering around, we saw a souvenir store within the building. A video about Salt Lake was playing on a monitor, and all the lights were on, but, still, no one was there except one other confused tourist who had also just arrived. Brian, Ian, and Zorah continued to look for someone to ask about the lake while I went to the bathroom. It was around the corner from the store. I found the light switch and harsh fluorescents buzzed on and flickered. I don't know if you have ever seen the movie Silent Hill, or played one of the games, but I was expecting one of the twisted creations from them to jump out of the stalls. Or maybe something from the first Alien movie. Adding to that was Zorah's plaintive voice calling "Mama!" a few times as I was washing my hands.
When I came out of the bathroom from hell, Brian had managed to find an employee! He said that we were free to walk down to and/or into the lake. In the past two days, apparently, the lake had dropped from close to the obvious shoreline, to a level like low tide in Hilton Head. Also in the store was a model of the mosque as it used to be. Seems that the Great Salt Lake was
quite the resort destination at the turn of the century. After a little Wikipedia research, I found out that the place was called Saltair, and was built in 1893. It burned down twice. The horrorshow version we visited was built in 1981, of course to none of the former glory of the original, further evidence that they just don't make things like they used to.But enough history! We decided to walk down to the water, of course.
Since the water level had dropped so low, we ended up walking quite a long way. I took off my shoes to feel the sand, which was grey to black in color, and dry and crusty with salt. In parts, salt deposits had dried and hardened into sheets which Zorah had fun crumbling with her hands and crunching with her feet. As we walked, it seemed as if wind was blowing a layer of sand across the surface of the beach. But it wasn't sand. It was bugs! Millions of sandflies swirled and eddied away from our feet. I took this picture of them. With the feathers there, it looked like they had all swarmed onto a bird and eaten it. Seriously.As we came to the water, the sand took on almost a quicksand consistency. If you stood in certain areas, you would sink at least a couple of inches into the fine muck, and a faint
sulphurous smell would rise out of the water as I pulled my feet out and churned up the stuff. The water was nice and warm, though, so Brian and Zorah decided to go swimming. We hadn't planned on it, so they went nudie. Ian and I declined to participate, for obvious reasons.Fortunately, more people appeared, ant-like at the distance we had to walk to get to the water, so Brian put on his shorts. If you would like me to get rid of this picture, or post it with black rectangles in the appropriate places, feel free to leave a comment stating as much. :-)
Zorah frolicked, sat, splashed, made sandpiles (or muckpiles, as the case may be), and smushed others. She didn't want at all to leave, and had salt crusted on her face, hair, and everywhere else when we left. If you want to see more pictures of the Salt Lake, perhaps the Silent Hill bathroom, or the weird things people drew or made on the beach, feel free to comment. One other odd thing was that very few of the people who visited while we were there, and took the time to walk out to the water, didn't take off their shoes and wade. I mean, wouldn't you want to see what the water felt like? Maybe with the bugs and Saltair's unique ambience they felt like they would get sick from it. Funny when you consider that it is actually supposed to be a restorative.
So our overall impression of the Great Salt Lake? It would more aptly have been named Lake Eerie. The whole thing, including Saltair, had an alien quality unmatched by anything else I have ever experienced. Close to indescribable and definitely unique, when I think about the Salt Lake, I feel confused. Everyone else must have too, because after that we returned to the comfortable familiarity of our trailer park. LOL.
