Cascade Springs

If you are taking a drive over the Alpine Scenic Loop it is not a bad idea to plan enough time to take a detour from the top of the Loop road and go to Cascade Springs.

Whether your Loop trip starts from Provo Canyon or American Fork Canyon your route will take you past the Cascade Springs turnoff. The turnoff is in a very close proximity to the top of the Loop on the Provo side and the road to Cascade Springs is a nice surprise.

While the Loop road is a narrow one with lots of switchbacks the road to Cascade Springs is a comfortable 2 lane highway with a good width.

In the area nestled at the base of the surrounding mountains there were a number of springs that derived their water from those surrounding mountains. I have heard that there were 7 major springs but that could just be a good story. Also that story said that a decision was made to use the water from those springs to build a water park. The story also said that the project was used as an activity for inmates from the Utah State Prison and that they did the work on the park. I am not sure of any accuracy to the story but it does make a good story. The result from whatever happened though is really quite pleasant. The waterways and springs have been cleaned out and worked on with falls and beautiful crystal clear pools and all set amidst the natural vegetation.

There are pathways around the various sections made of both wood board walks and rock pathways.

There are benches placed at locations to rest or to just take some time to contemplate and take in the peaceful surroundings.

Cacade Springs is a very pleasant experience anytime of the year but that is especially so in the fall of the year when the leaves are all turning.

The Springs is at a lower elevation than the Alpine Loop Road used to get into the area so the foliage differs. Instead of the Fir and Spruce and Quakies as on the Loop road there is more Birch, Scrub Oak, Maple and Boxelder and the colors are different.

Whatever time of year you go though it is worth the trip!

More Triviality

The weather that we enjoyed this spring was very wet to say the least. We had a good amount of late snow and also a heavy amount of rain. It has all been very good for the water supplies.

All the reservoirs around the area are full; Jordanelle, Deer Creek, Wanship, Echo, etc. are all full to the brim.

Even Lake Powell has received a huge boost in its water level. It was very low before but they have said on the news reports that through this spring the water level has risen 30+ feet which is a fantastic amount of water.

And there is still snow on some of the mountains. The front of Timpanogos is about clear now but the back still has a good amount of snow on it. Lone Peak still has quite a few patches on it as does Nebo.

There is one little squiggle just to the south of Lone Peak that still has snow in it. I guess it really isn't a squiggle but more like a little arc.

I was told when I moved to Utah Valley that this arc was a good water gauge and to watch it. The story was that if there was still snow in that little arc in June then that meant there would be enough water to get a good corn crop.

A few days ago when I drove to Salt Lake I even noticed a few patches on the Oquirrh Mountains north of the copper mine. That means that we have a good water year going for us and we will have plenty of corn to eat.

A couple of years ago I took some pictures of the first snow fall in this area. It was really more than a couple of years, it was more like three, it was the 21st of September in 2006.

My son was going to school in Arizona and roasting in the heat and hating it and missing the snow so I took pictures of the mountains and the new snow. It was an early storm but not too unusual. It was a fair amount of snow also.

Looking at the snow still on the mountains the first of July and then comparing to the new snow the latter part of September that doesn't leave a lot of time that the mountains are snowless in that high country.

Geneva Remnants

Geneva is now gone!

I have read that it covered up to 1700 acres when it was in operation and now that it is gone that ground is being developed for other uses, along with a huge amount of residential development that is taking place west of the old Geneva site.

It looks like the town of Vineyard which is just west of the old Geneva site looks to grow like gangbusters because of all the new homes that could be built in that towns area.

One really neat development that has happened though is the new Harley Davidson dealership that has been built across the street from the northeast corner of the old Geneva site.

It is at 555 South Geneva Road in Lindon and it is a fantastically neat new building.

They have a large selection of motorcycles and who could help but love a Harley!

But they have also constructed a very unique building and even kept some of Geneva in the whole process. The new building is constructed of recycled material that I have heard comes from the old Geneva plant.

It may sound crazy but it is something that is well worth a trip by to see and even stop to look at the Harleys!

Dinosaur Park

I found some old pictures from a couple of years ago that reminded me of a park we happened to go to in Ogden.
We were in Ogden for a football game but were early and to kill time we started exploring. In the area at the mouth of Ogden Canyon nestled up against the Ogden River we found the Eccles Dinosaur Park.

It was fantastic!

I didn't even know it existed and it was really a surprise. We had a couple of hours to spend and could have spent all afternoon.

They have a walk in museum that has bones and fossils and such things as that like most of the other museums but:

There is also an outside part with paths to walk and it is filled with dinosaurs all living together and fighting and eating each other.

It was interesting and even kind of scary. Some would growl and roar and the kids didn't like the growls and screams, but they were fun. It didn't scare me though, just the kids.

And if you got tired of chasing the kids they even had a place to get a break for a few minutes.

The kids would probably like the playground better though.........and there is also areas for having a picnic if you brought one.

They have a website for the park; http://www.dinosaurpark.org/ and it is very informative with all the information about the park and getting there.

It was well worth the time to go.

Remember I said that it has been a couple of years since we were there and from the website it looks as though there has been more added and improvements made.

BUT IT WAS FUN!

