Mid Trip Wedding

7/30. Finally it is time to catch up with my family in Mountain Green, UT, where my brother and wife and where their grown children live near by. The reason for my journey across the country this weird summer is my niece is getting married on Sunday.  The wedding had to be cancelled from its spring date when the coronavirus changed everything and in spite of the uncertainties of the subsequent months the engaged decided they would follow through on their commitment to each other. Unfortunately, the attendance would be less, especially among those of use from the East, and the outdoor ceremony would be held in almost 100 degrees of temperature. But for those who are eager to begin a new life together it beats waiting out the year.  Other than me making my way out camping and hiking only my parents came, also traveling and sleeping in their RV. As for the rest of the family from the east side of the country only my parents make it by traveling in their RV. Mary was going to fly out and meet me but prior to reserving a ticket states began spiking again. And for our daughters the uncertainties about if and when they would be back at their colleges made planning too difficult. 

7/31 Today my Dad and I are going to the Golden Spike National Historic at Promontory Summit, the location of the ceremony that commemorated the first transcontinental railroad. It also happens to be one of our Western National Park Association sites and the very first to place an order as things started opening. 

WNPA is a non-profit organization that manages and staffs retail in a number of western national park sites and there by supporting the parks with some additional revenue. Almost all the parks and refuges we work with have an outside group that functions to manage a gift shop as well as other helpful services to the location. WNPA does this for a network of park locations and they do a lot outreach and educational services as well. 

The park service comissioned functioning replicas of the original Jupiter and the No. 119 steam engines used in the historic ceremony and they are operated daily as living history. Thus, the a pair of earrings depicting the two engines facing each other are a big hit with the visitors and people who work here. They also carry some of our other wildlife and bird earrings, since as is true with many historic parks, they provide a decent chunk of natural landscape and habitat for creatures there in. You can explore much of it through the trails and auto tours in two directions that take you along the original railroad grades.

The Bear River NWR Visitor Center at the north end of the Great Salt Lake is on our way back and I just want to see if they are open at all. The Avocet Corner shop inside place an order just before the shutdown when it soon had to be put on hold and it is still sitting on a shelf back at our store. The building, which has exhibits and classrooms in addition to the gift shop, is very much closed to visitors. The auto tour and side trails are open and though we don’t have time to venture out today, I have done it a number of time previously and it is wonderful birding. The route takes you around numerous ponds providing a variety of conditions for birds.

Seeing the closed Visitor Center closed supports my notion that such facilities at refuges all across the country are still closed. It is unfortunate for us because a big part of our business is through these locations. Though I understand because as long as people have access the refuge grounds and can get a great visitor experience then opening the building does not have to be a priority. The natural history groups associated with refuges are usually volunteer run and are not quite so dependent on a continuous revenue and with many of there volunteers being older there is no reason to take on the additional risk.

8/1 Saturday morning I got out to one of my favorite hiking spots in the country, Antelope Island State Park on the Great Salt Lake. In the past I was either with younger kids or less avid hikers which is okay since its a wonderful place with the birds and herds of bison and antelope. This time I hiked up to Frary peak with its more than 2000 feet of vertical accent. Up there are wonderful views of the lake and rugged landscape all around. A Golden Eagle twice flew by, one time swooping down below me grazing the surface of the slope just 50 yards away.  There are also a lot of Chukar on the island which look similar to our native quail but the are in fact an introduced species that has become established in parts of the west.

I also stopped in the Visitor Center which is open, and though not crowded today, they are obviously prepared with a separate entrance and exit, and signs to where a mask inside. The gift shop is open as well as exhibits and an information desk staffed by a ranger. I do not see any of our earrings in the shop however and I wonder how long ago did they purchase last? The clerks do not remember our product as I describe it so  it will be up to me to contact the buyer later to see if they are still interested.

It was interesting to see a fully functioning Visitor Center after Bear River and the National Park sites I have been to. The National park facilities I have been in were open in part. You could enter the book/gift shop but all the exhibits inside were blocked off. Also park rangers did not interact with visitors inside the building. They staffed tables outside to disseminate information while the organization operating the store continued to operate within the store. It seems like a trend that continued for my visit with Rocky Mountain NP. Dinosaur National Monument was the only exception in that both their  Visitor Centers were fully open with park rangers and the natural history association people working inside.

8/2 On Sunday the Wedding was held at a vineyard just north of Logan , where my niece and her fiancé met at Utah State University.  In spite of the heat it was a very moving ceremony. It was easy enough for me to hide my tears but my Dad and Brother who gave emotional speeches at the reception later did not. My thoughts were about the wedding Mary and I had 25 year ago and how Meghan attended as a tiny baby not even a year old. All this family time far away from my immediate family is making me a bit homesick. For the first time I am happy to be returning in that direction tomorrow.

8/3 Presumably the newlyweds are on their way to Yellowstone National Park on their honeymoon camping trip. It is time for me to head back east. I had spent some time studying the map for a route and a place called the Flat Top Wilderness called out to me. It was more or less due east so would not take a lot of extra diving to get there. I could also visit the quarry at Dinosaur National Monument again. As I past through Vernal I stopped in at the Utah Field House of Natural History and it happened to be open so I left several several of our dinosaur earrings. The National Park Monument is also a good candidate. They spent some time at our booth at the PLA conference which happened just prior to the pandemic and so far there has been no follow up.  However, I am not going to try and meet with anyone, I’ll just collect information for some additional designs they could be interested in.