handwritten on July 5, 2016
Today we passed the Great Salt Lake. Salt Lake City lake in Utah runs 75 miles north to south and very shallow. It doubled in size over the years. It is considered to be the 4th largest salt lake in the world. There is no fish life but a shrimp lives well in there. In 1845 the first settler was Miles Goodyear. In 1947 Brigham Young came through and was considered a colonist and settled in Salt Lake city.
Later we arrived in Logan, Utah. Some of the mountain men such as Jim Bridger settled here and made their living as trappers. They mostly trapped beaver pelts. Interestingly, they treated the pelts with mercury. This is where the term " mad hatter" was coined.
We also passed by Bear Lake...
handwritten on July 5, 2016
We started the morning hiking the tropic ditch. It was a manmade irrigation engineering center to get water flowing to the town. This hike was my favorite. We walked up a steep hill to view the small waterfall. The combination of rocks and water made this my favorite spot thus far.
We continued to drive and stopped to get lunch at a mall that has the greatest view of the mountains. Eventually we arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah. We were greeted by the sisters who are essentially missionaries for the Morman church. We viewed the place in which the morman choir practices. The choir is a very selective group of individuals. They are professional but thry are also volunteers. You are able to be...
handwritten on July 5, 2016
We passed through the Virgin River Gourge on our journey this morning. We also crossed through on the outskirts of Nevada. Apparently, there was civilization on the edge of Nevada becuse there is a water source there and the growth is rapid due to the plethora of retirement communities.
After passing through Nevada we ended up traveling into Utah! In doing so, I learned a lot of background information about the state of Utah. There are many beehives in Utah. This is a sign of working together as a colony and the emblem can be seen in the architecture as well.
Bringham Young was the ultimate colonist. Every 30 miles you will find a civilization. St George was the cotton growing region....
handwritten on July 5, 2016
We arrived in Las Vegas around 9:30 in the morning. Though shocking at first, it became became apparent that every indoor hotel or airport would be filled with flashing, gambling machines. I do not gamble, but it was certainly interesting watching those that do.
The terrain around Las Vegas is surreal. Essentially, it looks like a flashing city in the middle of desert and mountain plains. If you look at the surrounding land and the city, the city itself looks out of place. We walked along the main stretch of the city which includes New York New York, the Hershey store, various hotels and a stretch that apparently imitates what Italy actually looks like. At one point we stepped inside a...
handwritten on January 24, 2016
This past Martin Luther King's Day, I had a chance to discuss a quote with my students during morning meeting. Interestingly, it was the first time I had come across this particular quote. This quote, I felt, was important to share with my students for a variety of reasons. January is a difficult month for all students. In some ways, I do feel as if everyone's spark dims a bit due to the snowy weather and gloomy skies. It is in these months of January and February where it is truly important to find a new spark and remember WHY we do what we do. A few questions I am still trying to answer as a new teacher include the following: "What is Education?" "What is the purpose of Education?" "...
