On Second Thought

I've promised you this week to share some great last days of summer activities, but I've come to the decision that it's time for me to stand back and re-evaluate what I'm doing here on A Local Wander and, more importantly, why I'm doing it.   I hope you will be patient with me while I figure all that out.

In an effort to help answer some of my questions, I do have a question or two for you:

     ~What parts of this blog have you used/visited most often?  Is it just the blog posts?  The calendar of events?  Any, all, or none of the pages listed above?

     ~What would make you want to pass this blog along to your friends and family?

Summer V. School

In a lot of Utah homes right now, a major change is underway; 
the bustle of the new school year stepping on the toes of the lazy days of summer. 

 But with beautiful Utah weather forging ahead
 and at least one more long weekend before the temperatures start to drop,
 there are plenty of reasons to continue celebrating with the summer activities that we love.

This week we're pushing back the impending hectic-ness of the school year 
and embracing what's thrilling about the late of days of Utah summer. 


 See you back here tomorrow!

A Favor

Two great things happening this week that I unfortunately cannot attend:

Speed Week at the Bonneville Salt Flats

BYU Education Week

I have plans to attend the World Finals on the Salt Flats in October.  If you're lucky enough to be heading out there this week, I'd love to share your story here!

And the same goes for Education Week...signed up for any classes, excited for the entertainment, have any Education Week traditions?  Your fellow wanderers would love to hear what you have to say.

I look forward to hearing from you! 
Oh, you may have noticed this/next week are sparse on the events calendar.
Let me know if there's anything I can add!

Mountain Letters: Hiking the "G"

Utahns should never take for granted the unique navigational guides we have emblazoned on our mountains.  Look up anywhere and you're bound to see a big white letter waiting to tell you where you are (even if sometimes you've got to be really creative in figuring out what that letter is telling you) 

The first in our new ongoing Mountain Letters Series:

The Pleasant Grove "G" has been an important landmark for our family.  As a marker for home, we can point to it from across the valley when our little one asks how much longer until we get home.  He knows the closer we get to that letter on the mountain, the sooner we'll be home.  Along with the BYU "Y", the "G" has also served as an educational tool.  When Word World was teaching him his letters, our little one started spotting them from the freeway and hollering them out proudly.  And most recently, the giant white letter has turned into a fun game of "I Can See a G" as it moves behinds trees and buildings before reappearing a few moments later.  


We have intended to make a trek to the "G" several times.  The lack of clearly defined trail always dissuaded us, and once we discovered the much easier and well-marked BattleCreek Falls trail leaving from the same parking lot, the "G" was pretty much off our radar.  Finally this summer the giant "G" called us so scouted out a route to take us all the way there.  We left our excuses in the car and struck out on a trail that kinda sorta looked it was the right way to go.


The first part of the trail is really steep.  Our little one kept telling us it was "pretty steep," but he kept on trekking.  

 

It's interesting to get up close to a mammoth wild consonant.  On the way up we each took a guess what it would be made of-wood, rocks, concrete.  It's actually made with long strips of white-washed metal, and coming into full close-up view our little informed us we were all wrong....it's made out of chairs.  He could be right-if you think of the nylon weaving of a lawn chair painted white and giganticized, that is what the "G" is made of. 

 

We spent the rest of our time there having lunch in the center of the oversized capital letter.  It is beautiful to get above your regular life-all the traffic, the stores, and the noise; to look across the valley and realize how big Utah Lake really is, how intricately the roads are interlaced, how many reservoirs there are, and where all the dirt trails go. The opportunity to take it all in made the trip worth it, no matter the difficulty we had in getting there.  



Directions and Information:
The trails to the Pleasant Grove "G" originate in the same parking lot as the Battle Creek Trailhead located at the top of Battle Creek Drive, or E 200 S, in Pleasant Grove.  The road ends in a parking lot for Kiwanis Park.  A small bridge crosses a creek on the north end of the parking lot.  Cross the bridge, walk through the small pavilion and follow the fence line to the dividing trailheads shown above.  Either trail will merge together into the primary trail at the top of the first ridge.  

