Ever Lived Next To A Breakfast Cereal Plant...?

 We do, in fact, live about two miles from a factory where breakfast cereals are produced. It's one of those things that makes our little town unique, like a haunted hotel, or a work-out gym where a semi-famous movie was filmed.

We have a cereal plant.

It's located across the street from the hospital on the west side of town. Not knowing the history of the area very well, I don't know which came first, the hospital or the plant.

I knew a man who grew up on a dairy farm in Hooper. He told me once he could tell by the way the milk tasted what the cows had been eating. What does that have to do with living next to a cereal plant? When we drive by, if the wind if blowing in a favorable direction, you can tell when the plant is making different breakfast cereals. My nose isn't experienced enough to know exactly which cereal they're making when the wind flows in a favorable direction. My wife and I discuss it as we drive by. We make guesses--don't know if we're right or not.

I met someone who works in the plant. He's the son of a former neighbor. I think it would be a fascinating job making cereal.

Yes, other cities have their attractions, perhaps a big ball of twine, or a petting zoo with semi-unusual animals, but they don't have a breakfast cereal plant like we do.

I Guess They're Shutting Down The Fun...

 We moved to a small rural community six months into the covid dilemma. One of the first unofficial things we needed to do was find the best pizza place. 

And we did.

Not only did Pizza Plus have excellent food and (at the time...) reasonable prices, it looked like the local hang out, except because of covid, no one was hanging out. They had several video games--dated--but at least they were there. They had a couple of pool tables and an air hockey table...

But no people.

It was depressing, then again, depressing places were all over the place back then.

We've returned to Pizza Plus several times over the past months and years. I can count on one hand the times I've seen anyone actually taking advantage of the gaming entertainment inside, and when I did, they were playing pool.

Last month I went inside and saw "Out-Of-Order" signs on every game, every pool table/air hockey table, every claw game, even the change machine was "out-of-order." I asked the kid who processed my debit card why the change. He said the new owners had made an executive decision. They were shutting down the fun, at least the fun that once was.

It made me sad. I never got to see the place in its heyday. I can imagine if I had grown up in the town, me and my friends would have frequented the joint, enjoyed the pizza and camaraderie, and had good times. Who knows, maybe I would have asked out the cute girl after having a few caffeinated drinks. No, I missed the glory days of the ol' hangout. I'll bet it was great.

Everyone seems to be scrambling in the days of covid and post-covid. I hope the change works out of the Pizza Place. We'll most likely not enjoy the changes...we always get take out, but I wish them luck, even without all the "fun."

Ever Seen Tremonton Lake...?

 When we moved here a few years ago, several people have told us they once lived in Tremonton or the surrounding area. It's been fun posting pictures of the area and receiving comments from many with fond (and not so fond...) memories of the place we now call home. But today, we saw something that many who've lived here all their lives have rarely seen...

Tremonton Lake.

Yes, it you drive north from Kent's Market toward Garland, to your right you'll see a beautiful lake that's about half a mile wide and a couple of miles long. 

This lake didn't exist last week.

And hopefully, it'll be gone soon.

It's not too deep--in part of the video you can see a livestock fence partially submerged. Thankfully, the newly-formed lake exists in a floodplain--we haven't heard of any flooding from this. Normally, there's a small river that serpentines back and forth and it flows south. It's a pretty little valley when there's no run off, but this year, you could waterski on this body of water. 

Since this is a generational winter as far as precipitation goes, I don't expect this lake to be around very long. Then again, since we've not lived here long, this sort of thing might happen all the time and the water may stick around. Time will tell. 

Driving by, I think it would be cool for the city to put up a dam and have a public lake for fishing, waters sports, even as a beautiful jewel in the middle of the community. But, since they've had the opportunity to dam the river all this time, it's obvious the locals don't want it.

Still, I'd love to get some awesome photos of sunrises and sunsets at Tremonton Lake.

Maybe one day...

The New Store In Town...

 Apparently, the store has been open for almost six months. 

We just found out.

It's a good/bad situation.

