This Is The Place

I got to go on a field trip with my daughter to This Is The Place monument. I've been in Utah for a long time but never visited the monument. I actually thought that it was just a monument, not a replica of a pioneer town. It was a cool place to visit, and it was nice to spend time with my daughter. This is a picture of Heber C. Kimball's home.This is the blacksmith making the steel part of flint and steel. I wish I could work steel like that.A list of the hancart companies. I can't imagine doing what they did. I think things will come full circle soon, so it may be easy to understand before too long.

Thanksgiving Point

Today my son had a field trip to the Thanksgiving Point Gardens. I really used to hate Thanksgiving Point. It made me mad that they pitched it as giving back to the community while everything was outrageously expensive. The gardens were really cool though. There were thousands of flowers like these.
The man-made waterfalls.

The Italian Garden. It reminded me of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, even though the design was different.

The passage to Secret Garden.

It was nice to have a few hours to wander through the different gardens and see the color and variety of the flowers. It was a peaceful and relaxing experience today.

Teams I hate

In honoring the the sweep of the Dallas Mavericks over the Los Angeles Lakers today, I wanted to list the sports teams that I hate the most. The Lakers are at the top of the list. I hate everything about the Lakers. The players are rapists and thugs. The flagrant fouls in the fourth quarter tonight show their lack of sportsmanship and character. So here's my list-

Los Angeles Lakers

Chicago Bulls

New York Yankees

Dallas Cowboys

New England Patriots

University of Utah Utes

Florida State Seminoles

USC Trojans

ESEE 4

Last night I was researching knife prices for a friend when I decided to look at ESEE, formerly known as RAT knives. I found a dealer in Lehi so I paid them a visit today. A friend gave me an older RAT 5, but the previous owner used a grinder to remove the powder coating. Why? Anyway, I had seen the RAT 3/ESEE 3 at a gun show but it seemed a little small. The ESEE 4 felt like a great all around camping/utility/survival knife so I settled on this over other knives. The warranty is fantastic, and Randall's Adventure & Training is known for their survival skills and reliance on their knives. RAT used to contract with Ontario Knife Company to manufacture the RAT designs, but Ontario had poor quality control which led to their business divorce. RAT changed their name to ESEE and has better control over the manufacturing process. It was a struggle to decide between the desert colored knife and the orange handled knife. I decided on the orange so it would be easy to recognize in the outdoors if I misplaced it. I'm excited to use this knife on our camping trip next month.

Finally!

SEAL Team 6 killed Osama bin Laden last night in a joint mission with the CIA. Almost 10 years after the September 11th attacks, he is finally finished. Thankfully the SEALs were allowed to do what they specialize in and train for. They are the baddest fighting machines on the planet. Thank you to all of you that serve in any branch of the military. I appreciate your sacrifice and dedication. You are not forgotten.