Pangaean Adventures

The best thing about having my work hours cut back (even though I still need to work a certain amount of time each week to meet my internship requirements) is that I now have more free time!! More free time = more vacations :-) So, this week Mom and I decided to go on a vacation to southern Utah. We left for Zion National Park on Tuesday and made some fun stops in Beaver and Cedar City. We then went to Springdale and ate dinner at our favorite Zion restaurant: Oscar's. Our favorite non-breakfast meal at Oscar's consists of sweet potato fries and a cheese quesadilla.

We then walked up to the Springdale cemetery to pay homage to all of the people we'd been spending so much time researching over the past few months. Before I wrote the Zion book, I had no idea who most of the Springdale people were, but now I feel like they're my good friends. We found the graves of all the main characters in my book: Donal Jolley, the first chief ranger at Zion; William and Carnelia Crawford; William Louis Crawford; Johann Jakob and Elisa Spiess Ruesch; and many others. The Springdale cemetery certainly is in a pretty place! Mom and I skulked around town for a little while and then spent the night at Zion Park Motel.

On Wednesday morning Mom and I had breakfast at Oscar's :-) The $2.99 two egg breakfast there is the best (and most tasty) deal in town. We then went up the canyon and hopped on the shuttle. The shuttle runs from March to November and is meant to reduce traffic in the park. Unfortunately the shuttle buses don't go very fast and they don't have A/C, so they're quite hot. The first shuttle bus that Mom and I got on yesterday was a doozy! The shuttle driver started out by saying, "Since we have people from many countries on the bus today, I will make my presentation very brief and simple so that even if you don't speak English very well you will be able to understand what I am saying." That sounded pretty good, but then he said, "Let's start back at the beginning when there was only one continent called Pangaea . . . " That's when we knew we were in trouble. The shuttle driver launched into a big long lecture about the geological history of the canyon. Mom and I had no idea what he was saying--I can't imagine what the people on the bus from France and Germany were thinking! Before we knew it, he was saying things like, "The fifth geological process is called exfoliation." Exfoliation? He then started to name every species of bird in the park, and he very adamantly claimed that we were not looking at mountains--we were looking at petrified sand dunes. I'm pretty sure that we were looking at mountains--big, tall mountain peaks. Anyway, by the time we reached the lodge, Mom and I had had about enough of the geology lesson, so we got off and hung out there for a little while. Then we hopped on a different shuttle--one with a nice, quiet, non-annoying driver--and rode the rest of the way up the canyon. We got off there and went on our favorite hike: the trail along the river to the Narrows. It was, as always, beautiful! We then rode back down the canyon and hung out at the visitor center for a little while. We then went into town, had a grilled cheese sandwich at Pioneer Lodge, and then took off for St. George. We arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's house just in time to have some of Uncle Dennis' yummy spaghetti. We had a fun evening there together.

Today Mom and I had a wonderful time going to the St. George Temple. It was such a neat experience! The temple is a beautiful building, and it holds special meaning for our family because some of our ancestors helped build it. Before going to the temple, Mom and I had lunch at the Bear Paw restaurant and discovered a new favorite: veggie quiche. It was delicious! What a fun afternoon! We then went to visit Auntie Donna. We're planning to head home tomorrow and will stop at Cove Fort days on the way. This has been a great vacation!

I got a little behind on a few things earlier this week. Last Friday I was able to go to the Provo Temple with Mom and Dad as part of the Taylor family reunion. I love the Provo Temple! And last Sunday I had to work at Camp Floyd, so after they went to church, Mom, Sarah, Joel, and Eliza came to visit me. Little Eliza was sporting her ranger apparel. She is the cutest ranger ever!

As you can see, she picked right up on the tour-giving technique.

Bridal Veil Fires

Bridal Veil Falls is on fire! Well, the falls themselves aren't on fire, but a fire is burning all around them. The old restaurant that was up there at the top of the tram caught on fire and burned last night. Today as I was driving home from work, I noticed that the fire was starting to come around to the west side of the mountain, and there was a lot of smoke in the air, so it is obviously quite a large fire. But, we had a pretty hefty rainstorm blow through this evening, so hopefully that helped the firefighters a bit.

