Easter Egg Hunt

A great time was had by all. Fraser and Thomas had to leave for Baseball practice.

Leslie and her friends organised an Easter Egg hunt this morning in a local park. The weather was glorious and the girls had made a smashing picnic. You really cannot beat California for outdoor events and all the parks have great picnic areas. Elliot and Gaye are enjoying each others company.

Mariola gives the children their instructions for finding the Easter Eggs 

The 11 children from the 5 families with all the Easter Eggs  

Leslie and her friends with Eleanor. Mariola on the extreme right is the double of Dr. Cat Barlow

A Train and Lake Bonneville

After our vintage car journey this morning Carlo and I headed into Idaho for the place where Lake Bonneville burst 12,500 years ago and drained the lake. Red Rock Pass where a huge torrent of water swept through the break in the mountains and devastated everything in front of it. At that time Salt Lake City would be under over 1000 ft of water.

The information board at the site

Thre is a railway track just across the road from Carlo and Sidne's house n Mendon. There is only 1 train a day uses it and it crawls along at about 20 mph. I manage to catch it this morning. In the afternoon we walked part of the line and it's no wonder the train travels so slow as it is in a very poor condition and just a matter of time before the train comes of the rails.

Driving Round Mendon in a Vintage Car

As the weather was nice we were able to take Carlo's 1951 Mercury out for a drive round the streets 

of Mendon. It started first time after being idle for most of the winter.

Mendon streets are full of wild Turkeys and we met this male bird strutting about on the Main Street 

Gaye is dressed for the occasion but in actual fact the car was nice and warm

A right poser

Outside the old railway station. 

We drove up to the cemetery and the Veterans Memorial. Carlo's name appears on the middle memorial even though he is very much still alive. He served in the army in Korea.

This is the oldest house in Mendon and one of the few built with stone instead of wood.

Another poser

The house we are staying at. The grass is all brown at the moment as it goes that way in winter and has been covered by snow for many weeks. It will soon come green and then will need watering all summer to keep it that way.

We Played Pickle Ball

This morning we were ticket by Carlo and Sidne to play Pickle Ball in the local church hall.

It is very popular in Utah and the USA. We use bats or Paddles a little larger than a Table Tennis Bat

and the ball is plastic with holes in it. It was most enjoyable and I soon got the hang of it. I had not had a racket in my hand for 26 years since I gave up Squash.

   Gaye also got the hang of it and played 3 games and won one of them while I played 5 and won 3.

Gaye getting used to the game.

An action shot.

The participants who made us most welcome.

Crane Hunting and a Visit to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

This morning after breakfast Carlo and I headed of in his buggy to find some Cranes. We soon found them in the marshlands and although they were quite a distance away I managed to photograph them

It was a bright but very cold morning with new snow on the mountains

Two Sandhill Cranes with their distinctive red heads

The mountains to the north of the Cache Valley

In the afternoon we headed to Brigham city and a visit to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge

The Refuge has a visitor centre but the best part of it is a 12 mile Auto tour at the delta of the Bear river which is at the north end of the Great Salt Lake. There is about 50 square miles of marshland and one of the finest places to see migratory birds in the USA 

Not sure what these birds are but will find out and post the names soon

The reed beds stretched for miles

Two Pelicans

Closer view of a Pelican

More reed beds 

The road that stretches for 12 miles round the delta

The canal that helps control the water in the delta

A Canada Goose

Back to Winter in Utah and a Vintage Car

Gaye had to try on Carlo's old army uniform which still fits him after over 40 years.

This morning it was snowing so we were taken by our hosts to the nearest ski resort Cherry Peak which only opened this season. It is a very small ski resort but Fraser and the family enjoyed skiing there during the Christmas holidays.

Ski slopes empty just now as the lifts are only open this week in the evening for night skiing

Still plenty of snow

This is Carlo's vintage car that he won in a raffle at a recent car show. It's a 60 year old Mercury. Weather permitting we will have a drive in it on Thursday.

The car is in perfect condition

Due to me forgetting to take my special plug to charge my laptop to Utah I am doing this post on my I Pad so it may not be as presentable as others.

The top end of the Cache valley forming a horseshoe in the distance

San Jose to Salt Lake City and a Trip Through the Utah Mountains

A change of scenery and climate today as we flew from San Jose to Salt Lake City where we were met by Carlo and Sidne . They decided we would go to Mendon through the mountain route and visit Carlo's sister Vickie in Kamas on the way. There is still a lot of snow on the mountains and the ski season will finish after this Easter weekend. This is near Park City. 

In Kamas we visited Vickie who lives in a log cabin and this is the view from the house.

Gaye with Vickie outside her log cabin. Her husband John Singer build this house 60 years ago with his own hands and without the use of any power tools. He was shot dead by the police in the 70s during an attempt to arrest him for home schooling his children. There is a book called Death of an American about the whole story. A very interesting read.  

Another view of the log cabin

 The broad band up here in Mendon is not good so I have had to restrict the number of photos in my blog. This is Sidne, Carlo, Gaye, and Vickie.