Family members who have seen this video have requested that I post it. A kind of Grand Canyon addendum to our recent trip. I about fall over laughing every time I watch Jill’s little stumble.
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Model Railroad Festival
One of the several rooms with layouts at the Ogden Union Station
Today we visited the Ogden Union Station to attend The Hostlers Model Railroad 2011 Festival. There were HO, N, G, O and S scale layouts in several rooms. During the three day show over 8,000 people will visit (it seemed like all of them were there right at the time we arrived).
The Hostlers Model Railroad Club was founded in February 1988 in Ogden and has now grown to over 180 members.
We headed straight for the model railroad layouts. There was a lot of them to see.
Watching the trains: Bryson, Sarah, Adelaide, Cassandra, Jill, and Aurora
There was even a large Lego Layout
Watching Trains
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Climbing on Trains
At the Union Station are locomotives that were designed to pull large trains over steep Western terrain. The 833 steam engine (at left in the photo below) is a Union Pacific Northern. This 4-8-4 saw both freight and passenger service between Utah and Wyoming. Also featured is a restored Red Cross Hospital Car, Railroad Post Office Car and the 2002 Olympic Winter Games Cauldron Car.
The Ogden railyard has trains that you can climb on
Here is what it looks like on board a steam engine
They'll let anybody drive a train
Riding a Train
It is fun watching the model trains and climbing on some old full-size trains. But there is nothing like a ride in a train.
All aboard the train
Riding in the train even if it is just around in circles
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The Long Train Movie
If you don’t have a movie for the evening then perhaps you could try this video. It doesn’t have much of a plot but there is one exciting part where one of the guard posts is knocked over. You can then watch it being put back in place. This video can also be used in place of a sleeping pill — no prescription needed. They way it works is to count the rail cars instead of sheep.
Sledding Near Miss
Sarah, Bryson, and Aurora ready to sled
There was snow on the ground so Adelaide, Sarah, the grandchildren, Jill, and I went sledding. We picked a very small hill for the grandchildren and took our cameras. Click on the images to enlarge. The videos are usually not visible in a feed reader. In the screencap below I have circled a girl in pink at the bottom of the hill. Keep your eye on her when you play the accompanying video of Bryson and I sledding.
Sledding near miss
Adelaide took the photograph below as we narrowly missed the little girl in pink. You can see how close we came. I still had the camera rolling.
The near miss, taken from a different angle
Aurora in the snow
Bryson with a snowball
Cassandra
Adelaide, Aurora, and Cassandra sledding
Sarah and Bryson sledding
Antique Oil Painting of Jill
Well no, it isn’t an oil painting of Jill. It is just one of my old photographs of her that I ran through Funny Photo’s Antique Oil Painting effect. After cropping a photograph of Jill so I just had her head, I produced the antique oil painting above with just a few clicks. You don’t have to register to use the Funny Photo website.
If you click on the image you will see that the antique effect is somewhat over done. This makes the “painting” appear to be three hundred years old instead of just three decades.
Of course Jill looks good at any age.
Opposite is the original untouched photograph, circa 1980.
Daniel Bearing Gifts From Afar
Daniel in the real deel
Daniel brought back from Mongolian some traditional garb gifts. He allowed us to try on these Christmas presents ahead of time. First up is Daniel wearing a deel that appears similar to a caftan. Deels in blue, olive, or burgundy, made from cotton, silk, or brocade, reach to the wearers knees and fan out at the bottom.
The deel looks like a big overcoat when not worn. Instead of buttoning together in the middle, the sides are pulled against the wearers body, right flap close to the body with the left covering. On the right side of the wearer are five or six clasps to hold the top flap in place. There is one clasp below the armpit, three at the shoulder, and either one or two at the neckline.
A deel is usually worn with a large belt, usually made of silk. The area between the flaps and above the belt creates a large pocket in which Mongolians keep many things.
Jacob and Rachel wearing traditional Mongolian garb
I brought out my old crusader sword to assessorize my Mongolian vest, which prompted Daniel to draw his Genghis Khan dagger. The clothes were made by one of Daniel’s investigators, since baptized.
A Crusader sword goes well with my Mongolian vest
Left to Right: Daniel, Jake, Rachel, Jill, and Rick
As an alternative to the above photograph, take a look at this.
