Leslie's life: Antelope Island

I made a great discovery last year. When Yuna Shimizu came back to visit us for her university graduation trip, I was concerned about being able to entertain her for over a month while the kids were in school. It was February/March and she doesn't ski. Hmmm . . . So I had to come up with day trips. One idea I had was to take her to Antelope Island in the middle of the Great Salt Lake. If that is not unique to Utah, what is? I had never been there, but I hoped it would be interesting enough. Tricia Cook and I went off on a day trip and we were all pleasantly surprised by how beautiful and interesting the island was.

So I have wanted to take the kids to see it too. Finally, more than a year later, we made it. I invited Alison to come along with the girls - all trips are more fun with cousins - and Jared happened to have the day off also. So off we went on an absolutely gorgeous, sunny warm day. I did tell the kids to bring swimsuits, but didn't really expect them to want to go in the water. Good thing we were prepared, because, boy, was I surprised. It turned into a fantastic beach day!

This is how the kids spent most of the afternoon, playing in the water, going out as far as they could and building sand castles in the sand bar.

We had our picnic right before heading to the water - well, the kids had already been down to the water before we old people could even make it this far down the beach - and I don't know if you can tell by this picture, but the seagulls made a complete circle around us, a full ring of birds waiting for leftovers or donations to their lunch.

Climbing the rocks around the visitors' center was another highlight of the trip. That was our first stop and we had to bribe the kids off of the rocks with a picnic lunch on the beach. They could have climbed the rocks like mountain goats all day!

When I went to Antelope Island with Tricia and Yuna, the most exciting part of our trip was seeing all the bison. There were even 2 walking along the road with the car as we drove. They were everywhere, up close and personal. This time of year, with it being warmer, I guess they don't wander as far. Here is our buffalo experience this time - not that exciting for the kids. Looks like the herd was taking a siesta a little ways off the road on the side of the hill.

To add a whole different aspect of fun, there is a ranch to explore on the east side of the island. The Fielding Garr ranch was our last stop and we did a quick self-guided tour of the property. We like self-guided tours because you can touch and explore at your own rate. It was a great end to our trip.