A Field Trip to An Island

Gary started off his day doing what he likes to do - helping with projects! This time he got Cousin Donna's printer aligned with her computer, put on a virus protection program, helped her get the photo download program working and straightened out her home page! We seemed to keep finding things to do until we finally left for our trip to Antelope Island.

A little bit of information about the island that Donna told us before we arrived - - - The Great Salt Lake has 8 islands of which Antelope Island is the largest. There are about 500 bison, 100 antelope and many coyotes and birds. There are also a lot of natural springs on the island as it is surrounded by salt water and the animals are dependent on the springs.

This was one of the beaches that you could walk to from a parking area. The water level is quite low so the walk was quite far.

We ate Bison Burgers for lunch and they were really good - and very filling. While we waited for our lunch we read up on some of the history of the island.

This buffalo was scratching himself on the rock and didn't seem to mind the cars going by. They are really big!

We drove up to Bison Point and it was very windy. Donna and I were not excited about getting too close to the edge!

As you can see by this picture the weather was quite interesting. We did have a few drops of rain and I expected to see lightning or hear thunder but it never happened.

The buffalo are herded up every October to be tagged, vaccinated and have a few sold to other bison farms. Right now they are spread out all over the island. The visitor center had a film and lots of interesting displays about the wildlife & geology of the island.

We were on our way to the ranch when we spied the rainbow in the distance. If you look close you can see it!

At the ranch we were able to go in all the outbuildings as well as the ranch house. It was furnished with period pieces.

In the washroom Ken found an old Maytag washing machine just like the one he is restoring. He said he has the wringer part and agitator done and is working on the connections to the motor.

We also found the cowboy RV! It had a bed, wood or coal burning stove and cabinets for the kitchen items inside. Pretty cool!

The big barn in the background was being used for a family reunion so we did not go into it. We did read a little more about the history of the ranch - it did belong to the church for several years and the prophet Brigham Young as well as many other members had their cattle and sheep over here. Profits were used to help finance travel for members coming across the prairies. Lots of history to learn when you travel across the country!

It is nice weather tonight - cooler and less humid. We spent most of the evening outside and before we knew it bedtime was here. (Time to do the blog) Tomorrow we may go to church at the closest ward building and then spend some more time with Donna and Ken. Who knows what else we will decide to do.