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Utah Utah in March 2019, non-ski activities

Jim Kenney

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MARCH 2019 : This is a slightly different trip report. I've taken the last two days off to do some non-ski activities with my wife and adult daughter. I will document some of the fun things we've done, all within about one hour of Salt Lake City.

3/21/19: got a late start, did a little shopping, then drove about an hour north to Antelope Island State Park, arrived about 3PM. Cost $10 per car or $5 for seniors. This place is a real gem in late winter/early spring, no bugs and tons of wildlife, up close. We made a quick stop in the nice little visitor center. I had visited this island about 3 years ago and knew how fun and scenic it could be. This wasn't the clearest of days, but still super-scenic. The island has an almost desert-like environment with only grass and scrubs, very few trees. The neatest large mammals roaming the island are Pronghorn (antelopes), Bison, bighorn sheep, mule deer. There are also smaller numbers of other animals such as coyote. It is also a great bird sanctuary. There are scenic shoreline/beaches, lots of great hiking trails and beautiful views of mtns and the Great Salt Lake.
First animals we encountered was a small herd of Pronghorn - very cool. I had not seen any of these during my other visit to the island.
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Daughter is psyched for wildlife.
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Then we found a very nonchalant bison who kept nibbling grass closer and closer to our car. By the way, the ski areas are loaded with snow, but down by the Great Salt Lake there isn't much snowcover and it is easy to drive around the 10-15 miles of roadway on the island.
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He got within 30 feet of our car.
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We then took an easy one mile roundtrip hike to Buffalo Point, super scenic for not much effort.
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I built a quick and tiny cairn in memory of late family members. The causeway to the mainland can be seen in right background.
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Then we took a drive towards the south end of the island and my wife spotted a large bird on the side of the road. I quickly pulled over but only got one shot before this Golden Eagle (looking away) took to flight. Huge talons!
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Yours truly photographing mule deer. That's the Wasatch Front near Ogden in background.
Jim island.jpg

Then we drove back to downtown SLC and ate at the Red Iguana 2. The original Red Iguana was too crowded even on a random Thursday night. We ordered three different mole dishes and they were all delicious. Beware of innocent looking little skinny green chilis, muy caliente!
red iguana.jpg

We capped the day with a visit to see the free Mormon Tabernacle Choir practice nearby at Temple Square. They open this to the public every Thursday evening and produce a mighty sound and great inspirational music. There must be 300 singers/musicians on the stage at one time.
mormon choir.jpg

Total cost of this day, except for gas, about $75.
Day 2 to be continued...
 
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Jim Kenney

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3/22/19, second day of non-ski activities near SLC. We took the 11AM train ride on the Heber Valley Historic Railroad. It cost $20 each and took two hours, traveling mostly along the Deer Creek Reservoir south of Park City and Heber City.
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The train got robbed at one point, but they turned out to be good guys after all and stayed aboard to tell us cowboy stories and history of the area.
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Typical views out train window. DSCN0231.jpg DSCN0266.jpg I think this is a Sandhill Crane.
DSCN0287.jpg Then we went to the Heber Valley Artisan Cheese factory/store. Outstanding grill cheese sandwiches and tomato-basil soup for lunch. The ice cream is great too. Took home a lot of their sharp cheddar cheese.
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cheese samples.jpg
Passed by the base of the Deer Valley Jordanelle Gondola on the way back to SLC.
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Still got back in time to buy new Lange ski boots for daughter for $185 at 2nd Tracks Ski store in Millcreek.
 
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BC.

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3/22/19, second day of non-ski activities near SLC. We took the 11AM train ride on the Heber Valley Historic Railroad. It cost $20 each and took two hours, traveling mostly along the Deer Creek Reservoir south of Park City and Heber City.
View attachment 69241
The train got robbed at one point, but they turned out to be good guys after all and stayed aboard to tell us cowboy stories and history of the area.
View attachment 69242
Typical views out train window. View attachment 69243 View attachment 69244 I think this is a Sandhill Crane.
View attachment 69245 Then we went to the Heber Valley Artisan Cheese factory/store. Outstanding grill cheese sandwiches and tomato-basil soup for lunch. The ice cream is great too. Took home a lot of their sharp cheddar cheese.
View attachment 69246 Passed by the base of the Deer Valley Jordanelle Gondola on the way back to SLC.
View attachment 69247
Still got back in time to buy new Lange ski boots for daughter for $185 at 2nd Tracks Ski store in Millcreek.

Hey, there is @Started at 53 ‘s house.....
 
