With summer break just around the corner, it is important to make the most of the time we have with our loved ones. In recent years, most of us have learned the value of the “Staycation” and how to make memories without breaking the bank. So what can you do without having to open up your wallet too much? Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Family Friendly

Every Saturday from May 10 until September, the Golden Spike National Historic Site reenacts the coming together of the transcontinental railroads. It’s an 1800’s homage and a good reminder at the wonder and monumental impact of national transportation. Enjoy reenactments, trackside talks, and live demonstrations of authentic replica steam locomotives. Open year round, prices start as low as $4 per person, or $7 for a single vehicle.

Take a trip to Cedar City and you’ll find an extensive horse-drawn wagon collection, historic buildings, Paiute native camp, sawmill and replica blast furnace at the Frontier Homestead State Park Museum. Open six days a week, you can relive the pioneer and early industrial history of Cedar City, Iron County, and southwest Utah while enjoying many hands-on activities and interpretive programs throughout the year, including children’s history camps. The price of admission? $3 for a day of memories.

Spilt between Utah and Colorado is the Dinosaur National Monument. The remains of these fantastic creatures are still visibly embedded in the rocks. Petroglyphs hint at earlier cultures, while later on, homesteaders and outlaws found refuge here. Whether your passion is science, adventure, history or scenery, Dinosaur National Monument offers a lot for your family to explore. The cost for seeing these ancient wanderers starts as low as $5.

Outdoors Fun

If you’re trying to get the older children outside and away from the computer and cell phones, maybe a trip to Timpanogos Cave National Monument is just the thing. Timpanogos doesn’t charge an entrance fee to enter the monument and there is no charge for driving through the area, using the picnic areas, or hiking. The monument also offers cave tours throughout the day. Tickets range from $4 – $8 and they sell out fast. So I recommend going online and purchasing them ahead of time.

Natural Bridges National Monument invites you to ponder the power of water in a landscape usually defined by its absence. Declared a National Monument in 1908, the three natural bridges are named “Kachina,” “Owachomo” and “Sipapu” in honor of the Native Americans that once made this area their home. Natural Bridges is open year-round with the visitor center open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. May through September. $3 allows anyone on a bicycle, motorcycle or a hiker entrance for seven days. Taking the car down? No problem. $6 assures entrance and all day fun for the family.

If you make your way up north, it’s memorable to take a short detour to the Spiral Jetty, a remote decades-old art project that’s as bizarre as it is famous in the art world. The jetty is a gradually eroding spiral structure jetting out into the waters of the northern shore of the Great Salt Lake. It’s oddly beautiful, it’s unique, it’s hidden and it makes for cool family photos.

Hidden away at the Great Basin National Park, Lehman Caves offers tours of a beautiful marble cave ornately decorated with stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, flowstone, popcorn, and over 300 rare shield formations. Two different guided tours of Lehman Caves are offered, the Lodge Room Tour and the Grand Palace Tour. Reservations are strongly recommended in the summer months, as well as over holiday weekends. Lodge Room Tours are approximately 60 minutes long. The Lodge Room Tour travels 0.4 miles, and is ideal for families with young children. Grand Palace Tours are approximately 90 minutes long. The Grand Palace Tour travels 0.6 miles, and children must be at least 5 years old to join the Grand Palace Tour. These tours are limited to 20 visitors and during the peak of summer (May 23- September 1) are offered five times a day. Ticket prices are $4 – $5 for children under 15, and for adults its $8 – $10 depending on the tour you take. I strongly recommend you call ahead of time to purchase your tickets.

Museums

The respective art museums at the dueling schools of the University of Utah and Brigham Young University are some of the best art museums in the entire mountain west and exhibit an impressive collection of international as well as local art. In Salt Lake City, the Utah Museum of Fine Art “is Utah’s only visual arts institution that collects, exhibits, interprets and preserves a comprehensive collection of over 5,000 years of art from around the world,” according to the museum’s website. And it’s free on the first Wednesday of every month.