I spent all day today out at Camp Floyd. We had a Boy Scout group for the first half of the day, and then quite a few visitors in the afternoon, so it stayed pretty busy. I even met my first ghost hunters today! I did not know that this particular group was made up of ghost hunters, but when I went to lock up the inn this evening, they came running over and told me that they had their tape recorders going inside. So, they had to go through and gather up all of their ghost hunting paraphernalia before we could close it up :-) It wasn't quite like the Sci-Fi Channel's "Ghost Hunters," considering that it was the middle of the day instead of the middle of the night, and today's ghost hunters only had their recorders running for about 15 minutes instead of several hours. But the people I met today were quite enthused and certain they would capture something.

Unfortunately it seems that history is at the bottom of everybody's priority lists--at least the lists of those who decide where state money goes. Today I found out that Camp Floyd's seasonal employment funding kind of got axed, so now Mark and I are going to need to work out a different schedule for me. He can't afford to pay me for all of the hours I need to meet the requirement for my EIU internship, so we'll have to come up with a new plan.

But Utah is not the only state to have low funding when it comes to state historic sites. I think that Illinois would top that list. Governor Blagojevich cut 3 million dollars out of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency budget the other day. That's really smart (sarcastic remark!), considering that the Lincoln bicentennial is coming up next year--which could be a huge money maker for the state--unless you don't have any money with which to support the state historic sites. My theory is that Blagojevich is just trying to pull money in from various places to patch up the holes he's left in the state budget--holes which resulted from his efforts to line his own pockets with cash. He's what you might call a dirty Chicago politician--hmmm, that sounds like another politician I've heard of . . . Obama? I'm afraid that Blagojevich (who will be going to prison when he's done being governor) and Obama originate from the same batch of muddy Chicago water. We'll see how much more damage Blagojevich can do before his time as governor is up. It looks like he's going to try to take the state historic sites down with him, unfortunately.

The National Park Service has decent funding thanks to President Bush's efforts--so there is still hope for the national historic sites--but I'm afraid that, depending on who wins the upcoming election, the national parks could be in for it as well.

"This is the Place"

Hooray for Pioneer Day! This is my favorite holiday. It is wonderful to have a day set aside specifically for remembering the sacrifices of the pioneers. When Brigham Young arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in July 1847, it must have been a welcome relief to know that after 17 months of traveling, they had finally reached the place where they would settle. Most of the Saints were still back at Winter Quarters when Brigham Young declared "This is the Place," but I'm sure they were glad to have a specific destination in mind as they traveled the remaining miles to what would later become Utah. I can't imagine the faith that it would have taken to leave Nauvoo in the winter--especially not really knowing where you were going or how long it would be before you could settle again. In the Taylor family, Pioneer Day has special meaning for us because our ancestor, Norman Taylor, drove the second wagon into the valley--right behind Brigham Young. Norman was only 18 at the time, but he was an expert when it came to wagons, so Brigham Young wanted to have him close by. They might have thought that Utah looked pretty desolate at first, but Brigham Young always had a way of seeing things as they could become--not just as they were. His foresight and the hard work of the pioneers established a wonderful place: Utah! I love Utah so very much, and I am grateful that this is the place I can call home.

Today the Arcadia Publishing people sent me the proofs for the postcard series that will accompany my book. They look pretty cool! This is what the cover of the postcard packet will look like. It will be fun when all of the book stuff comes out in November. And, on Pioneer Day, I am glad that I can work towards making a contribution to the written history of Utah.

We had such a fun day today! The day began with an abbreviated family tennis tournament (because it was too hot to be outside for long), then we had fun playing in the sprinklers and inflatable swimming pools in the backyard. The girls all love playing in the water. Then we had a yummy picnic lunch and nice Pioneer Day naps. This evening we did sparklers outside, which Eliza was very intrigued with, and now some of us are off to see the new Batman movie, "Dark Knight." What a fun day! Happy Pioneer Day everyone!

Happy Birthday Angie!

Today is my best buddy Angie's birthday!!! I am sad that I don't get to celebrate with her today--for the last two years we got to celebrate her birthday in Mississippi. In 2006, I got a birthday cake from Edna's Cakes there in Natchez, and we had a party for her over at Ranger Jessica's house. Then, last year I took Angie to the Castle at Dunleith for a birthday lunch a few days prior to her birthday, then we picked up some Mondito Burritos in Vidalia, Louisiana on her actual b-day. Good times. She is a truly wonderful friend, and I am grateful to know her. She is one of the nicest, funniest, most generous people I have ever met. When I first arrived in Natchez in May 2006, I thought I had dropped off the face of the earth and was in a totally new world. I did not enjoy it there at first, but from my very first day of work as a park ranger, Angie, who was my direct supervisor, made me laugh, smile, and feel welcome there. We became really good friends that summer and fall, and then we became even better friends when I went back to Natchez last summer. My visit to see her in Pennsylvania this last January literally saved my life because school was driving me insane! :-) She and I have had many, many, many good times and laughs, and even though we've only known each other for a little over two years, it feels like we've been friends forever. Her husband is great too, and now they have a cute baby! I am so happy that she is happy, and I hope that she has a very happy birthday today!

