What do you do when winter break has no snow? It’s been the warmest winter, so plans to play out in the snow haven’t happened. But there is still a lot to do.

We planned a day trip. The plans underwent many iterations, and what we ended up doing was going out to the West Desert. We haven’t explored that area much, and it isn’t too far away. Our first stop was to Paul Bunyon’s Woodpile, which is a short hike to an amazing rock formation. It takes some scrambling to get into it, but it’s well worth it.

Next, we went to the Little Sahara to play in the sand dunes. My kids like sand, and we were even able to get a little sledding in. What is not pictured is the fact that it is still winter, even if it’s warm and quite windy. The wind made our stay rather short.

The next stop was probably our family’s favorite and the best for the weather, Baker Hot Springs. The trick about going to hot springs in the cold is to stay in long enough to get your body temperature up so you don’t feel that cold when you exit. We stopped at the Topaz museum, which was excellent, and ended with dinner in Delta. Great little day trip.

Other places we went over the break included a game of Jet Lag with cousins, an indoor playground with the three littlest, the park, a trampoline park with everyone, Costco, which is way fun if you think of games like find the most expensive item, the butterfly and dino museums at Thanksgiving Point, the Zoo (go when it’s cold, the animals are more active), a New Year’s overnight party at my sister’s, a short hike, more time with cousins, a double date with my sister to make chocolates, and a train ride to the Planetarium. We fit a lot in! And I loved it.

When we were on our way home from the Planetarium, we were running to catch a tram car and missed it. Except for Henry. Henry got on by himself. Luckily, the tram was only two stops away from the train stop, where the tram car sat for 15 minutes before turning around. The train stop was a short walking distance away, so we took off in search of Henry. He’d gotten off at the next stop, we met up, and all got on the train together and successfully got home. There was mild panic, but it all worked out.