Waiting for the World End

December 31, 1833, Wilford Woodruff was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Wilford Woodruff

Five Hundred miles away Joseph Smith recorded in his journal that Wilford Woodruff was baptized on this day in 1833 although Joseph had never met Wilford Woodruff

From the beginning of his journey within the Church, Wilford Woodruff kept a journal and he wrote in that journal faithfully every day for over 60 years. He has said that he could not go to bed at night until he had written in his journal and there were many times he would spend the major part of a day editing and updating those entries.

A number of years ago the family association went through his journals and transcribed them and prepared them to be published. They were published in 9 volumes--about 5400 pages.
The family members were afforded the opportunity to purchase copies when they were ready for sale and sadly I neglected to do so.

However lately, I have found a book in the library called: Waiting for the World's End--The Diaries of Wilford Woodruff. The author of the book is someone who was familiar with the journals of Wilford Woodruff and has taken excerpts from the journals rather than all the entries and kind of condensed things to about 500 pages. I found it to be very interesting reading.

One thing really struck me though! The title of the book--Waiting for the World's End.

The idea of the time being short until the Saints returned to Jackson to build the Temple in preparation for the return of the Savior and ushering in of the Millenium is a theme that I find quite common in the writings of Wilford and also many other of the early leaders of the church.

In one place in 1880 I recall Wilford as saying that with the state of the world and this country we should not see 1890. Those men in that time were looking for and anxiously awaiting the return of the Savior.

Another thought crossed my mind though!

In 1880 Wilford Woodruff was serving as the President of the Saint George Temple and had been since it opened in 1877. It was the only Temple in active operation in all the world at that time.

St. George Temple

The other two Temples the Saints had built were no longer in operation. The Kirtland Temple was in the hands of the Reorganized Church and the Nauvoo Temple had been destroyed.

Nauvoo Temple

If we take 1880 as a benchmark then the ten years to 1890 would have seen the opening of the Logan Temple in 1884.

Logan Temple

And, also, the opening of the Manti Temple in 1888

Manti Temple

But that would have been all.

Wilford was a great lover of the Temples and the work that was done in them and he labored hard to do as much as was possible, but with the 1890 timetable............

1890 would have come with only three Temples operating and smaller ones than the plans for the Salt Lake Temple, which construction on was finally making good progress, but it still would be 1894 before it was finished.

If we take a look at what has happened over the last 120 years since 1890 it would be interesting to see what Wilford would think about four Temples operating in the Salt Lake Valley alone, that includes the new Oquirrh Moutain Temple that will be dedicated this summer.

The Salt Lake Temple

The Jordan River Temple

The Draper Temple

And the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple

And rumors say that another will be added in the Bluffdale area at a later date and there will then be five in the Salt Lake Valley.

In addition to those in the Salt Lake Valley there are another nine within the State of Utah.

We have already mentioned the Logan, Manti, St. George temples that are in the state but not in the Salt Lake Valley but there is also:

The Ogden Temple

The Bountiful Temple

Mount Timpanogos Temple

The Provo Temple

The Vernal Temple

The Monticello Temple

That makes 13 Temples just in the state of Utah and if we look worldwide the number is rapidly approching 150, either operating, under construction, or planned.

Granted the world has continued to deteriorate over the last 120 years but there has been a huge amount of work accomplished and literally millions of people have been given the opportunity to recieve the blessings of the Temple.

I share the desire that was felt by the early saints in wanting that time of peace and tranquility but I also find a question to ask...................

What more need we do to make us ready for His return?

Triviality

It seems like we have had more than our share of rain this spring. We have had rain most days for the last 2-3 weeks, or at least in June.

When I went out west the other day I noticed a number of hay fields with hay still sitting in them. Some was baled but some was not.

I think the farmers have had a hard time this spring because of the rain.



Typically the first crop of hay in this area is cut around the first of June and then after drying for
a couple of days it is baled and then gotten off the field so the next crops growth can get going.




In situations like it has been this year instead of cutting, sitting and drying a couple of days and then baling it gets rained on and then it is wet and has to go through the drying process again before it can be baled. So the hay has to sit for another few days and probably will have to be turned over with a rake to facilitate drying out.


If the rain keeps coming back every day or two as has been the case then this process is lengthened out. Also the rain and moisture can cause mold to grow in the hay and that is not a good thing to have especially when it is fed to horses.


Moldy hay can cause heaves in horses. The dust from the mold gets into their lungs and causes them to cough and have a very hard time breathing.

Some of my best friends are horses!

I had a mare that had a problem with heaves. She was a real good riding horse and was just given to us. We had a close family friend who owned her and had rode her for a number of years but then quit riding for some reason and was just boarding the mare and told us to come and get her and ride her if we wanted to, so we did.

She was a pretty little sorrel with a blaze face. She stood about 15 hands, and was not a real heavy build but had great stamina. She was amazing in the mountains, she would go all day. She was no youngster, I don't know how old she was but she was up there and it didn't take long to realize she was prone to the heaves.

When I could keep her on pasture she was fine but winter or when we were without pasture she had a hard time. With hay she would have problems. I had to switch and was feeding her alfalfa pellets and cubes and she would do fine on those.

Not all horses that get moldy hay get the heaves and not all hay that gets wet gets moldy but it can be a problem and I guess because of all that I seem to notice when the hay sits in the field and gets wet.

At the same time though one of my favorite things to do is go for a ride in the evening in hay country when the hay is down and getting ready to bale. When things are dry and the hay is has been cut the drying process creates an aroma in the air that is truly fantastic and never forgotten!

I LOVE HAYIN' TIME!