Military Tanks Up Close

I had this great idea to drive out to Lakepoint after church today to take up-close pictures of some white camo military tanks that I saw parked next to the Great Salt Lake about 10 years ago. I think they were targets for Hill Air Force bomber pilots.













About 70 miles west of Salt Lake on I-80 is a turnoff to "Military Area, Lakepoint." After another 15 miles north the road splits to this dirt road to Lakepoint and the paved road, which goes another mile or so to a bunch of concrete baracades that you have to zig zag through to a closed gate (with no one to open it or answer questions on Sundays, apparently).















Even though the Lakepoint dirt road goes through a Hill Air Force Base explosives area, it is open to public vehicles. Just don't wander off the road.















Unless you come at the wrong time, in which case it looks like you'd have to wait while the military cleans up after itself.

When I got to the end of the road, where I expected to find tanks, all I saw was this strip mine,

this mountain floating in the lake,















more trains,

some cows, who weren't all that happy to see me,

except this glamour queen, who kind of hogged the camera,

and this bald eagle, who also didn't like having his picture taken.

If you like trains, here's a short video of one. The previous train blew his horn at this spot, but unfortunately this guy was asleep at the wheel.

Salt Flats Locomotion

Grab your can of baked beans and hop a train to anywhere.



























































































































































































Where did you end up?

Snowshoeing, Again

Uintas again.












Might I suggest that if you go snowshoeing, pull the drawstring at the top of your gators tight. Unless you want to take a couple quarts of snow home as a souvenir. Might I also suggest you get a pair of Merrell Snowmotion 6 Waterproof boots. These are the best all-around winter shoes I've ever owned. They're great for walking around the neighborhood, shoveling the driveway, rabbit hunting in Nevada, and showshoeing (assuming you cinch your gators). The only drawback is they turn into ice skates in stores with asphalt tile floors and a touch of moisture.















One of these snowflakes is in focus. Can you tell which one? Neither can I. Guess I need to work on this shot.

Tanner Turns Chuck E Cheese Three

Saturday was Tanner's third birthday (actually fourth if you include the first one) and his party was at Chuck E Cheese. I realized I've never been in a Chuck E Cheese before. It was a lot of noisy fun, and I think the kids really enjoyed it.
















Birthday boy.

Jackson's growing up. He's getting pretty good at some of these games.


































Here's Chuck E himself.

In addition to the birthday, I had fun watching people (more adults than children) pumping 25-cent tokens into the machines that spit out tickets.

I watched one Asian lady drop at least $10 worth of tokens into a machine that didn't do anything but shoot the coins into holes in a wheel and spit out quantities of tickets based on which hole the token hit. She ended up with enough tickets to get at least three or four 1-inch-long plastic lizards.