The store is called Tremonton Nutrition. They moved into the building previously occupied by the US Department of Agriculture who moved to a nice new shiny building west of I-15. Funny, we've driven by that location several times since last fall, but never saw the yellow banner.

When you move to a smaller town, there are pros and cons. One of the pros is the lack of people. Don't misunderstand...we like people, just not thousands upon thousands of people in a very small space. Of course, with less people comes less of everything, fewer stores, fewer options when it comes to things a person/family needs. 

One thing we do miss is access to a nutrition store. Now, we have one. It's not the biggest and it doesn't have everything we'd like, but it does have many of the basics. We won't have to drive to Logan or Ogden every time we're low on supplies.

The way this area is growing, we suspect there will be more and more new stores. The town could use a movie theater (which, we heard is in the plans...), and many more restaurants. There's going to be a food truck park that will at least give us more options.

My wife and I have discussed many times that because this little town is growing, people will create ways to fill the demands of a new population. We've wondered if there were a business we could open up here...

Then, we'd be the new store in town.

Things Are Happening In This Little Town...

 It seems I do this...I'll look up and see the scene before me and snap a picture. It happened to me a few days ago. I was driving into town, the road heading almost due east. Before me a snow-capped mountain range. To the right a neighborhood auto dealership, the left an open field soon to be turned into the expanding apartment complex already creeping west.

Yes, things are happening in the town we call home.

It feels like we just moved a few months ago, and because of that, the changes seem so sudden, so unexpected. We looked at some statistics. Between 2020 and 2021 the town increased 10% in population. We were part of that change. It was only about 1,000 people, but a 10% increase...that's a lot. If that continues, the town will double in size in less than a decade. 

Big changes already happened, big changes on the way. 

I still follow a few social media groups from the city where we used to live. I know the people feel fortunate to live there--and they are--but every once in a while there are complaints. It makes sense--the sites are set up to notify the city's residents of current events. There's a central theme among the comments--the city's growing too fast and it's hard to keep up. I can sympathize with them because what they are saying is completely true...the city's exploding and it's hard to keep up with all the changes.

Now, we drive around the nearly empty streets, do our shopping, run errands, enjoy the little town we call home. Because we went through it before, I know the complaints are coming. Some already see the writing on the wall...the people are moving here and there's not much anyone can do to stop it. 

Such is life. Best to make good decisions and try to keep up.

So Much Art...You Just Have To Look For It

 I picked up a brochure the other day. It was printed for locals and tourists alike. Even though we've been here for two years, I still feel like a tourist many times as I drive and walk around town. That's why I picked up the brochure...to help me get to know my community better.

And what better way to get to know a place than to look at its art.

Of course, you can't know everything about a place by looking at their art, but there's a lot you can find out--you just have to look for it.

The brochure is a map to find murals, large paintings found on the sides of buildings. 

Of course, when we first drove through downtown, we'd see some of these murals--they were hard to miss, especially the newest addition, a mural celebrating the life of Gail Halvorsen, or as he is better known, The Candy Bomber.

The funny thing about this type of artwork is you see them now and again as you drive through town, but you don't know just how many of them there are until you look at the brochure--they're everywhere. And our town is small, relatively speaking. It's amazing just how many of these public displays of art there are.

I noticed something similar a few years ago. I follow an account on Instagram. A bicyclist likes to park his bike in front of large murals in Salt Lake City and post the pictures on Instagram. He's done this for years and he never seems to run out of murals to photographs. It's not that I know everything about Salt Lake City, but I thought I knew it better than that. I guess not.

I picked up the brochure just before it got cold here. I haven't had time to actually follow the map and see all the murals.  Maybe when things warm up, I might take a walking tour. The downtown area is small enough I could see all of them in one afternoon.

Sounds like fun.

Happened Upon A Little Sports Show...In A Bakery

 I stopped by our local grocery store to pick up my son from work. He wasn't quite done, so I waited. While I waited, I checked out some of the baked goods offered at the store. I've been to the store many times, but this time I saw something new...

A local sports program doing a live broadcast, in the bakery.

