Utah State Capitol

The State of Utah, founded in 1896, was originally conceived as the State of Deseret. The original state covered Utah and Nevada and parts of Idaho, Washington, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. It was a nation state unto itself.

The term deseret is from an ancient language, and means beehive. Those who wanted this state saw this as a term of their industry and dedication to hard work. While neither the name nor the scale of the state was as they planned, the association of the beehive with the State of Utah remains today.


The interior of the capitol was as you would expect. A grand dome, sweeping murals, an enormous chandelier, and statues of the great men who helped to found the state.


Outside the capitol were tributes to those who had sacrificed so much to make the state possible, both past and present.


The real treasure trove though was right across the street. There, outside the old city hall, were these two finds. It was a place that a laminated frog like myself could feel right at home.

Ensign Peak

When members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were forced out of Illinois in 1845, their leader, Brigham Young, received a vision of where they were to go. He said that the Prophet Joseph Smith, the first prophet of the church in this dispensation, showed him a peak with an ensign on it, and told him that if he settled under that peak he would prosper.

Upon entering the Salk Lake Valley, Brigham saw this peak and exclaimed "This is the right place". Two days later, he, and a few others, hiked to the top of the peak. They erected a small flag, and called it Ensign Peak.


In honor of the vision and sacrifice that had brought them there, they erected a stone monument at the top of Ensign Peak.


It was a grueling climb for this small frog. My legs are not very long, and I had to stop more than once or twice. I even found a cave that was just my size, and was tempted to stay for the night, but as the saints of old, I faithfully pressed on.

This Is The Right Place

More than 160 years ago, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were driven from their homes in Illinois. They left with a hope of some place better, and with their prophet, Brigham Young, having a vision on the place were they could find it.

After more than a year, and advanced party of these weary travelers arrived in the Great Salt Lake Basin. Brigham, when he came through the pass, stopped and for a few minutes was perfectly still, staring out over the valley, caught up in a vision of what it would one day become. After the vision passed, he turned to the driver and said "This is the right place, drive on". Thus, the start of the population of the Salt Lake valley began.


Shortly after leaving Illinois, the government asked for help. They were fighting the Mexican war, and needed soldiers to fight in Southern California. Seeing an opportunity to get men to the west with assistance from the government, and to get much needed pay to the men's families trying to make their way to Salt Lake, Brother Brigham asked for volunteers. A large company of men, along with a few woman and children, agreed to go. Thus was formed the Mormon Battalion.

Theirs was not an easy march. Open desert were they sometimes walked for two or three days without water or food. In the end, they walked almost 2,000 miles before reaching their final destination. To this day it is one of the longest military marches in history. So long in fact, that the war was over by the time they arrived. These faithful men, who had followed the counsel of their prophet, had made it to the west coast without ever firing a shot.


Many would come later. Some would come in hand-cart companies. Groups who were too poor to afford oxen and wagons would push their personal belongings themselves over the 1,100 mile journey. Some would not make it to the end. Those who did, were ever grateful for their blessings.


Before the advent of the trans-continental railroad, one of the last great travelers through the area was the Pony Express. A brave group of souls whose job it was to carry mail from the east coast to the west. They rode long hours, changed horses frequently, and made the arduous journey in only a few days, linking this once fragmented country.


This truly was "the right place".

Fort Douglas

I have always been a fan of history. When that history involves an 8" Self Propelled Howitzers, well then, all the better.


Well, truth be told the history of Fort Douglas does NOT involve an 8" Self Propelled Howitzer, but they do have one there at the museum. No, the history of this location dates back to the 1860s, when President Grant felt someone was needed in the Salt Lake basin to keep an eye on those shady "Mormons".

Throughout the years, many soldiers have either been stationed here, or have passed through the fort. The fort is still an active military base, right next to the University of Utah campus. The collegiate affiliate I'm sure affords them the opportunity to recruit many good officers.


In that time, artillery has come a long way. From the golden days of the cannon:


To the more modern, air-launched rocket:


Fort Douglas museum catalogs these and more. With a rich array of historical data, and a wide assortment of munitions, it is a treasure trove of military media.

To end, and lest you think I am so focused on the gun that I forget the true power within those weapons, I give you an array of shells throughout the ages.

Bingham Canyon Mines

Let me start by saying few things that man does are more massive in scale than mining. In this particular case, they literally move mountains.







This simply amazing feat is what welcomes you at Bingham Canyon mines. A truly colossal mining project if there ever was one. The mine is so large, it can actually be seen from outer space (though I personally don't recall seeing it on my last visit).

For a mining project this vast to succeed, they need enormous mining trucks.


What, you say? That truck doesn't seem so large? Well perhaps you are missing the true scope here. Let us take a look at one of the six tires on that truck, yet from a slightly closer angle.



Yes, it is truly amazing. To end it all today, we'll have a little game. Click on the image below, and see if you can find the school bus.

Rocket Frog

My next great adventure was to a nearby rocket manufacturing company. It was closed when I visited, but I was still able to look at the many outside exhibits they had provided.


It was a quaint little spot. I enjoyed seeing sites I hadn't seen in years. The size of some of the vehicles was immense, and I can definitely see why they don't want you climbing into the exhaust cones.


There wasn't much to it, but it was a fun stop nevertheless.

The Golden Spike

Shortly after my last update I had two other adventures, which until now I have simply not had the time to describe properly. With pressure mounting from my readers, and time ever marching onwards, I now undertake to relate those events.

The first adventure, which will be described herein, is the visit to the Golden Spike National Historic Site near Promontory Summit in northern Utah.


I arrived in the morning around 10 AM. Imagine my surprise to find that I was the only visitor to this site. The cold chill and dismal weather appeared to have frightened away all other travelers.


I braved on though. The front of the site seemed simple enough with a white, stunted obelisk. It seemed fitting to me. The British had spanned their country 20 years earlier, and Panama had a transcontinental railroad 10 years prior. Thus I felt the diminutive monument properly recorded the import of the day.


The scale of the achievement I did not fully realize until Ranger Kilton shed some light on the matter.


Employing over 15,000 workers who labored from both extremes, and costing almost $100 million at the time. That is almost £950 million in today's currency. An extremely healthy sum for any project, and a huge percentage of the entire countries GDP at the time.


The original last tie, and the gold and silver spikes "driven" into it were removed immediately after the ceremony installing them. Today, a finished replica tie has been installed, though replica golden spikes are strikingly absent.


Overall, the site was very pleasant to visit, and provided a wealth of historical information. I am very excited to visit it again this summer with my wonderful friends from Oregon when they come out to visit me.

The Family Bartholomeusz

I'd like to spend just a moment to talk about some dear friends of mine. The family Bartholomeusz, being cousins of my chauffeur, are very close. However, being an extremely busy amphibian, I do not get to see them as much as I would like. Imagine my surprise then, when they decided to pop in for a visit.

Currently on a whirlwind tour of the United States of America (though why anyone would take time to tour the colonies when the great castles of England are so accessible, I have no idea), they took time out of their busy schedule to stop by. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. We had pizza, ice cream, and fruit punch, watched Harry Potter, and regaled each other with tales of our travels.

In the morning, they had to continue on their way. I was truly sorry to see them go, and hope to see them again soon.