For a bit of modern history, a two-hour ride from Provo to Delta is the site of Topaz, the Japanese internment camp in use during World War II. Currently seeking funds to build a museum, the actual site can be toured for a chilling and often overlooked important element of U.S. history during the war.

Hopefully these ideas will help get you on the road with your family and see just how much fun can be had when you explore the great outdoors that is our own backyard.

By: Leigh Ann Day

Tired of the mess accumulating in your house after being stuck inside all winter?  Here are a few tips for getting your house clean and organized.

Clear the Air

Now that the weather is changing and the temperature outside is at the very least moderate, open your windows.  The air inside of your home can be significantly more dirty that the air outside.  One way to make your home feel fresh immediately is to open a few windows and allow the breeze to blow fresh spring air through your home.  Allow all the nasty germs from winter illness to be go out the window.

Clean that Dirt

Spring has traditionally been the time people deep clean their homes.  One reason might be that the weather is finally warm enough to clean the inside and outside of the windows.  Clean off your blinds and shades, then wash your curtains.  Finally, roll up your sleeves and wash those windows, inside and out.  Getting rid of all of the dead bugs in the window sills (don’t lie, we all have them) will make your home feel instantly more clean.

Clean your carpets.  The harsh elements of winter are tracked into our homes all winter dragging dirt, salt, and other contaminates into our home and grinding them into our carpets.  Rent a carpet cleaner, or call your favorite professional cleaner.  Having clean carpets will make your home feel fresh.

Wash your walls.  This can be a tricky task because some chemicals and cleaners will take your paint right off the wall.  Always start cleaning with the least intense chemical available.  For example, start with a dry rag.  If that doesn’t work try a sponge with plain water.  From there you could try adding mild dish soap.  After that there are an array of cleaning chemicals available for cleaning, but make sure to try it in an inconspicuous spot in case it pulls your paint off.

Declutter that Mess

If your house is like mine, then your garage, shed, and closets have become completely unorganized during the winter months.  Move methodically through your home and pull old clothes out of closets, get rid of junk, and reorganize everything that is left.  Now that all of your junk and old clothes have been piled in the garage, do the same thing in your garage.  You can donate your old stuff to thrift stores and receive a deduction on your income taxes for the value of the property you donate.  You could also put together a garage sale and try and make a little money.  However you dispose of your old clothes and junk, your home will feel more clean after its gone.

Cleaning up after a long winter can improve your overall wellness.  Whether you are recovering from an injury, a divorce, or simply want to feel better, spring cleaning can make you feel fresh and renewed.

I value family and marriage.  With that said, I also recognize that often, because of the decisions of one or both of the parties, some people need to be divorced.  I help people who need a divorce.  However, unlike many other attorneys, I do not simply advocate with the court so that people’s property can be divided.  I provide resources to help my clients not only deal with the stress, anxiety, and emotional distress caused by an ongoing divorce, but also to make their divorce the first step toward a healthy, happy, and productive future.

Why is overall wellness an essential part of a divorce? Many people who are pursuing a divorce have children that still need both of their parents to raise them and be good examples for them.  It can be difficult to raise a child properly if you are suffering under the intense stress, anxiety, and other emotional trauma caused by a divorce.  It can also be difficult to perform in your work, or find a new job, if you feel depressed, sick, or otherwise unhealthy.  For many people, they have relied heavily on their spouse to arrange insurance, retirement, home repairs, and other services that are essential to a family.

I maintain a circle of trusted professionals who can help with all of these critical issues.  I work with therapists, chiropractors and massage therapists, insurance providers, financial advisors, real estate agents, CPAs, wellness professionals, and others to ensure that my clients have resources to help them deal with the immediate physical and emotional side effects of divorce, and to move forward with their life.  I also wrote The Utah Guide to Divorce which outlines the law regarding issues which normally arise in a divorce so my clients can study and understand how their divorce works in the comfort of their own home.

What does this service cost?  I do not charge my clients to provide these resources to them.  And, many of the professionals with whom I associate, do not charge my clients for their initial visit.

So, if you know someone who is dealing with a divorce or custody dispute, have them give me a call.  I will provide a customized legal approach to their case, and provide resources to help them cope.