It’s Utah Adventure Week! This month we take a trip out to Antelope Island State Park and explore what it has to offer. With a history as old as any in the US, no seriously, the oldest rocks in the country are here, it has a lot to offer. We discuss it’s history and the really cool things from nature and the past that you can see on the island. We also give you a quick run down on activities for the 4th of July.
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Jeremy has obtained chicks, in the hardest way possible, chicken raffle! and we’ll be giving chick status updates for the next few months! We are also sad to report that while the chicks are alive and well, the bees are not. They were tricked by an early spring and frozen by the cold weather snap. On the other hand, you should see the beautiful, dark honey!
It’s Utah Adventure Week! This week we go to the Utah State Capitol! We have a wonderful tour guide take us around. But we spend well over an hour telling you about the history, our favorite places and art. With that said, please enjoy the pictures above that Alexis sent us and some of the great pictures we took. I just couldn‘t decide what to post, so you get them all!!!
As always thank you to Folk Hogan for our intro music.
We will ALWAYS love your “likes” BUT don’t forget to click that little SHARE button (or retweet) *sharing IS indeed caring* You can find us and subscribe on Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Itunes, IHeartRadio, Google Play, and TuneIN. Leave us a review and Follow us on the Twitter @tnupodcast, Instagram @Tnupodcast, or on Facebook The New Utah Podcast
This is TNUP’s last episode of 2021. We’re so excited for 2022. For 2022 instead of just researching the amazing places in Utah, we’ll be visiting some of them. We’ll record a bit, take some pictures, and then come back to the show to tell you about our adventure.
We open the show this week by talking about football bowl cancellations due to COVID concerns. As of our recording, the Hawai’i Bowl, Military Bowl, Holiday Bowl, Fenway Bowl, and the Arizona Bowl. As of this writing, the Rose Bowl will be played. Go Utes! Along with that a small shout-out to Tom Barberi, who passed away on Christmas Eve. He was a staple in the Utah media and will be missed.
Bre and Chris talk about their successful delivery of Sub for Santa gifts and a successful mouse trapping. So far there are no signs of a second mouse. Fingers crossed we don’t end up with a mouse infestation similar to Jeremy’s rats!
Salt Lake City Tours – Copper Mine of Utah Tour
This week we talk about the Kennecott Utah Copper Mine or the Bingham Canyon Mine, the largest man-made excavation and deepest open pit mine in the world. Currently the mine is owned by Rio Tinto Group (a British-Australian multinational corporation). In the episode, we talk about the ore discovery in 1848 by Sanford and Thomas Bingham (whom the canyon and mine were originally named after) and the many iterations of owners the mine has had since its opening in 1863. While the mine brought much work and prosperity to Utah, it’s become a blight to the west bench that managed to literally bury entire cities.
Aerial view of the mine by John Couture
The mine does not just produce approximately 300,000 short tons of copper annually but also, 400,000 troy ounces of gold, 4,000,000 troy ounces of silver and about 10,000 short tons of molybdenum. While I think everyone has heard of copper, silver, and gold, none of us had heard of molybdenum, a metal that is ductile and highly resistant to corrosion. It also has one of the highest melting points of all pure elements. We also found out the molybdenum is a micronutrient that is essential for life but can be poisonous when you are overexposed. (Don’t say we never taught you anything)
We also talk about the huge equipment needed to undertake this type of mining. One shovelful from a bucket holds more than 100 tons of material and it takes about three scoops to fill the 320-ton haul trucks used in the mine. The electrical shovels are six-stories high, and the average haul truck is 24 feet high with six tires more than 12 ½ feet tall. Each of the tires lasts about nine months and when the truck is fully loaded, it weighs more than 1,100,000 pounds.
YouTube, MK Parihar
Constructionequipmentguide.com
In addition to burying entire towns, we talk about Daybreak being built on top of old tailing ponds. In 1990, homes that that been built on former flood plains were discovered to be contaminated with high levels of lead and arsenic. In its history, smelters caused sulfur dioxide gas emissions that significantly damaged neighboring crops and have had at least 25 chemical spills since 1989.
When Rio Tinto purchased the mine in 1989, they modernized the mine, mill, and the smelter. They also replace the railroad with conveyor belts and pipelines for transporting both ore and waste. We discuss the landslides and that the pit can be seen with the naked eye from outer space!!!
NASA – view of the mine from space
The Bigham Canyon Open Pit Copper Mine is on the list of National Historic Landmarks. We talked about the visitors’ center being open on the episode, but it is still closed due to COVID restrictions. You can take a virtual tour on their website.
