State Parks Scavenger Hunt-Northern Parks

Well, we are down to the last few weeks of the state parks scavenger hunt, and we are planning on making every weekend count!  If all goes according to plan, we will still be able to hit every park by the end of the month!  Yesterday we got in four more parks by driving north and hitting Antelope Island, Bear Lake, Hyrum, and Willard Bay.

Antelope Island
Even though I was born and raised in Utah, I have only ever been to Antelope Island once, with my Grandma Larsen.  That was also the only time I've ever swam in the Great Salt Lake.  I'm grateful for the nudge to get out and do things I don't normally do.  We've got to see so many great places so far this summer!

These were samples of some of the oldest rocks in Utah which are found on the island.  They are dated as being 2.7 billion years old!  You can tell Leila was fascinated...

Unfortunately we were there during the first ever Spider Festival....shudders...me and spiders don't get a long.  Leila didn't seem to mind her spider ring though!

Bear Lake
Bear Lake is another place I haven't been to in years.  And there were really only a couple of things I remembered from my last trip: the fresh raspberry shakes and the KOA camp store.  We started off our time here with lunch followed by a treat stop at the Chocolate Bear for chocolate covered raspberries (amazing) and other goodies.

Near the marina, they had some fish feeders set up and there were a ton of HUGE carp circling, just waiting for the food.  Right when we got there, one kid actually reached in and grabbed one with his bare hands!  Leila, who is obsessed with all animals right now, loved seeing the "bishies" and kept making her fish noise (opening and closing her mouth to make a popping noise) over and over.

After the marina, we drove down to Rendezvous Beach and spent some time building a sand castle.  Leila LOVED the sand and had a mild meltdown when we forced her back into the car.  The skies were overcast so it wasn't too hot.  Great day for some beach time!

Sand Castle Architects

My little beach baby!

Who doesn't like a day at the beach?

On our way out of town, we stopped and got the obligatory raspberry shake.  Jason quickly realized why I remembered these so fondly, despite the fact that they make my tongue hurt (I have a slight allergy to raspberries but it has only ever effected me when eating these shakes).

Hyrum

The only thing we had planned on doing at Hyrum was getting a snow cone.  Unfortunately when we got there, it was closed.  On a hot Saturday afternoon in the middle of summer.  Go figure!

Willard Bay

Willard Bay was our last stop of the day and we were all getting a little antsy after being in the car all day.  So it was nice to get out and stretch our legs for a bit on the beach.

Running away from the Daddy Monster

Leila gives the BEST hugs!

State Parks Scavenger Hunt-Camp Floyd

We had big plans to do another big state parks trip yesterday, but then Leila started having an inconsistent fever Friday night, so we just hit the one closest to us and called it good for the day.  The Camp Floyd and Stagecoach Inn State Park consists of exactly what it sounds like: the historic Stagecoach Inn and the Camp Floyd Commisary/Museum.  With Leila being a little under the weather, we opted to just walk through the Stagecoach Inn, especially since we had plans later that night to meet up with Laurel and her hubby for dinner before we all went to Kirsten's reception in Tooele.  Phew!

The hole from a shotgun blast that went through 2 walls.

Ancestry Summer Party

Last Saturday was the annual Ancestry summer party.  Usually they have it at Seven Peaks, but they chose to do something different this year and have it at Thanksgiving Point.  Throughout the day, the different venues were open to us and then they had a big gathering later that evening with food, fun, and games.  We decided to hop back and forth throughout the day so that Leila could still get in her naps in her crib.

To begin, we started by exploring the Farm Country and Leila LOVED it!  She loved seeing all of the animals, especially the baby goats.  She would get all excited, point, and then sit in front of the fence and just watch them.  She would even pick up bits of straw and feed it to them through the fence.

Hanging onto the fence for dear life.  She didn't want to leave! 

Baby goats are ADORABLE!

Locked up for making trouble :p

Then we made our way to the Museum of Ancient Life.  Leila had a little bit more trouble being fascinated by the old dinosaur bones, but they had a little exhibit called Thinkering and she thoroughly enjoyed running around and playing with everything they had in there.

She'd put bits of paper in the tube and they would fly up and she would laugh SO hard!

Later, we went to Electric Park--where they had set up an inflatable slide and games, calf roping (machinated), a couple of kiddie trains, and face painting.  They also had volleyball courts and a soccer field.  It was pretty sweet!  Unfortunately, Leila was getting cranky and feeling sick (runny nose) so we only stayed for dinner and one quick ride on one of the trains.  It was enough for my little one though, so we were all happy.