I thought that was pretty cool.

Living in a small town is different--it's not like where we used to live was huge, but it was closer to Salt Lake City and therefore, closer to the the major sports markets of Utah. I was for a time, a sports reporter for a small newspaper--I had that gig twice. I also was involved with the Utah Jazz organization for a few years. I'm in no way "connected" to the sports journalism community, but I was closer than I am here. 

I loved seeing two men sitting on folding chairs in the bakery talking about local sports. After they finished, I chatted briefly with one of the men. He said they talked about the high school golf team, as well as other sports including football. Like many places, football is king here. I have no idea who the men were, but I imagine they are former players and/or coaches. If I grew up here, I might recognize them, perhaps even know them personally.

It was great seeing people involved in sports, nationally, internationally, even in a small town in Northern Utah. Sports is supposed to bring people together. I have no idea how many people listened to their broadcast, maybe many, maybe few. But, I know of at least one person (me...), I was glad they were there.

Oh, Those Amazing Skies...

It's due to the lack of trees, really.

It seems my wife, mother-in-law, and I are always talking about the skies. One of the negatives of "The Great Move" that happened to us almost two years ago was the leaving behind our views. I looked at the same western skyline, off-and-on, for half a century. I was sure wherever we moved could never compare. For me, it would be a huge sacrifice, but considering all the other reasons for moving, it couldn't prevent us from taking action.

Then we moved.

Then, I was surprised--pleasantly surprised--at the views from the Top of Utah.

I've wondered why we love them so much and I've come to a conclusion--it's due to the lack of mature trees. Our neighborhood is new--half a decade ago none of these home existed. And, as evolution goes, first come the houses, then come the trees. We live where trees didn't already exist...in other parts of the world, houses come by removing trees. We do not have that problem.

It's funny...before our family and my mother-in-law left our previous homes, trees were actually reducing our amazing views. We kept seeing less and less of the skies. That issue will follow us here. And, as evolution goes, the trees planted here today will one day soar into those beautiful skies reducing the views even more.

But, for today, the skies are amazing...and we love them dearly. 

Can You Call It A Food Truck...When It's A Bus...And It Doesn't Move?

 For some strange reason, there are more food trucks in our little town than in the much larger city from which we moved. I don't know why--maybe there are fewer government restrictions up here. For whatever reason, we're not complaining.

Then, there's the Taqueria El Cazador.

It's not a food truck, but a food bus.

And I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon.

But, it serves up some mighty fine food.

When we drive into town, we pass this bus restaurant almost every time. Last spring when we were putting in our sprinklers, I asked Mark, the sprinkler guy we hired, where the good places to eat in town were. He named several, then he named the Taqueria El Cazador. "The bus?" I said. "Yes," he said. 

It took us a year to finally stop and try it. Mark was right--good food.

Yes, we have a McDonalds and a Wendys and a Burger King and a Taco Time and an Arctic Circle...the same fast food places you can find in many other towns, and in some cases in other countries. But, this fine establishment is unique. You can search high and low and you'll most likely never find another one quite like it.

Still...can it be considered a food truck? Probably doesn't matter, anyway.

Remembering A Favorite Son...

 When we moved north, one interesting aspect of the town (among many...) is the many murals that grace the sides of buildings. One particular one that caught my attention is located downtown. I knew it was special because shortly after we arrived, the official unveiling took place. I remember a large crowd gathered on and across the street.

At the time, I didn't know who was being honored...it was so large that I didn't have a good angle to see the entirely of the mural. I found out quickly the painting was honoring Gail Halvorsen, better known as The Candy Bomber.

I thought it was nice the city of Tremonton was showing its appreciation to a hero. I only found out after that Halvorsen was from the area. It made more sense, then. 

I think most Utahns knew about Halvorsen and his inspiring history of dropping candy to the children during the Berlin Air Lift. I have surface knowledge of what happened. I'm sure he would have been a fascinating person to sit down and talk to for an hour or so. He passed away this week.

