Winter Camping - Carolyn

The Girls Scouts of Utah have done it again - they planned another epic adventure.

Ranger Nate and the Snowcat

This time, Carolyn went on a three-night winter camping trip with the Girl Scouts.  Night 1 was spent at the council office, where the girls had to budget and plan their meals for the weekend and then go grocery shopping.  Early the next morning, they drove up to a trailhead near Deer Valley ski resort, where they hiked/snow-shoed 3 miles into Camp Cloud Rim.  (Ranger Nate brought up most of their supplies and gear in the snowcat).  Night 2 was spent in tents, and Night 3 was spent in a snow cave that they built. They had access to the heat, water, and electricity in the lodge, but they spent a lot of time outside during the days, and nearly all the girls opted to sleep outside.  Before hiking back down, they did a "know before you go" workshop from Utah Avalanche Safety, where they learned about and how to use avalanache beacons and other safety tips for being in the backcountry in the winter.

Thank you Girl Scouts of Utah for providing such encouragement, support, and planning to make these adventures for the girls.

The counselors that planned and led this adventure

Hiking through Deer Valley to get to the summit of Guardsman's Pass

It looks like they are about half-way up to camp, walking along a road that is closed in the winter.

They found deeper snow (and snowmobile tracks)
when they got to the gates and started up the road to Camp Cloud Rim.

It was cold, but looks like they had beautiful weather.  This is the dirt road that you usually drive to get up to camp.

They made it to the lodge and set up tents before the sun went down for those who were brave enough to sleep outside.

Carolyn said their entire tent was covered in a layer of ice when they woke up, from all their breathing overnight.

And, the best part of the trip -- the SNOW CAVES.  According to Carolyn, on the first day, they stamped down a large circular path and then dug-down a trench another few feet, throwing the snow into the middle of the circle. That snow settled and melted/thawed overnight, allowing them to dig-out the caves the next day.  Part of the team worked from the top, and part of the team worked from the side, meeting in the middle of their cave.  Each snow cave slept 6 girls. 

 

It looks like these girls worked hard, but also had a lot of fun!

Look closely - Carolyn is in that pile of snow.

  

Science Fair 2020

Lizzie's project was done at home -- Recently she learned how to read braille at a Girl Scout meeting.  She thought it was so hard to feel the dots, and then wondered whether blind people had better senses since they could not see.  So, she decided to do her science fair project based on that observation.  She ran a series of experiments (with us) to see how well our senses worked when we could see and when we were blindfolded.  We had to taste 5 different flavored candies, smell 5 different scented markers, listen to the radio at different very-low volumes, and tell how many pins we were pressing on our arm.  Her results -- our sense of touch, taste, and smell were NOT as good when we were blindfolded, but our hearing improved when we were blindfolded.

As a 6th grader, Carolyn does her science fair project completely at school with a partner (Ava), working with their science teacher. She came up with the topic and ran the experiment on her own.  She wanted to learn more about electrolysis - what happens when you add electricity to water and how you split water molecules into its elements.  Her hypothesis was that they would see more electrolysis in salt water versus distilled water.  She must have done a great job presenting the chemistry because she was awarded a first-place ribbon at her school's science fair, and is now going on to the next level next week.    

School Pictures 2019-2020

Carolyn, 6th grade.

Lizzie, 2nd grade.

The banner

This fall, I was notified by my dean that I had been selected for the University's banner campaign.  She did not have all the details, but told me that I was supposed to schedule a time for a photo shoot.  I could imagine what was happening, but was not entirely sure what it all meant, until I saw THIS the other day when I was driving down the road.

Holidays 2019

Carolyn & Lizzie had a voice and piano recital.

Gingerbread house making.

Ice skating on Christmas Eve with friends

Fondue dinner for christmas eve.

The girls made up a song/dance routine that they performed for us!

Steve's christmas PJs made us all laugh.

Santa brought an American Girl doll for Carolyn.  

He also brought a robe and cozy blanket for Carolyn.

Christmas day pizza party.  Everyone gets into the games.  

This year, you and your team had to write and then perform a story about a random picture.

We enjoyed an escape room -- and yes, we actually got out!  

Thankfully, Sevilla and her family joined us.

We also had fun at a painting class one day over the break.

We saw "Seussical the Musical" at Hale Center Theater.

Lizzie went to GS Camp for New Year's Eve.
Carolyn had a few friends over to celebrate the new year.