Chris puts us all on the spot about our favorite episode of year but I’m the only one caught unaware and unprepared, as is the yoozh. He also tells us about his company’s impromptu Christmas party where is boss is like Oprah, “You get a prize! And you get a prize! And you get a prize!!!”
We hope you have a great new year, and we’ll see ya on the flip side!
We will ALWAYS love your “likes” BUT don’t forget to click that little SHARE button (or retweet) *sharing IS indeed caring* You can find us and subscribe on Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Itunes, IHeartRadio, Google Play, and TuneIN. Leave us a review and Follow us on the Twitter @tnupodcast, Instagram @Tnupodcast, or on Facebook The New Utah Podcast
Bre here! It’s the last episode of the month so we’re going to talk about the Utah State Capitol and how beautiful it is. But first we start with our usual ranting and random crazy talk.
Utah.com
We recorded this episode a day early because Jeremy has to travel to St. George and that’s just how things go! Maybe he’ll have some stories for us next week. In the meantime, he sent me some pictures of the State Capitol building in Fillmore while he was traveling through and I’m going to make them part of this blog since we talk about it as the original Utah Territory Capitol.
Chris is getting concerned about not getting tickets for FanX yet. We are planning to go but the excitement level is a little bit lower. Who knows what will be going on in a month with COVID restrictions? Speaking of COVID restrictions this week I (Bre) am attending both a virtual conference and a virtual education seminar. I’m thrilled because if they were both in person, I would’ve had to chose one or the other!
We are sending well wishes to Julia as she is currently having some health issues. We told her she doesn’t have to be so dramatic just to have something to talk about on the show (j/k).
Before we got to the meat of this episode, we took a minute to talk about some of the Fall activities to do in Utah. We all love Fall and even though I’ve missed out on summer, I refuse to miss out on Fall! We talk about drives, hikes and punkin’ patches. Below are some links to get to the lists we used in our discussion.
We are so excited to talk about the Utah State Capitol this week. It’s a fantastic piece of architecture and has a great story (as do most things here in Utah). As mentioned earlier in this blog, the state capitol used to be in Fillmore. It made sense when Utah was a huge territory that encompassed not only Utah, but Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona and even part of California. Fillmore was about the middle of that area. But we all know that the capitol of Utah is now located in downtown Salt Lake City!
In this episode, you will hear us rehash some information from when we talked about this is the place since the beginnings of Utah are all tied together. We know that the first settlers arrived on July 24, 1847, but did you know that we were part of Mexico and Utah didn’t become a territory until 1850? Until then, Utah’s government met in random buildings until the Utah Territorial House was built in Fillmore.
Fillmore was the capitol of Utah until 1856 when it was officially moved to Salt Lake City. Again, we just used miscellaneous buildings to conduct government affairs until the Salt Lake City Council Hall was built in 1866. That building was destroyed in 1883 when gunpowder exploded, and it caught fire. Finally, in 1888, Salt Lake City donated 20 acres of Arsenal Hill to be used for a capitol building.
In 1891, they hired an architect, but true to its roots, Utah was too cheap and felt that the cost to build was too high. However, Utah obtained statehood January 4, 1896, and after FOREVER, the legislature approved a seven-man commission to design and build the capitol in 1909. The budget was $2.5M but it wasn’t funded until 1911 because our constitution would not allow us to borrow money, so we had to change it. Additionally, you’ll hear us talk about getting $800,000 in back taxes from the widow of the Union Pacific Railroad owner.
Eight designs were submitted and ultimately, Utah went with Richard KA Kletting’s designs. In 1912 they started construction with a groundbreaking ceremony on December 26th. The state used the Alta mine to bring granite to the build site from the quarry. A cornerstone ceremony was celebrated on April 4, 1914, and finally, in 1916, the structure was complete. It was not true to the original design due to financial issues.
Fox13
Dustin Olsen
Maia Gates Ewing
The copper domed capitol building was dedicated on October 9, 1916 and was added to national Register of Historical Places in 1978. From 2004-2008 the capitol underwent a massive renovation project, honoring many of Klettings visions. We added two new buildings and retrofitted the structure to handle a 7.3 earthquake, which took up most of the basement space. Today, the Capitol building contains two active legislative chambers, a ceremonial supreme court chamber, and the working offices of top state officials.
