Categories
Utah

Visiting the Discovery Gateway Museum in Salt Lake City, Utah

Why Salt Lake City's Discovery Gateway Children's Museum is Worth a Visit Just recently I had the opportunity to visit the Discovery Gateway Museum in Salt Lake City, UT with my kids. We had a blast! Although the museum is not the biggest we’ve been to (and we’ve been to quite a few) it kept our attention spans, and I feel like my kids learned a thing or two. Definitely requirements as museum visits are typically considered “school” for the day. We started in the Beehive ball house – which Cara especially loved. Moving the balls around, putting them through the air tubes, watching them roll back down keeps the kids buzzing around like little worker bees. Discovery Gateway Utah_02 Discovery Gateway Utah_23 They also have a room that combines water play as well as pretend play. Cara was super cute at the cash register, and Rachel did a great job grocery shopping and then loading all her groceries into the kitchen at “home”. I even got in on the action and delivered some mail! Discovery Gateway Utah_08Discovery Gateway Utah_14 Upstairs they have a communication station where you can send messages back and forth on a pulley: Discovery Gateway Utah_17 A Storytelling area: Discovery Gateway Utah_24 And you can even forecast the weather! Discovery Gateway Utah_25 My favorite recent edition, however, is the new Emergency Center outside on the plaza. While they’ve had the Life Flight Helicopter for some time, they’ve added in an emergency room. My kids were able to “stabilize” their patient during the flight to the hospital, and then wheel him in for x-rays and even surgery. We had lunch out here, and then the kids played for at least an hour. It was fantastic! Discovery Gateway Utah_20 I feel like the Gateway Discovery Museum does a great job of keeping their exhibits exciting for kids! They also currently had a Bob the Builder rotating exhibit which we didn’t have enough time to thoroughly explore. This museum is also a participant on the Salt Lake City Connect Pass, which is a great way to get out and explore the city for less money. Visit the Gateway Museum in the morning, stop by the Lion House Pantry for lunch, and hit up the Hogle Zoo in the evening when the weather cools off! I definitely recommend spending a few hours here if you are in the area!

Categories
Hiking Outdoor Adventures Tips & Tricks

The Best Time of Day To Take Your Kids Hiking

Now that summer is here, we are trying to get the kids out hiking. A lot. Usually this involves lots of whining and complaints about being tired. A few months ago, however, we stumbled upon the perfect combination: beautiful scenery + in the evening.

The first time we hiked in the evening it was by chance. We had a busy day as Sam worked a good 8-9 hours and the kids and I worked on a Jr. Ranger Book. Since we were in Zion National Park, I knew Sam would want to get out and go explore after he was done working, so we made an early dinner and set out on the shuttle for the Zion Narrows located at the end of the park. What we found surprised us: there were VERY few people there. Like maybe 5. On the whole trail. After a busy day fighting crowds of people we were kind of in shock. The weather was cooler, the light was pretty, and the kids had quite a bit of energy to burn.

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Putting our discovery to the test, we decided to try our formula again at Bryce Canyon National Park a few weeks later. We drove to the Bristlecone Pine Loop and had ourselves a nice, relaxing, evening hike. Everyone enjoyed it! The kids were in a good mood, I was in heaven with the beautiful light and my adorable subjects, and we ended the night on a complete high.

The BEST Time to Go Hiking With Kids! We've tried LOTS of different variations over our travels and by far this has worked the best! 02

A week later we were in Cedar Breaks National Park and all kind of cranky. It had been a rough driving day with lots of frustrations, but after we set up and had a quick dinner we set out on a short walk to the visitor center. Totally cured our crankiness. By the time we got back to the Airstream to get ready for bed, everyone was in a much better mood and excited about exploring the next morning.