Today I got to sleep in and have a day off after a long and busy last few days of work. My weekend is in the middle of the week this week, and then I have to work this weekend (including, unfortunately, Sunday). On Monday we had a school group come, which was fun but very tiring. These kids were ages 6-11, and they had a lot of energy. The parents that we had helping out were really good this time--which helped a lot. In fact, one of the dads was totally decked out in a mountain man getup! Most parents don't get that into it. After the school group left, Jeri and I cleaned the muskets. I am still trying to get some of the gunpowder off of my hands :-) Monday night was also our neighborhood block party. All I can say is that 300 South in Orem, Utah is hardcore! The neighbors blocked off the end of our street, then they put up a huge 40-foot climbing wall, then they brought out the BBQs and whipped up quite a feast. The festivities continued well into the night--ending with some pretty serious fireworks at about 10:00 p.m.

Yesterday was a pretty quiet day out in Fairfield until a big group of senior citizens came from an assisted living place in Lehi. They were very cute and funny. I was the only employee there at Camp Floyd, however, so it got to be a little crazy for a while. They wanted me to tell them stories about Camp Floyd, then they watched our movie about the place, walked through the museum, toured the inn, and ate lunch at our picnic area (which, you remember, is one of the top 50 in the U.S.!). They all loved seeing the 1858 potatoes in the museum. They were a really fun group.

I am very excited that tomorrow is the 24th of July--my favorite holiday in the whole world!!! I feel bad for people in other states who don't get to celebrate the 24th. It's such a cool holiday.

Momentous Events

The last couple of days have been full of momentous events. First off, little Eliza visited Zion National Park over the weekend and became a park ranger!! She looks great in her ranger gear. Her auntie Ranger Tiff is so proud! I am quite jealous though because baby ranger uniforms include shorts--Mississippi ranger uniforms include polyester pants. She's so cute! I especially love the little deer attached to her belt.


The next momentous event occurred yesterday evening during Sunday dinner. Camden lost her first tooth!!! She is the first Taylor grandchild to lose a tooth, and everyone (especially Camden) was very excited. She requested that we all refer to her as "Without-Tooth Girl." Word on the street is that the Tooth Fairy visited her last night and left some presents but forgot to take the tooth. Maybe she'll come back tonight for the tooth (and leave more presents?). What an exciting Sunday dinner!

Then, today Camp Floyd received notification that we have been named by Reserve America Top 100 Family Destinations as one of America's top 25 Educational and Historical Facilities! We also made it in the top 50 best picnic areas, but that's not quite as cool as the top 25. That's a pretty big award. We are very excited, and we will proudly be displaying said award in the museum.

Even though Mark Twain never did stay at Camp Floyd, I still think it is one of Utah's best kept secrets (although it would be better if it wasn't such a secret). I can't believe how many important Civil War generals were stationed there right before the war began. I was doing some research on Camp Floyd's famous inhabitants today, and pictured here is one of the most famous (or infamous?) soldiers that was stationed in Utah. His name was Henry Heth, and he is considered to be the man who inadvertently started the Battle of Gettysburg. The crazy part is that Heth, who was a Confederate commander, accidentally ran into Union cavalryman John Buford at Gettysburg, and even though Heth had not been ordered to engage, he started firing at Buford and his men. The weird part is that John Buford was at Camp Floyd too!!!! Then, the next Union man to roll into town was General John Reynolds--ANOTHER Camp Floyd alum! It was like a Camp Floyd reunion at Gettysburg, only they were trying to kill each other. Unfortunately John Reynolds got shot in the neck shortly after he arrived in Gettysburg, but I think it's pretty crazy that three of the first to engage at G-burg had all been stationed out in the Utah Territory before the war.

Another famous Camp Floyd soldier was Bernard Bee from South Carolina. He is the one who gave "Stonewall" Jackson his nickname! In fact, Sarah and Joel have visited his grave in South Carolina before--and we didn't even know that he had been out in Utah for a few years! Who needs Mark Twain stopping by when you have Generals Johnston, Buford, Heth, and Bee?