Mongolian fight
A Changed Woman
Jill looks the same but really is a changed woman. See if you can find the differences between the photographs. There is another difference puzzle at There Are Differences Between Us.
Spoiler Alert — don’t read the comments until after you find the differences.
No Bears At The Zoo
Rocky Shores will open Spring of 2012
We discovered at our last visit to Hogle Zoo that Tuff, Cubby, and Dale had been moved to the Oregon Zoo. Construction is proceeding on the Rocky Shores Exhibit, an extensive multi-animal habitat featuring polar bears, sea lions, seals and possibly other bears. According to Hogle Zoo:
Guests will experience unprecedented environmental immersion through realistic, cutting-edge habitat design. Educational information about the animals what they eat, their behaviors and instincts, and their future survival will be presented through interactive technology and innovative educational programs, adaptable for Zoo and classroom use.
Rocky Shores will be the largest exhibit ever created at Utah’s Hogle Zoo, and is a major step in its transformation to a 21st century zoo. (Hogle Zoo)
On our visit to the zoo on Wednesday Aurora and Bryson also saw the animals, rode the train, and clambered in the playground.
Zuri the baby elephant
The shells of the Aldabra Tortoise are not very hard. Giant tortoises are slow moving, non-aggressive animals. Most of their time is spent foraging. Although the tortoises are primarily vegetarians, they will eat decaying animal matter. Paths to and from their favorite feeding and drinking areas are scraped into the soil by the massive shells. These tortoises can weigh up to 550 lbs. and shells up to 55 inches long. They live up to 200 years.
Watch the video and see how intent Bryson is as he rides the train.
There Are Differences Between Us
These photographs have some real differences to reconcile. See if you can help.
Spoiler Alert — don’t read the comments until after you find the differences.
Update: The solution has been posted in the comments. Remind me to make the next one more difficult.
A hat tip to Adelaide for giving me the idea.
Patsy’s Mine Hike: Part 2
Melissa by Patsy's Mine entrance
On Friday we hiked to Patsy’s Mine in the mountains above Farmington. The trail to the mine is marked and we had no difficulty in finding the entrance. The mine does not go very far and most of the time you can stand upright, though in places one has to stoop. I found out how hard the rock is when I banged my head against it.
Melissa found the bat first. We wondered if it was rabid
There was a bat about 20 feet into the cave. We wondered if it was rabid. It must have been, to want to go hang from the roof of an old mine. Apparently exposure to rabid bats increases with the migration season. This year, four elementary-aged Davis County students have been exposed to a bat that could not be tested. Whenever bats aren’t able to be recovered or are too decomposed for testing, it is not known if they carried rabies. Therefore, to err on the side of caution the children are treated with post-exposure vaccine because the disease is virtually 100 percent fatal.
Melissa, Susan, and Jill with the mine entrance in the background
I walked past the bat and caused it to fly out of the cave past the girls which provoked an appropriate round of screaming. Further into the cave we could hear a faint rumbling sound. We thought maybe it was the freeway traffic or the train. We were a long way from the valley though.
The last time Jill and Susan visited the mine, they navigated by the light from their digital cameras. This time they were more prepared.
There is graffiti on the walls of the mine that in 2,000 years will have archeologists wondering what manner of intelligent life wrote it. They will be figuring that out for a long time.
The right fork is basically just a big puddle
The main tunnel is straight with a fork at the end. The right fork ends in a few paces and the only thing of interest is a rusty rail. The left fork does not go much further before ending. Off of the left tunnel is a small space where you can clamber through and stand upright. Nothing to get excited about.
The left fork soon comes to a dead end
According to the deep thinking and creative Chanelle (her blog no longer accessible), there is an old steam engine that has become hidden from the main trail with years of plant growth. If we had known this beforehand we would have searched for awhile to see if we could find it. According to Chanelle, copper is the most available mineral in the mountain. Shes writes that “…even though there are large quantities of it, the quality is lacking. Because of this, the mines in this area were abandoned and closed up.”
There is an opening in the left fork that goes nowhere
Patsy's Mine entrance. That's it for the tour
Jill says she enjoyed this mine and that she wouldn't mind finding another to explore
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