Paul Bunyan's Woodpile

Paul Bunyon's Woodpile is not easy to find, because someone removed all the highway markers for this interesting stop. It's near the Little Sahara Sand Dunes. You go up a 3-mile dirt road, and then a 1-mile hike that gets a bit steep at the end, especially if you lose the trail and go straight up the mountain.

These "logs" were formed when a lava flow cooled into 1-foot-by-15-foot columns on the edge of a caldera. A fault then tilted the column masses on their sides.

I'm guessing by this gate at the trail head that the forest service doesn't want motorcycles, horses, bicycles, or large people on the trail.

And the trail isn't well maintained this time of year.

I think this is water cress springing out, but thanks to giardia, it's not safe to eat.

Several of these little guys were climbing around. Based on where I saw this one, I'm guessing it's a cow dung spider. I have no idea how the cows and sheep wandering around got through the entrance gate.

Three log piles sit on the side of this mountain. These formations are rare in Utah.

The ends of the logs.

The logs aren't really round. They have three to six flat sides.

I thought it would be cool to get a picture with a log standing up next to me. It turns out they're heavier than they look. This one wouldn't budge.

This is a view of the valley from midway down the trail. The steam column on the right is the Intermountain Power Project (IPP) west of Delta. To the right of that is the edge of the sand dunes.

I know you were going to ask whether your car can get up the road. During the summer I think the road's in good shape, but I wouldn't have made it in early March without four-wheel drive. I then spent $12.04 at the car wash to get all the mud off. Driving here is like driving the little cars at Disneyland: You can turn the wheel any direction you want; the car is going to follow the ruts regardless.

There's other stuff to see out this way.

This guy wanted to be sure I got a picture of his "good side." The horn on the other side was broken off, probably still sticking in the last person who took his picture.

Quite a few old mines dot the mountains. And quite a few mines are still active, especially near Eureka and Silver City.

An old concrete grain silo.

The last time I drove on the road that cuts across from the Pony Express marker near Faust to the highway that goes along the north end of Cedar Valley, the road was dirt and we ran over some rabbits (not intentionally). Now the road is paved. This train (same as the one at the top of this blog, if you can see it) was waiting at a red light, I think for another train to pass.

This old gravel pit is the only landmark on the Faust road.

I suppose you could climb up the water tower to see what's inside, or you could just look through one of the many holes in the bottom. It's pretty much just a crow condo.

That's about the end of that day.

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.

Ron Tello of Montello

I took a little 420-mile drive around the Great Salt Lake this afternoon and passed through a curious little town called Montello, Nevada. I ate a Cowboy Cheeseburger at the Cowboy Bar and Cafe, where three teenagers and a 21-year-old teenager (I guess he was 21, since they served him beer, but not as mature as the 14-year-old) were playing pool on the smoky cafe side while about eight guys drank beer and visited on the smoky bar side.













I could tell there were two sides, because between the pool table and bar was a sign that said, "Minors Stop."















Next door on the "strip," was the Flea Market...

...featuring Ron Tello, the Builder-Owner-Operator-Roadie" of the "BIGGEST Drum Set in Nevada." I think he might not be exaggerating. He said the store isn't really open, because he hasn't finished straightening up from the big Christmas bash he held there. But I could walk around the store anyway. This year he's going to build a spook alley for Halloween, which he didn't do last year, but it was a big hit the year before.















Ron Tello played his drums for me. He's pretty darn good.

Ron said about 150 people live in Montello with about 350 people in the area. They're mostly ranchers or homesteaders, who put up cabins here and there. Him? He's a "city boy." He'd rather live here, where there's electricity and all.

No, that is not a concealed weapon on his belt. It's very much not concealed.

I bought a used VHS tape of "Men in Black" for $2. (It was also okay to buy stuff, even though the store wasn't really open.) You can visit Ron's website at www.myspace.com/rontello.

Down the street to the south is a store run by a man and his wife from Fremont, California. He's a graduate of San Jose State University (he was wearing an SJSU sweatshirt, so I asked). They moved here when he found 20 acres of land on eBay for $400 a few years ago. He bought it, having no idea where it was, and they moved. They've since bought the store and hotel.

There are still a few parcels of land available out here, if you're interested.

Be sure to plan your homestead well.

Have you ever listened to a utility pole hum? I was going to lean against this pole to take a picture of a loneseome tree when I heard a loud hum. At first I thought it was a truck coming down the highway; it was that loud. Then I realized the pole was humming. I suppose the electricity in the lines above was causing the vibration.















I stopped to take a picture of a snow-covered mountain with the setting sun shining on it when about 20 deer ran past me. This was in the very northwest corner of Utah.















If you think about it, cows have a better deal than deer. They get fed all winter...and then they die. I guess that's not so good.