Goblin Valley: Mars Is In Utah

Tucked away in the middle of nowhere southern Utah is one of the most bizarre places you'll ever see on Earth.  In 100 visits you'll take 100 different paths and never feel like you've covered the same ground twice. And in a world of ever-increasing security and liability precautions, Goblin Valley is refreshingly void of safety rails and "stay off the grass" signs.  If you can see it you can climb it, scurry around it, or burrow underneath it.


So what do you do when you get there? Let yourself be a kid again!  Leave any fear of heights at home and scale to the top for a view across red rock country that is unmatched anywhere.  Put aside claustrophobia and squeeze into as many nooks and crannies as is physically possible.  Let your toughest decision be whether to go over a bulbous rock or around.  Explore, explore, explore.


Goblin Valley is truly nature's best playground, especially if you get creative.  Toss a Frisbee over a red rock obstacle to friend's you can't see.  Play an intense game of sardines or hide and seek. Challenge the family to an extreme round of croquet.  And definitely stick around until night when the unfamiliar terrain will take on an entirely new personality.

In all seriousness, Goblin Valley State Park is a treasure for Utahns and the Utah state park system. Go there and make it at least a day.  It'll get inside of you and you'll find yourself wandering down there again and again!

Directions and Information:
Leaving from Spanish Fork, drive south on Hwy 6 to the junction with I-70.  Merge onto I-70 to the west and then take Exit 149.  Passing underneath the interstate, follow UT-24 south for 24 miles.  From there, signs will take you 12 more miles west and south before the park literally appears before you in the middle of nowhere.  The park entrance fee is $13 and only good for the day you arrive, so make sure to get there early enough to feel like you got your money's worth.  Also, a small visitor's center inside the ranger booth provides books and maps of the local area as well as a few treats.

If it's not the height of summer or UEA weekend, you're almost guaranteed to share the park with only a few other people like yourself.  So many times I've been there and not run into a single other person.  Regardless of the time of year you go, though, be sure to dress in layers and take lots of water.  There are vault toilets, but there is no water source once you've arrived at the park.  

Goblin Valley Camping

If you're not fitting Goblin Valley into a larger weekend/vacation itinerary, there is camping available just outside the park.  It's beautiful at night and quiet in the morning, but trust me on this: It can get cold after dark!!! Not a problem if you come prepared for that (I speak from unfortunate experience). And if you're resourceful or daring, there are opportunities for free camping on public lands in several places nearby. Read this post for more information on using the public BLM land.


Have you been to Goblin Valley?

State Parks Road Trip Week

In April a group of Utah tourism/outdoor enthusiasts took a 72-hour road trip,  visiting all 43 Utah state parks along the way.

.Utah State Parks Road Trip

After their trip, Governor Herbert declared August 1-7 to be Utah State Parks Road Trip Week.  The goal of both efforts is to get all Utahns out into at least one state park in 2011.  This week I want to get you excited for a few of my favorite state parks, but first I'm going to let you in on way to do it for free.

State Park Passes are available to check through Utah's public libraries; I cannot think of a single reason to pass up this opportunity for free outdoor exploring!  Based on my own experience at the Orem Public Library, this is what I know:

~Skip the search on the electronic card catalog and go straight to your librarian to get on the list. The pass seems to be creatively labeled and it took my librarian several word combinations before she could find it.

~You're going to be on a long waiting list. I was #19 on the hold list.  My library only has 1 pass and it checks out for 7 days.  But don't lose hope!  They work year-round-so, no, you probably won't get one to use this week, but the parks will be equally enjoyable later in the year-Just don't put off getting on the list or it could be Christmas before you get out there.

~Research now or later.  No need to panic if you're not familiar with all 43 Utah state parks.  The pass comes with a booklet describing each one.  And since you do get it for 7 days, you'll have a chance to group a few together and visit more than one.

Directions and Information:
It's not any harder than the flyer or information I've given above.  Go to your library, get on the wait list, check it out, and go! 

 I can't wait to hear how it works for you!