Having the huge mural in town to honor a favorite son is cool. The fact he was able to see and appreciate it is even cooler. Hopefully now his story will be told to others who may see the painting and ask their parents who he was.

Saw This...Thought It Was Effective

 Last week I was picking up some food at a local diner. Instead of waiting in line in my car and using the Drive-Thru, I decided to go inside and order. There is no inside eating (like it is with many eateries...) but I was able to order and soak in the restaurant's ambiance.

That's when I spotted the interesting tables. 

They had a clever idea of rounding up ads from local businesses and laminating them atop the tables. 

There was a time when I thought I'd make a career out of marketing. It's a tough world, especially because there's no "final answer," no "best way of doing things." In marketing, imagination is vital, at least, how I understood it. Sure, you can run statistics and use numbers to justify decisions, but I think there's a lot of "gut feeling" when it comes to marketing.

That's why I thought the tables were genius. Local businesses can advertise as people chow down. As with all ad campaigns, you never know just how effective they'll be. Will the diners actually look at the ads? Will they decide to use Mountain Transmissions over another transmission shops just because they see the ad while they scarf down a burger and shake?

I'd like to think so.

Unfortunately, as I said before, in-eating dining is not an option. Too bad...all those ads not being seen. Even a good idea can have its drawbacks.

Where (Some...) Of The New Neighbors Will Live

 I took a little walk last week. I turned right, then right again and walked to the end of the street where several new buildings stood.

It's where our new neighbors will live.

Normally, I'd be exited about new neighbors, and I am, in a way. But, in another way, I see the homes people will buy and then move in, but I don't know if I'll ever get to know them.

To get to the cul-de-sac on my walk passed a dozen homes. I have no idea who lives in any of them. This isn't their fault--I blame myself, mostly. There's nothing stopping me from leaving my comfort zone and getting to know them. I don't know...it's a different world in some ways.

The homes at the end of the street are all about the same rate of completion. There's a couple more homes to the right of these three that are not quite so far advanced. And most of the mountain to the east and north of us is undeveloped. That won't last long.

So, if you'd like to come on up and be our neighbors, I say go for it! There are homes almost built waiting for you. If so, when I take that walk in the future, I may just stop in and say hi.

The Got A Twisted Sugar...We're On The Fast Track To The Big Time

 One of the charms of living in a small town is the small-towniness. It's everywhere. People wave to each other. You hardly ever have to wait for traffic to turn onto a road. The air is cleaner and the people are nicer.

It's been an amazing experience and we've love it ever since we moved in 2020.

But, it won't last...it can't last.

That's the downside of living in a small town.

I've mentioned many times that the town where we now live is so much like the town we used to live in, only how it was fifty years ago. We had Main Street, some houses, and some farmland. It wasn't unusual for many neighbors to have horses on their land behind their homes. The church they attended was over a hundred years old and everyone knew each other...or so it seemed.

That's how it feels for us now where we live. I also feel change is coming. I feel this because I've seen it happen. We live on one side of town, a town that has a lot of businesses. We've watched over the past year as a new mini-strip mall has been built. We've wondered what will go in the smallish spaces. Well, we found out a month or so ago what one of those shops was going to be...a Twisted Sugar shop.

It opened recently and earlier this week, I stopped in to check it out. I've never been to one--didn't know anything about the place other than the obvious--it's got tasty treats. I chose the Pina Colada drink and it was very good. Unfortunately for our family, they use artificial flavors in their products which means, my family will not be stopping in for tasty treats. Bummer.

I think many of our fellow citizens are excited about the prospect...a new place to hang out, to get something new. That's how it starts. There's excitement that new things are coming, and it is exciting. It's fun, and the prospect of other new things only adds to that excitement.

But, one day they'll turn around and the town will have doubled, new traffic lights will be installed (because they're needed...) and it will take fifteen minutes to take a trip that used to take only five. Yes, they'll be new shops, new stores, new many things, but it'll come at a cost. We're on the fast track to the Big Time. I just hope people are willing to take the good with the bad.