If you want to take a virtual tour and learn more about the Utah State Capitol, you can go to the state website. We hope you enjoy the episode; we sure did! (Don’t inhale too much smoke)
We will ALWAYS love your “likes” BUT don’t forget to click that little SHARE button (or retweet) *sharing IS indeed caring* You can find us and subscribe on Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Itunes, IHeartRadio, Google Play, and TuneIN. Leave us a review and Follow us on the Twitter @tnupodcast, Instagram @Tnupodcast, or on Facebook The New Utah Podcast
This week is historically significant Utah week, and we dive deep into the Utah War and its ties to the creation and subsequent destruction of Camp Floyd. It all started in the mid 1850s when the federal government had a growing concern for the Utah territory’s growing obstinance for federal law. Brigham Young had been declared governor, much to the chagrin of then President James Buchanan. See the Mormon’s had eyes for creating their own country in the middle of the United States, and given the rising tensions with the South, the feds didn’t want an excuse for them to grow stronger and have a better case for secession. So President Buchanan ordered troops to head to Utah.
Courtesy of wikipedia and Tricia Simpson
The Mormon militia at the time, known as the Nauvoo Legion, was directed by Young to harass the approaching army. They succeeded in delaying the army for a year, entrance into the Salt Lake Valley. Burning fields and wagons, scattering the army’s livestock and stopping supply trains turned out to be an effective tactic. But the US Army finally marched into Salt Lake City on June 26, 1858, just a month shy of when they set out to stop the Mormon uprising in Utah.
The army ends up setting up a camp between Salt Lake and Provo, and Brigham Young agrees to give the governance to a federally supported man, Alfred Cumming. But the story doesn’t end there, Camp Floyd was built, and infused money into the very economy and people that the army was sent to stop. Sadly all that stands today is small outline of the fort and the cemetery.
It’s easy to learn more, simply check out the Issuu.com story, its perhaps the most comprehensive we found. There are some other great sites to get quick factoids, over at AmericanHistoryCentral.com.
We also discuss the Utah drought at length. Most of the state is in an Exceptional Drought state. The drought is worse than the dust bowls of the 1930s. We urge everyone to please not light fireworks this year. Go to a planned show and enjoy fireworks your money couldn’t buy anyways. You can check out Unified Fire for a current restriction map of the Salt Lake Valley. We also encourage you to visit Slow The Flow and learn how to conserve water as best you can.
Please don’t forget to check out the Food Truck Passport, courtesy of the Food Truck League, 30 local food trucks and other sponsors. It’s a great way to support a bunch of local charities. Lastly a huge shout out to our friends at The Neighborhood Hive. They managed to fully fund their Kickstarter and are well on their way to a fantastic new opportunity for them and other small businesses around town.
We will ALWAYS love your “likes” BUT don’t forget to click that little SHARE button (or retweet) *sharing IS indeed caring* You can find us and subscribe on Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Itunes, IHeartRadio, Google Play, and TuneIN. Leave us a review and Follow us on the Twitter @tnupodcast, Instagram @Tnupodcast, or on Facebook The New Utah Podcast
This episode opens with some sad news. Professor Baron von Ebo crossed Rainbow Bridge on May 13th. While the family misses him, they are still busy preparing for an upcoming wedding! Julia tells us how she crashed a bowling league’s raffle and Chris gives us an update on RSL guidelines.
This week, David J West, Utah author from episode 34, joins us in the studio. TNUP first met David at the Halloween Expo. He was born in Salt Lake City but mostly grew up in Montana. David married and had three kids then divorced and had custody of his children. Then he met new current wife while she was living in LA, where they move for a time. His new little family had a chance to come back to Utah and choose to live here now. David’s first novel was Heroes of the Fallen and it came out in 2010. He also writes under the pseudonym James Alderdice.
david-j-west.blogspot.com
We talk to David about how his work changed during COVID. His favorite place to write is in his study, where he is surrounded by books, arts, swords, and other writing inspiration. During COVID, David slipped into a home-schooling role and continued to write along with some consulting. You can find David’s books on Amazon and you can follow him on his blog or go to his website.
Amazon.com
David’s interesting or unique this about Utah is that our history is not what he thought it was. Utah has unexpected surprises. Kind of apropos to say on a podcast about the unexpected and fantastic things about Utah!
We will ALWAYS love your “likes” BUT don’t forget to click that little SHARE button (or retweet) *sharing IS indeed caring* You can find us and subscribe on Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, or Itunes, IHeartRadio, Google Play, and TuneIN. Leave us a review and Follow us on the Twitter @tnupodcast, Instagram @Tnupodcast, or on Facebook The New Utah Podcast
