Hill Aerospace Museum- Get Close to Some Great Aircraft

I love to watch airplanes and helicopters take off and land. I think they are amazing pieces of engineering. I once even considered a career as an aerospace engineer, but all that math got in the way. I really enjoy getting the chance occasionally when I am up in Layton, UT to watch the military aircraft flying to and from Hill Air Force Base. Watching the F-16's take off, make quick banking turns or even a barrel roll is awesome.

My love of aircraft is what first took me to the Hill Aerospace Museum, located on the northwest corner of the Air Force Base. It's not hidden. You can see it from Interstate 15 as you drive north and south. What many people don't realize as they drive by is that all those planes, rockets, and helicopters you can see are part of the FREE museum exhibit. That's right. You can get up close and personal with some of the most amazing aircraft ever built, for free.

The Hill Aerospace Museum has some great planes, including a B-17 "Flying Fortress," a B-29 "Superfortress," a B1-B "Lancer," and my personal favorite, an SR-71 "Blackbird." The SR-71 set both speed (2, 193 mph, 3,529 kph) and altitude (85, 068.997 feet, 25,929 meters) records during it active lifetime. When the final SR-71 was retired, it flew from California to Virginia in 68 minutes, 17 seconds. This is a sleek looking plane and a marvel of modern engineering and you can get an up close look.

The museum is home not only to aircraft but to over 4,000 other artifacts relating to the Air Force and aviation history, including military uniforms, flight suits, vehicles, ordnance and artwork. You can also visit the Utah Aviation Hall of Fame, honoring some of Utah's greatest aviators. There you can learn about Colonel Gail Halvorsen, the original Candy Bomber during the Berlin airlift (1948-1949).

Be sure to visit the Memorial Park and Chapel to remember those who fought and died for their country. The Chapel has a beautiful stained glass window that memorializes the 384th Bomb Group. The Chapel is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Want to try your hand at flying an airplane? Keep your feet on the ground, my friends. They don't give rides, but you can try your hand at flying a plane in an aircraft simulator. Strap yourself into a chair and pretend to eject from the plane. If you have any questions ask one of the many volunteers who are former pilots themselves.

Make sure you set aside at least a couple of hours and quite possibly more. Around every corner and turn in the path lies another fascinating piece of aviation history.

Place: Hill Aerospace Museum
Location: 7961 Wardleigh Road, Building 1955, Hill Air Force Base, UT
Phone: 801.777.6868
Hours: Open seven days a week, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.
Cost: Free (donations are accepted and appreciated)


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Distance from:
Salt Lake City: 32.3 miles
Ogden: 7.7 miles
Provo: 80.9 miles
Logan: 55.8 miles

Little Known Zoo In Northern Utah

Until just a few years ago, when I took my daughters on one of our "adventure days," I hadn't realized that Logan, Utah had a zoo. At 15 acres (including the surrounding park), it is quite a bit smaller than Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City, but it doesn't make the Willow Park Zoo any less appealing. In fact, Willow Park Zoo, in the times that I have been there, has been far less crowded and far more serene than Hogle Zoo. It doesn't have the "big ticket" animals such as elephants, lions and giraffes, but my children found the zoo exciting in a whole different way- it seemed a much more personal, up close experience with the animals.

Located in Willow Park, adjacent to the Cache County Fairgrounds, the zoo was opened in 1971. It is both easy to find and get to. The selection of animals for a small zoo is impressive. They have 11 mammal species, over 100 bird species from around the world, and a good selection of reptiles and fish. One of my children's favorites was the turtle exhibit. I liked seeing both the bald eagle and the bull elk.

For what you get to experience in this relaxing environment, the entrance fee ($2.00 for adults and $1.00 for children 12 and under) is well worth it. If you have a membership to Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake City, there is a reciprocal agreement that gets you into Willow Park Zoo for free.

Make a day of going to Willow Park Zoo, pack a lunch, wander a bit, and play in the beautiful park. Later on, you could even head up the street to the Utah State University Campus and buy some "Aggie" ice cream for everyone. The Willow Park Zoo was probably one of the more relaxing of all the "adventure days" we went on.

Place: Willow Park Zoo
Location: 419 West 700 South, Logan, UT
Phone: 435.716.9265
Hours: 9 a.m. to Sunset, Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day
Cost: $ (Adults- $2.00, Children 12 and under- $1.00)


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Distance From:
Salt Lake City: 81.7 miles
Ogden: 47 miles
Provo: 123 miles
Logan (downtown): 1.8 miles

Book TalkTuesday- April 29, 2008

Fun with the Family Utah, 4th ed. by Michael Rutter

This book is another great offering from Globe Pequot, known for their great travel guides and outdoors books. Author Michael Rutter offers dozens upon dozens of places to go in Utah, organized by region; Northern Utah, Greater Salt Lake, Central Utah, Northeastern Utah, Southeastern Utah, and Southwestern Utah. This format, combined with an index of places and yearly events, makes finding things to do in your neck of the woods a snap.

