Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Take a ride back in time.....

Today most people get around by planes, trains and automobiles - as well as bicycles, skates, skateboards, scooters and other wheeled accessories. For hundreds of years, horses were the fastest mode of local travel. It's rare that people get to ride horses anymore, with the exception of those who have horse properties and their own animals.
Today, if one wants to ride - one often has to rent them. And then, one's choices are sway-backed, non-spirited horses that follow one another nose-to-tail on a trail that they've been on dozens of times.
That's not the case on Antelope Island, where horseback riders have a completely different experience. At R&G, the outfitter will ask you where you want to go - and you take-off in search of mountain sheep, the herd of giant undisturbed mule deer, pronghorn and the ever-present bison - which you can get as close as a hundred yards. All of this without trails, riding side by side with your riding companions. In most cases, the group is exclusively yours. You're not teamed up with people that you don't know. It's a great way to get out and experience a different place and time.

If you look closely, you'll notice that all of the development (camping areas, marina, Visitors Center, Island Buffalo Grill, Buffalo Point overlook, swimming beach with fresh water showers, ranger's home and the bison pens) are on the northern end of the island. With the exception of the road to Fielding Garr Ranch that goes down 2/3rds of the eastern side - the rest of the island is just as nature made it. And all that is by design. As a state park, the goal was to keep it as "primitive" as possible, to allow the "user" to experience the beauty, solitude and menagerie of animals - as it might have looked for thousands, and even millions of years. In fact, at the Visitors Center, you'll learn that the island has exposed rocks that are some of the oldest on earth.
R&G Horse and Wagon is the outfitter at the Ranch. (By the way, the ranch is the oldest Anglo structure on its orginal foundation in the state). Costs to ride are $50 per hour, or $75 for 1.5 hours, and $100 for two hours (etc). Children as young as 6 years old may ride their own horse. All of the horses are docile, well-trained and many are movie stars. When Hollywood makes a western, often the producers will call R&G to provide the horses - so ask to see which movies your horse has been in!
If you'd like more information, or to make a reservation please call the DACVB at 801-774-8200

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Forest and Trees

So, what's there to do in Davis County? I got a call from a well-meaning person today who thinks that our website ought to include a list of "The Top 100 things to do in the county".
Being a wise guy (not the Chicago mobster kind), I replied "Should we stop at 100?". Undeterred, she made an appointment to come in and tell me about 75 of them. I have to find the other 25 or more.
After the call, I did some research on the internet. There are a number of communities that do offer lists of things to do, places to eat and merchants to patronize. In each case, I thought they came up short, risked excluding one business while promoting another, or generally put some pretty lame stuff on their lists.. (like "make a paper airplane and throw it off Suchandsucha Bridge")
Depending on the season, there are dozens of things to do in Davis County. In fact, it's a little overwheming to even begin to list them.
Okay, here's one.... While on utah.com today, I came across a blog that dealt with kayaking on the Great Salt Lake. It's a great article about the lake, kayaking, birding, and it helped me to appreciate what's in my own backyard.
Sometimes the little things that we take for granted every day, are fascinating and exciting to others who may not be that familiar with them. Or for that matter, just because I'm not interested in pre-Cambrian fossils, doesn't mean that I shouldn't point them out to others.
Sufficiently chastened, there are a lot of trees to cover, describe and point out. Don't get overwhelmed in our Davis County forest of things to do!