Outdoor Adventure Days

Saturday morning we set out to the Outdoor Adventure Days at the Lee Kay Center. Upon arrival the little ones were drawn to the plastic fish catching activity put on by the Salt Lake County Fish and Game Association. It was loads of fun with only one irreparable cluster tangle.

 

After warming up with the plastic fish we hit the cat fishing pond for the real thing. Over a thousand recently stocked catfish makes for an exciting time. As we arrived we were met by numerous volunteers including members the Weber State Fishing Team. All of the volunteers were terrific giving one-on-one attention to any of the youth interested in catching a fish.

In just over an hour we had already lost track of how many catfish the kids had brought in. Our best guess is 26 Channel Cat.The average catch was 20 inches in length and the largest topped out at about 24 inches.

 It was a morning of double hook-ups and smiles. Every time you turned around someone was reeling in another fish.

From a distance I could hear a commotion coming from the other side of the pond. When I looked up I saw several volunteers sprinting for the waters edge and reaching into the water with anything they could find. I chuckled under my breath when I realized that all the hubbub was over a catfish that made away with a poor young mans fishing rod. The chuckle quickly turned to a slow shake of the head when I saw that I was related to the young man.

 There was no time to reflect on past mistakes, today was about focusing on the next one. Fish, that is!

 We stopped for a few minutes at the bird watching station for a close encounter of the BIRD kind. We saw Canada Geese, Pelicans, Cranes and many other species. We were also pleased to come face to face with this beautiful Great Horned Owl. On the bus ride back to the shooting area we checked each child for neck injuries and explained that little boys and girls are unable to turn their heads in a full circle like an owl.

One of our favorite stops was the ATV track. Children 8 and up were permitted to ride on their own and along with the fishing pond there were plenty of helpful volunteers to make the experience informative and enjoyable.

We then hitched a ride on a Clydesdale pulled wagon out to the archery range. The wagon drivers from Hardware Ranch provided transportation to many of the events. At the archery range there were bows of all sizes available and an assortment of targets including a 3D Boar, Turkey and Pronghorn.

 

 Last but not least we made our way to the Cowboy Acton shooting range. We arrived just in time for the single action shooting competition. Marksmen from the SASS dressed in authentic attire competed to see who could shoot through a barrage of targets the fastest. The goal is something like 20 targets in sequence in as close to 10 seconds as possible. Wow!!!

Don't let their looks fool you, these guys were friendly and sure knew how to put a smile on your face.

After the demonstration the range was open to anyone who had the desire to try for themselves. We were able to try 22 rifles and pistols. In the pistol shoot my boy put 5 out of 5 shots right on the money and left his coach amazed at how well he could shoot. A chip off the old block? I wish. Some of my targets got away without a scratch.



We also shot several traditional black powder muzzle loaders. Even though the rifles were loaded for minimal recoil my two oldest walked away from the shooting table rubbing their shoulders just a little. Shame on me for smiling.

We all took turns honing our tomahawk throwing skills. Turns out throwing sharp objects is really fun. But don't try this at home....

We enjoyed looking through the wild west scenery before heading home. We had a fantastic day. The kids had almost as much fun as I did and nobody wanted to leave.

Our only regret was not having enough time to check out the hatchery, hunting dogs, reptiles, fly tying or participate in the raffle. The DNR and all the volunteers surpassed our expectations and we look forward to next years Outdoor Adventure Days.