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Jim Kenney

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Went skiing on Mar 23, but then was off again on the 24th and did some snowshoeing up in Mill Creek Canyon. Started in a snow squall, but it got quite pretty at times. This is a Salt Lake County park and costs $3 to visit. I snowshoed with my niece, daughter and wife. They kept me moving. Snowshoe like a girl! ogsmile
DSCN0297.jpg
 
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Jim Kenney

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Apr 8, Dead Horse Point State Park, Utah:
dead horse point k & v.jpg dead horse point again.jpg
Grandeur Peak, we did not get anywhere near the 8299' summit, but still enjoyed great views up and down the Salt Lake Valley, Apr 13:
grandeur mtn.jpg grandeur mtn structure.jpg DSCN2058.jpg
 
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Jim Kenney

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MARCH 2020: Time to resurrect this thread from one year ago.
At mid-day today 21 March 2020 I went for about a 2 hour/4 mile roundtrip hike up the Heughs Canyon Trail. It follows up a little creek about a mile north of the base of Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah.
View up Heughs Canyon, it was partly sunny and about 55degs at the start:
hueghs canyon hike 21 mar 2020.jpg

Part of the trail turns into a rock scramble. By the way, this is similar to what parts of the Cirque look like at Snowbird when there is no snow covering the slopes there.
FAMILY HEUGHS.jpg
The destination for most folks on this hike is this nice waterfall, perhaps 40-50' high.
WATERFALL heughs.jpg
I kept going another 10 mins above that and the trail turned snowy and messy. Temps probably closer to 45 degs by this point. A stranger gave me a shout out for my Washington Nationals ballcap, which I will be wearing for the next year :ogbiggrin:
heughs getting snowy.jpg
A few minutes later I gave up trying to get to a crest in the hill. I think I hiked roughly from elevation 5,000' to 6,000' and there was still a LONG way to go.
heughs highest I got.jpg
I stopped at a pretty little waterfall on the way down.
heughs small waterfall.jpg
And took a close-up photo of the larger one after passing it again.
heughs waterfall close up.jpg
Beautiful view of the Salt Lake Valley on the return hike.
heughs sl valley.jpg
The trail starts/ends in a neighborhood of very nice and large homes with outstanding views. Some of these homes top out over $1million in value. LOL. One million in my home area of Wash DC gets you a dump with a microscopic lot and a view of your neighbor's trash cans.
exiting Heughs Canyon trail.jpg

I earned a trip to the hot tub todayogsmile Where I hiked is in the upper background.
heughs hot tub view.jpg

In case you are wondering, I encountered/passed by probably 100+ people on my hike today. Does a 15 min soak in a 104 degs hot tub help with virus decontamination?
 
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BC.

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Have done that hike with my family when we used to go to BCC/Solitude on our past Easter trips....You always have great stoke/pics Jim.....keep them coming. :golfclap:
 

luliski

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I thought this was a new thread and reading your first two posts thought, "Wow, no coronavirus concerns?" Wish I'd seen this thread last fall when my daughter moved to SLC. I've now been out there quite a few times, and I really enjoy the area. Have not made it to Red Iguana yet, everyone always says it's going to be too crowded when I mention it! We did get to the top of Grandeur Peak, but we started in Millcreek canyon. It looks like you were going up the more difficult way.
Thanks for the trip report and photos!
 

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Time to resurrect this thread from one year ago.
At mid-day today 21 March 2020 I went for about a 2 hour/4 mile roundtrip hike up the Heughs Canyon Trail. It follows up a little creek about a mile north of the base of Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah.
View up Heughs Canyon, it was partly sunny and about 55degs at the start:
View attachment 97270

Part of the trail turns into a rock scramble. By the way, this is similar to what parts of the Cirque look like at Snowbird when there is no snow covering the slopes there.
View attachment 97271
The destination for most folks on this hike is this nice waterfall, perhaps 40-50' high.
View attachment 97272
I kept going another 10 mins above that and the trail turned snowy and messy. Temps probably closer to 45 degs by this point. A stranger gave me a shout out for my Washington Nationals ballcap, which I will be wearing for the next year :ogbiggrin:
View attachment 97273
A few minutes later I gave up trying to get to a crest in the hill. I think I hiked roughly from elevation 5,000' to 6,000' and there was still a LONG way to go.
View attachment 97274
I stopped at a pretty little waterfall on the way down.
View attachment 97275
And took a close-up photo of the larger one after passing it again.
View attachment 97276
Beautiful view of the Salt Lake Valley on the return hike.
View attachment 97277
The trail starts/ends in a neighborhood of very nice and large homes with outstanding views. Some of these homes top out over $1million in value. LOL. One million in my home area of Wash DC gets you a dump with a microscopic lot and a view of your neighbor's trash cans.
View attachment 97281

I earned a trip to the hot tub todayogsmile Where I hiked is in the upper background.
View attachment 97283

In case you are wondering, I encountered/passed by probably 100+ people on my hike today. Does a 15 min soak in a 104 degs hot tub help with virus decontamination?