Happy Thanksgiving...From The Happy Little Valley

 This morning, I did not get up early and run a 5k or 10k or any k. I also did not meet on a field and try and reclaim some ancient glory of days gone by to participate in a "turkey bowl" football game. I think doing either of those things would result in repercussions of a "serious injury" kind. No, to do those things, I would need training...months and months of training.

Instead, I did my usual. I went on a hike up the hill.

The chill nipped my nose and face as I walked among the dying grass and discarded items one finds on a hillside above a growing community. When I reached the highest part of the hill I could go without trespassing, I turned and took a panoramic photo with my phone. The high clouds and a bit of smog prevented an unfiltered view, but it was spectacular none the less.

We have come to love this happy little valley.

Except, it's not that "little." It's quite large, actually. Maybe the lack of people upon people makes it feel little. That'll change, with time. Even though we have to drive everywhere and those drives take longer than they used to do, it feels small at times.

No, I did not get up and push my body to its physical limits this morning. Instead, I caught a glimpse of an incredible valley, a valley where people have worked and toiled and sweat and bled to battle the elements and grow strong families, and where they continue to do so. Do I regret not doing a run or trying to move a football down a field (or preventing from others doing the same...)? Not at all. The view was worth it.

Happy Thanksgiving from our little family happily residing in this little valley.

Happened Upon Main Street Mercantile In Tremonton Today...Lovely

"Can we stop at that little shop on the way home?" my wife asked as we drove to the grocery store for supplies. It was technically a question, but I thought it would be fun, so not stopping wasn't really an option. We had the time and it was such a beautiful day to be out and about.

After fetching the necessities at the grocery store, we pulled up to the storefront on Tremonton's Main Street. We looked at the time--they close at 2pm. "It's 2:55pm," I said as we both glanced at the clock in Donk The Subaru's dashboard. "Isn't that clock an hour fast?" my wife asked. She was, of course, correct. I have yet to adjust for Daylight Savings. We only had a few minutes to check to check out the place.

We could have used more time.

Tremonton's Main Street Mercantile is, in a word...

Lovely.

It's the kind of place that doesn't overwhelm the senses, but more of a cozy shop that grows more amazing as you take time to get a good look at the items, see them for what they are, appreciate the craftsmanship that went in to building, creating, and assembling the various things. It's a consignment shop for local and non-local artists. It's like the sign outside says, Just Like Etsy, But In Real Life.

 We wanted to honor the shop's hours of operation, so we didn't stay very long. Both my wife and I left thinking of things we could create to add to their inventory. It was a joy to walk inside the little shop and am glad people out there are willing to take the risk and put themselves out there with their art, all in an effort to make the world a better place. Well done, and thanks to those behind Main Street Mercantile for taking a risk as well.

...and I hope they don't mind I lifted two pictures from their Facebook business page for this post. ;)

Scenes From A Fair...

This past weekend we experienced the Box Elder Count Fair for the first time.

We'd heard about the fair--we missed it last year--so we made it a point to attend this year. We live in an area where the fair is important, it serves a purpose for so many. It's always fun to people watch. At the fair we could also animal watch. 

Here's just a slice of what we saw. Of course, there was SO much more that I didn't capture or include here. We were sad we missed it last year. We're glad we attended this year, and we're going to make sure we return next year. It was great.

 

Give Thanks...Community

 We experienced Tremonton City Hay Days for the first time. We had a great day. Since it was a new experience for us, we didn't know what to expect. Well...that's not entirely true. We came from a close-knit community and they had a community celebration, too. Pretty sure all communities have do this. It brings the residents closer together. It's important.

And I'm so grateful that it happens.

We started the day at the park enjoying a free breakfast. We saw vendors and several classic cars. We also saw a baby contest and diaper derby. Since we have attended the same type of event in Farmington for decades, I expected things to be pretty much the same. They were, and they weren't. The biggest change was the number of people enjoying the events. In short, we were able to find a parking spot close to the park and walk around without being surrounded by people.

