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Tooele resident Liz Dalton runs along a partially plowed Smelter Road in this December 2008 file photo. The Smelter Road Trail is a perfect place for running, walking and hiking.<br>- file photo / Maegan Burr Smelter Road Trail offers perfect antidote to lingering winter blues
As we loaded into the minivan last Saturday, the boys were donning snow boots and coats. Exactly how they emerged at the trailhead wearing sneakers and hoodies, I’ll never know — though I understa...
12 months ago | 0 0 comments | 14 14 recommendations | email to a friend
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Janet Hancey, a member of the West Desert Chapter of Back Country Horsemen Utah, stands with Reno, a 15-year-old mustang mare, at the foot of the Oquirrh Mountains.<br>- photography / Clint Thomsen Reluctant rider finally gets broken by a mustang
They came from nowhere — or at least it seemed that way. From somewhere in the near-vacant panorama, four wild horses on a distant ridge had become an entire herd. They all but surrounded us now,...
12 months ago | 0 0 comments | 25 25 recommendations | email to a friend
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The south wall of the Enola Gay Hangar shows the decaying structure that housed the atomic mission that ended World War II.<br>- photography / Clint Thomsen Hangar is gateway to another Epoch
The air inside the old maintenance hangar was musty and still — and much colder than I had expected. The sun shone through gaps in the roof and rows of broken windows, flooding the structure with...
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Humble Dutch oven becomes glamorous in hands of a gourmand
The following statement may surprise you coming from a rugged outdoorsman like me: I like Food Network. No, I’m not talking about the cable channel’s cream puff daytime programming. I’m talking a...
13 months ago | 0 0 comments | 21 21 recommendations | email to a friend
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Matt Brandt and his son Michael, 3, slide down the Millpond gulch at Stansbury Park in this January 2008 file photo. The Stansbury and East Elementary sledding hills are two of the most popular in the county.<br>- photography / Maegan Burr County sledding hotspots cater to kids’ need for speed
Dad, I think I want to try this by myself.” Those words from my 5-year-old son didn’t surprise me. After all, this is the kid who, at age 3, dashed fearlessly into a rushing river when he thoug...
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Jack and Audry Unsworth, followed by Bijto the dog slide down a hill in Middle Canyon on Dec. 20, 2008. Snowfall this winter has provided several excellent days of sledding.<br>- photography / Maegan Burr Youth and snow are all that’s required for winter fun
It was my favorite flashlight. A top-of-the-line, military-grade submersible Pelican. The box it came in said it was built to take a beating. Apparently Pelican’s gear testers never dropped one w...
14 months ago | 0 0 comments | 21 21 recommendations | email to a friend
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Salt flats make biggest moon in 15 years even brighter
by Clint Thomsen
14 months ago | 0 0 comments | 26 26 recommendations | email to a friend
OK we’re here,” I said as I coasted to the end of the Bonneville Salt Flats access road Friday night. After 75 of the most visually uneventful miles on the planet, the kids couldn’t be happier. N...
Hunt for a wild Christmas tree makes hunter come unhinged
by Clint Thomsen
15 months ago | 0 0 comments | 17 17 recommendations | email to a friend
That could have been much worse,” I told my friend Trevis as I picked my trailer hitch’s ball mount off the road. A passing West Wendover policeman saw us and pulled over to help. In spite of our...
Route to Lehi may look empty but is filled with scenery, history
by Clint Thomsen
15 months ago | 0 0 comments | 28 28 recommendations | email to a friend
It’s midday in the Utah desert. The valley is drenched in sun, like it usually is, but a stiff southerly wind whipping across the valley floor reminds you it’s November. You quickly fasten the st...
County’s popular trail winds through hills of Settlement Canyon
by Clint Thomsen
15 months ago | 0 0 comments | 26 26 recommendations | email to a friend
This lake is so wonderful,” reads the suspiciously generic text of a Web site that supposedly details outdoor recreation destinations in the Settlement Canyon area. “Rench (sic) Spring is a pretty ...
Outdoorsman gets stuck at a bar in Stockton with two kids
by Clint Thomsen
16 months ago | 0 0 comments | 24 24 recommendations | email to a friend
"Dang the Stockton Bar!” I thought as my minivan’s front tire whipped sand into my face at 60 mph. Or maybe I actually said it. And maybe “dang” wasn’t the exact word I used. I was angry — angry a...
Stansbury Island can lead to adventures — on trails or off
by Clint Thomsen
16 months ago | 0 0 comments | 26 26 recommendations | email to a friend
Over here, Bridger!” Seven-year-old Bridger stood near the center of a whitewashed playa, squinting in the late afternoon sun and scanning the beach for the source of his little brother’s call. F...
Abandoned mine provides setting for spookiest campfire stories
by Clint Thomsen
16 months ago | 0 0 comments | 26 26 recommendations | email to a friend
Tyler was taking too long. I nervously balanced on a rail track that ran from the tunnel’s entrance and past me into the darkness. The adit had curved enough over the distance that only a few dus...
Disney’s version of Old West doesn’t compare with real thing
by Clint Thomsen
16 months ago | 0 0 comments | 22 22 recommendations | email to a friend
It was high noon in the desert. I leaned against a log fence, looking toward a mountain draped with rickety railroad tracks. In the distance, the quaint facades of a small mining town lined the t...
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