Nice choice of recreation on a day like today! I went snowshoeing with my wife through the terrain between Solitude village and the Solitude Nordic Center. Just so you know for future reference, on the way up to the waterfall you passed a trail intersection (to the left) that should have had a small signpost present (but it could have been missing or knocked down). Had you taken the intersecting trail (Bonneville Shoreline Trail), it would have led you to the Mt. Olympus trail and then beyond to Olympus Cove, an older but equally high-end neighborhood. Doing so would likely have kept you below the snow line and the segment of trail to the Mt. Olympus trail intersection more or less contours within a fairly small elevation range with continuously great views of the Salt Lake Valley and beyond. As an aside, the current terminus of this section of the BST at Olympus Cove is right next to famous SLC skier Kristen Ulmer's home.

Normally I'm resort skiing or snowboarding most days at this time of year. With all the closures, I'm transitioning to some of my other usual outdoor recreational activities and hiking is one of them. Still hoping for some resorts to reopen but feel the odds are likely pretty low, with the exception of Snowbird (but, should it happen, is probably weeks away). Feel free to contact me through Pugski if you're looking for a hiking partner. I'm retired, have a pretty flexible schedule and know my way around virtually all the local trails.

I think we must be near neighbors, judging by the photo taken from the hot tub. I reside pretty high up on the Cottonwood Heights bench and I'm guessing I'm a fairly short distance south of the source of the photo.
 
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Jim Kenney

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@Daniel , I may take you up on the hiking guide offer:) Let me see what my schedule is this week. Have some prep work for a major visit by a plumber on Tues and Wed.
Today 22 Mar 2020 my wife and I intended to visit Antelope Island State Park (featured earlier in this thread). It's about 50 mins northwest of SLC and is the largest islandin the Great Salt Lake. But when we got about 5 miles from the island there was a big traffic jam. Tons of people had the same idea. It was a beautiful day for a drive, so we turned around and went to Great Salt Lake State Park. It's about 15 miles west of SLC off I80. It was much less crowded and we had fun walking along the shoreline of the lake.
great salt lake 22 mar 20.jpg great salt lake geese.jpg great salt lake kathy and jim.jpg great salt lake kathy.jpg

I had a very interesting observation about a local golf course. Over by Antelope Island we passed by Glen Eagle Golf Course in Syracuse, UT. It was mobbed with golfers and the parking lot was full. Made me jealous that they can play, but we skiers can't:huh: They seem to be fairly similar activities with respect to social interactions/distancing.
And it looks like 1 to 2 feet of snow coming to the Wasatch this week:snow:
glen eagle gc busy (2).jpg
 
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Jim Kenney

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Went for a 90 minute walk around Cottonwood Heights today 3/29/20. One thing kind of positive about the virus-limbo we're all living through is that it makes you focus on home and things close to home. This walk was basically a Sunday stroll through the greater neighborhood.
This is Old Mill Park. The entrance to Big Cottonwood Canyon is in background. The Wasatch Mtns got about 2 feet of snow Mar 26.
big cottonwood canyon trail pond 29mar20.jpg
The view looking up to Heughs Canyon where I took a hike a week ago.
big cottonwood trail pond heughs canyon .jpg
The multi-use Big Cottonwood Canyon trail cuts through the park.
big cottonwood stream.jpg
View of the abandoned Old Mill.
big cottonwood old mill.jpg
Close-up, cool structure. Wonder if they have plans of ever reopening it for tours or public events?
big cottonwood old mil close.jpg
View of Cottonwood Heights with the Old Mill to right and Salt Lake City in distant background.
big cottonwood heights view.jpg
 
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Jim Kenney

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3/30/20
Bonneville Shoreline Trail near Holladay, UT:
olympic cove bonneville shoreline trail rocky.jpg olympic cove view of great salt lake.jpg

3/31/20 Golden Spike National Historical Park, UT:
Promontory Summit where the first transcontinental railroad connection was made (and golden spike driven) is a somewhat desolate high ground near the north shore of the Great Salt Lake.
golden spike promontory summit.jpg
The beautiful Chinese Arch named after railroad workers.
golden spike arch.jpg
One of numerous rail bed cuts dating back to 1869.
golden spike cut.jpg
The Big Fill was an extremely laborious engineering project necessary to build the rail bed over a ravine not far east from the Golden Spike site.
golden spike big fill.jpg
FYI, we made no stops driving to and from Golden Spike National Historical Park and our only time outside our car was for quiet hikes along the abandoned rail line. Our smart phones allowed us to get a nice audio tour while visiting the park.
 