The BEST Time to Go Hiking With Kids! We've tried LOTS of different variations over our travels and by far this has worked the best! 03

Now I’m not saying that EVERY time we head out in the evenings its perfect bliss, but we have a pretty good track record so far. Even most recently when the kids were complaining that they were too tired, swimming had worn them out, and even I was doubtful – Sam dragged us all out on the trail and it turned completely magical.

The BEST Time to Go Hiking With Kids! We've tried LOTS of different variations over our travels and by far this has worked the best! 04

As a total bonus, when we get back the kids are usually pretty tired and head to bed with little to no complaining. Total win all around! The ideal time of day likely depends heavily on the seasons, and will migrate earlier in the day as temperature drops. But for now, evening hikes will be a frequent habit.

Categories
Nevada Video

Wandering Update: Jess Almost Has a Heart Attack in the Ruby Mountains – Nevada

Wandering Update - Jess Almost Has a Heart Attack in the Ruby Mountains. Watch our video of the descent down out of the mountains!
Last week we spent 2 nights at Angel Lake high in the Ruby Mountains. It was beautiful and surprising given that generally our excursions across Nevada on I-80 are done as quickly as possible due to the lack of scenery. The Ruby Mountains, however, are definitely not lacking in scenery. Located south of Wells, foraging into these hills is definitely worth the time and effort if you can manage it. The only downside to this beautiful place is the drive up there. Located at nearly 8500 feet elevation, the road to get there is windy, twisty, and there are seriously NO guardrails. I really almost had a heart attack. Once we got to to the top (and were all still in one piece) I spent some of the next two days dreading the drive back down. I had visions of our brakes giving out and us careening over the edge to our deaths. Luckily, no such thing happened, and the trip down was pretty uneventful. Lucky for you, we made a video of our descent. Check it out!   The kids mention in the video that one of their favorite things was to hike to the waterfall. We also spent an afternoon swimming in the fairly frigid (yet quite refreshing) Angel Lake. Someday maybe we’ll even add a fishing pole to our arsenal of gear and catch us some dinner while we are at it. Angel Lake_06 Angel Lake_22 Angel Lake_32 As you can see the scenery is quite breathtaking. My kids (and Sam!) were fairly impressed with my impromptu hike to the top of the waterfall as well. I’m pretty sure Andrew was just jealous as scrambling into dangerous places is one of his favorite past times. We definitely enjoyed this trip and look forward to the next time we get to visit this amazing places!

Categories
WanderLog

Golden Spike, Ruby Mountains and Lake Tahoe – Putting on Some Miles

Travel Dates: July 12-18, 2014

We made it out of Utah! Amazing! Jess spent last Saturday at a photography workshop in Salt Lake City while Sam took the kids around downtown.

We then spent a day near Brigham City with Sam doing a work visit and Jess taking the kids to Golden Spike National Historic Site to earn a Jr. Ranger Badge. Super fun stuff!!

After that it was off to Nevada! We hit a beautiful spot in the Ruby Mountains, ate at one of our favorite pizza places in Winnemucca, visited some friends in Wellington and finally made it to South Lake Tahoe for the weekend. Lots of driving recently, but we are hanging in there!

This Week on Instagram July 13-19 2014

Categories
Daily Life

One Year Ago, We Drove Away From Our House

One year ago we officially drove away from our house on the way to our house swap in Virginia. We celebrated with a beautiful evening hike up at Angel Lake in Nevada.

It is difficult to place a single anniversary on our travels, as we grew into our adventures in stages. Over the course of the next few months, we’ll have a small handful of ‘one year’ anniversaries.

But this one is likely our biggest. One year ago, we drove away from our house in Lehi, Utah in a minivan packed to the gills. We spent the next 18 days driving across the country, camping and staying with friends, on our way to Virginia for a house swap.

Those 18 days changed us in ways we didn’t quite yet realize at the time. Our adventures led us to find and buy our Airstream, and begin this grand adventure. But there are other posts about that.

Today, we celebrate the courage to drive away to something unknown. How did we celebrate? With an evening hike through wildflowers to see a waterfall.