Each place to go, event to attend or thing to do is accompanied by a lot of information including addresses, phone numbers, hours of operation and pricing. Various maps are placed throughout the book to help you get where you are going. Rutter gives his "Michael's Top Ten" for each region- the best events or places, in his opinion, to go to. This book will provide enough activities for a years worth or more of weekend activities.

I do find a few minor drawbacks to this book though. First, in this day and age where color printing has gotten fairly inexpensive, and more and more travel books are infused with color pictures, this book is very dull in black and white and few good, clear pictures of the places mentioned. Also, the 4th edition was printed in 2004, and this can create problems with changes in phone numbers, locations of events, and associated costs of activities. Best to read the book, then double check on the Internet before you head out. Lastly, Utah is growing rapidly, and many new things to do for families have been added to the state since the book was last printed.

Overall, 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. Recommended reading.

Monte L. Bean Museum- An Amazing, Free Museum

When I was in 3rd grade we went on a field trip one spring day to Timpanogos Cave. When we arrived we were told the trail wasn't open due to bad weather. What do you do with a hundred disappointed grade school kids when the field trip is canceled? Fortunately, one of our teachers (a student teacher from BYU as it so happened) suggested that we go to BYU and visit the Bean Museum.

I am as fascinated today by the Monte L. Bean Museum as I was thirty years ago. This is a life science museum which has vast collections from the natural world of plants and animals. The exhibits are open to the public and include: birds (whooping cranes and pheasants and waterfowl of the world), a rotating exhibit from their massive insect collection (over 2 million specimens), shells from around the world, a large selection of animals from Africa, an international wildlife collection, and much more. There are also temporary exhibits that rotate throughout the year. Currently the museum is showing an amazing collection of animals that were a gift from Ken Behring.

In addition to the exhibits, the museum hold live animal show to educate people about the natural world. Currently, the days and times of the shows are as follows:

Monday: Reptiles at 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm
Tuesday: Adaptations at 7:30 pm
Wednesday: Utah Plants and Animals at 7:30 pm
Thursday: Ecosystems at 7:30 pm
Friday: Invertebrates at 7:30 pm
Saturday: Reptiles at 1:00 pm

If you've never had a chance to see one of the shows, you are in for a treat. The kids will love it!
The best part, the entrance to the Bean Museum and the live animal shows are FREE. There are other activities, such as Saturday Safaris, that have a fee, but for the value you get, these fees are nominal.

Place: Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum
Location: 645 East 1430 North, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m, Sat. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Closed Sunday
Cost: FREE


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Distance from:
Salt Lake City: 44.5 miles
Odgen: 79.9 miles
Provo (downtown): 2.3 miles
Logan: 125 miles

A Massive Hole in the Ground, but a Cheap Trip

To the west of the Salt Lake Valley stand the Oquirrh (pronounced oak' ur) Mountains. This range begins at the Great Salt Lake at the north end and runs approximately 30 miles to the south. It forms the western boundary of the Salt Lake Valley and separates it from the Tooele valley to the west.

The most striking feature of the Oquirrh Range, when viewed from the Salt Lake Valley are the massive, yellowish and red, stair-stepped and flat topped mounds that cover about one-third of the visible range. These are anything but natural phenomenon. They are the result of nearly one-hundred years of open-pit mining in the hills.

The Kennecott Copper's Bingham Canyon Mine has become the largest open-pit copper mine in the world. It is so large that it can be seen from space by astronauts (check out views in Google Earth). It is two and a half miles across at the top and is over three-quarters of a mile deep- two Sears Towers stacked on top of each other wouldn't reach the top.

It has been one of the most productive mines in the world. Copper, gold, silver and molybdenum are all extracted from the mine. It has produced more wealth than the Comstock Lode, Klondike and California gold rush combined. The massive dump trucks, which are over two stories tall, can carry 300 tons of raw ore per load, which is a good thing considering the giant electric shovels can scoop up about 98 tons in a single bite.

Want a firsthand look at this man-made wonder? You got it. From April to October the visitors center at the rim of the mine is open to anyone who wants a look. The visitors center includes interactive displays and exhibits, 3D microscopes where you can view mineral samples, mining artifacts and model trucks. There is a 90 seat theater where a 15 minute movie is shown, describing the past, present and future of the mining operations at the Bingham Canyon Mine. Little boys are definitely the most thrilled, but I have seen girls really enjoying themselves as well. The visit can be as long or short as you want to make it- but plan on at least an hour to get a good look and to have some fun.

Place: Kennecott Copper Bingham Canyon Mine
Location: Follow Highway 111 south until you pass 118th south, then follow the signs.
Hours: Open from April to October, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (arrive by 7 p.m. at the latest).
Cost: $$ ($5 per car, regardless of the number of people inside)


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Distance from:
Salt Lake City: 28.1 miles
Ogden: 60.7 miles
Provo: 45.7 miles
Logan: 105 miles