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Jim Kenney

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4/7/20 Another neighborhood walk, this time with friends.
Quail are ever-present in the area:
quail 7apr20.png
Believe that is a magpie:
7apr20 magpie.png
Nearby Mountain View Cemetery is a good place for a quiet stroll.
7apr20.png
and a little inspiration
7apr20 flag.png
cemetery statuary
7apr20 deer.png
Major League Baseball is not the only cancellation. Youth baseball leagues have also been impacted.
7apr20 baseball.png
This clever young lady was hitting softballs off a tee by herself.
7apr20 softball.png
 

Daniel

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Jim,
Looks like you continue to remain busy with non-skiing activities! The first image from your report was taken at the other end of the street I reside on. We have an over abundance of quail in our neighborhood and the resident sharp-shinned hawks and peregrine falcons are relentlessly hunting them. We probably average about 3 kills per month on our property alone, judging by the remains I find on a regular basis. You correctly identified the bird in the second image as a magpie, also found in great abundance in the neighborhood. The statuaries shown in your fifth image are almost directly behind our home on the cemetery property. A number of red fox reside back there and, over the years, so have coyotes, mule deer, skunks, ferrets, raccoons, squirrels, and even a mountain lion. There's always plenty of ducks and geese in the cemetery irrigation reservoir too. Nice photos taken in Bywater Park!
 
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Jim Kenney

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You live in a beautiful area @Daniel .
Now I know why there are occasionally clumps of grey feathers in our yard - leftovers from some predator's quail dinner. :P
 
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Jim Kenney

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My wife and I took a short hike today 4/18/20 on the Quail Hollow Trail near the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon, UT.

First, we had a quick peek at the nearby La Caille French Restaurant. It's closed due to Covid-19 and they are using this downtime to perform some renovations. Maybe we'll dine there one day? It's supposed to be very upscale.
la caille LCC watershed.jpg

Our trail hike took place just off Wasatch Blvd in the LCC watershed protection area.
1587261666215.png

In a very short distance here it can feel deceptively remote.
1587262553534.png

But the hills are alive with the sound of... suburbia :ogbiggrin:
LCC watershed hills.jpg

This quail was waiting for us when we got home.
LCC watershed quail.jpg
 
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Jim Kenney

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I took another walk around Cottonwood Heights, UT today, 4/22/20. It was a beautiful 65-70 degree F day. There were encouraging signs of "reopening". And best of all, it seemed like folks were behaving in a sensible way.

The abandoned baseball field I depicted in this thread two weeks ago was being used today for a practice session by a small and organized youth group supervised by a couple of adults.
baseball reopening.jpg

Next I came upon some folks my age playing pickleball. Way to go active seniors!
pickel ball reopening.jpg

This was a group of about five young kids, perhaps age 7-8, being led through a soccer practice by three adults.
soccer reopening.jpg

More soccer, this was a group of older kids, perhaps middle schoolers, playing on their own.
more soccer reopening.jpg

A father and son were shooting hoops nearby.
basketball reopening.jpg

Even the geese were practicing good social distancing while having a nice paddle under cotton candy clouds.
geese .jpg

I thought there was something symbolic in the upside down chair when I walked by this scene at the Recreation Center. We're not back to normal yet, but I'd like to hope there is a responsible way for this pool to hold its traditional opening on Memorial Day!?!
pool not reopening yet.jpg

Today reminded me of a weekday in June. It wasn't too busy, but there was a nice sprinkling of young and old folks out and about. I'm optimistic that America will get this reopening thing right!
 
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Jim Kenney

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4/23/20, I dusted off my son's mountain bike and took a one hour ride around the area today. It was fun and I'm interested in more biking to expand the range of exploration beyond my walks.
bike.jpg
I usually ride a hybrid at my home back East, so this fancy mtn bike took a little getting used to. I stuck pretty much to asphalt/paved surfaces today, but I might try some dirt trails as time goes on. This is a photo from a very upscale housing development above the gravel pit at the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon.
bike tavaci.jpg

This project (Tavaci) was zoned for large single family homes, but I think the developer also has grander plans calling for a resort and commercial stuff. This spectacular structure looked too big to be a residence. I'm not sure if it currently serves as a sales office or maybe it's supposed to become some kind of community center?
tavici bike house.jpg

And head's up to @Gary Stolt , @LaurelHillCraze , and @CharlieM , we have to ride the Great Allegheny Passage bike trail this summer when this covid thingy eases :thumb:

PS: @JohnL the first photo in this post is near the location of the Cotton Bottom Inn. That's the old dive bar with the good garlic burgers that closed. I rode by it and it had a big sign saying reopening Fall of 2020. Let's hope that is still the plan. Details here: https://www.sltrib.com/artsliving/food/2019/11/11/cotton-bottom-inn-will-be/
 
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