This is the Place

This summer we bought the Utah Connect passes so we could visit lots of different fun sites at a discount.  So far we have gone to the Clark Planetarium and the Childrens Museum. A couple of weeks ago we went up to Salt Lake and spent the day at This is the Place Heritage Park. It is a place that used to be owned by the LDS church and gives you an up close look at what life was like for the early settlers of Utah.  It mostly has the homes of early pioneers but also has a small section dedicated to learning about mountain men and Native Americans.  I was fascinated by the way people lived back then.  I'm not sure I would have made it in the days of lumpy straw mattresses, outhouses, and wood cook stoves!

When we got there we realized there was a special Halloween event going on.  Several of the historic houses were decorated and had people there handing out candy.  They also had a candy cannon that shot out tons of candy onto Main Street and the kids got to run out and get a few pieces.

The kids really enjoyed riding the ponies, panning for gold, and stamping leather.  They also got to make necklaces with arrowheads on them. Then we rode the train around most of the park.  I was surprised how big of a place it really was!

We happened to run into Ben Woodruff, one of Tyson's friends, who owns many owls and other birds of prey.  He was giving a demonstration and it was fun to look at his birds and talk to him about them.  He and Tyson got into a fairly scientific conversation that I'm sure could have gone on all day! He invited us to come watch sometime this Fall when he takes his birds out to hunt.  That should be a really unique and cool experience! 

Tyson's parents were able to come join us for part of the time.  We were going to go to the Zoo later in the day but it was jam packed with visitors so we thought we'd go there a different day when it wasn't so busy.  Instead we went to Red Butte Gardens and walked around enjoying the beautiful plants.  Then Bill and Susan treated us to dinner at Golden Corral for Tyson's birthday.  It was a very nice day!