One of the coolest parts of the day is when we went to the Bear River Museum where they put on a quilt show. The quilts were amazing (I found MY favorite...), but I loved seeing all the other things, the recreation of a pioneer school, a dentist's office, a doctor's office, and a typical home kitchen. I've seen that kitchen before...at my Grandpa Knight's house.

The evening ended with a fireworks display. It's been a while since we've been to one that close. It wasn't the best display we've seen, but it didn't need to be. It was a way to close the day by the city saying, "thank you" to its residents with beautiful lights and exploding booms that echoed across the valley.

Even though we know hardly anyone here, it didn't matter. We felt welcomed as we walked the park and the museum and watched the pretty colors in the sky. It felt like home.

Celebrating A State Holiday...

 The flag...was huge. Of course, "huge" is a relative term. It was bigger than the flags people have at their homes, but smaller than the flags unfurled at the Super Bowl. However when you stand under under the fabric as it moves and flows in a strong wind, it's impressive.

In large cities and small towns across our state, communities celebrated not a date when a state was born, but a day that a group of weathered, haggard, and expelled pioneers entered a desolate valley and called it home.

July 24, 1847.

A lot's changed since then.

That was 174 years ago today. The first time I experienced this holiday (even though I was not yet one-year old...), the holiday was only 119 years old.

A lot's changes since 1966, too.

My family went to the celebration in our little town. At the east end of the park, a large flag was tied between tall pillars. Because of a strong north wind, the flag was not majestically hanging as a backdrop to the event, but it was almost perpendicular to the ground. I walked to it and snapped several pictures and took a video. It struck me that even though it wasn't displayed as intended, it was beautiful just the same.

I know, for some, it's not popular to love where you're from, but I do. I loved seeing the flag flying this morning. I hope the tradition continues for generations to come.

Don't Look Now, But...They're Following Us

 I don't want to alarm anyone, but...I'm pretty sure we're being followed. The "sneakies" are not the same people, but their mission appears to be the same. Who are these individuals lurking about who seem to be in places that we also find ourselves in?

I'll tell you...

They're Drivers Education Instructors.

Okay, okay. I don't really believe we're actually being followed, but something that happened all the time at our old house is also happening at our new house. The streets on which we lived--both before and now--are favorites of these instructors. I can understand the street where we used to live. You go from downtown Farmington, drive straight up State Street and turn on a dead-end street. It's a great place to practice a three-point turn or practice signaling when you start from a parked position. It worked great.

It even worked great when I took my driving test as a newly-turned sixteen-year old future driver. I took my test in winter. The tester had me drive up State Street and turn on my street. He asked me to perform a three-point turn and I obeyed, but when I approached the curb, I stopped because the street hadn't been fully plowed of snow. The tester said I should pull up more. I told him I would, but I didn't want to get the car stuck.

I drove forward and the car got stuck. The tester had to get out and push the car to get unstuck. Surprise...I passed my driving test.

As I worked today and caught more than a few glances out at the incredibly beautiful sky, I noticed a driving instructor car turning around on my street. Like I said, I don't think anyone is seriously following us. I do find it interesting that they take their students on a street on which we live, again. Maybe we just live on quiet streets...and those streets are a perfect place for practice. Who knows...?

Wana Massage...Give Them A Try

 If you live in Northern Utah and if your body needs to be treated better, there's a place you should check out...

Wana Massage.

If you're wavering or think it's not for you, check out the company website. You can access it by clicking: HERE. So, after you've checked out the website, are you more interested?

The business is located on Main Street in Tremonton, Utah...a beautiful little town just north of Brigham City. Depending where you are, it could be a short drive, or a longer tour. Either way, they are waiting to hear from you to. You can book online, or call their number.

Full disclosure...I know one of the owners. I know them personally. I know they work very hard and are dedicated to the business and to helping people. They're like many small businesses--the events of the past eighteen months have not been kind. I can't imagine what small businesses have gone through or the stress they're under. When I clock out, I'm done for the day. With small business, there's no "down time," no "off switch." It must be tough.

So, if you're in the area and are thinking of pampering yourself a little bit, give Wana Massage a try. It'll be a good thing for you...and for them.