My first Utah Pioneer Day
Pioneer Day is a state holiday in Utah celebrated every July 24th.
It commemorates the entry of Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, where the Latter-day Saints settled after being forced from Nauvoo, Illinois, and other locations in the eastern United States.
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While the holiday has strong links to the LDS Church, it is officially a celebration of everyone, regardless of faith and nationality, who emigrated to the Salt Lake Valley during the pioneer era, which is generally considered to have ended with the 1869 arrival of the transcontinental railroad. — Wikipedia
And it was another successfully celebrated holiday. It was also another midweek holiday which was a bit of a bummer, but we filled it without exhausting ourselves too much.
We live very close to the Pioneer Village — a living history museum complete with the original structures built by the pioneers — and there was a fun celebration going on from morning until afternoon at the park next to it in addition to the village itself. I explored the Pioneer Museum right next to the village, lost in a sack race, had a delicious corn dog for lunch (maybe those didn't exist back then...) and watched acts on the stage.
The picture below — that's the face of a pie eating champion! 🥧 I knew after he won the peach eating contest in Nashville a couple years ago that if we were ever so poor we couldn't afford food that Matt would be able to win enough food contests to sustain us. He's very good.
We napped and hung out until the RODEO! This is now my second rodeo of the summer season, and the third one in my whole life. So not a lot of expectations. I really go to the rodeo for the fried oreos. Which I was really excited to find! Extra bonus: I was kissed on the cheek by a llama. He was very friendly. All you had to do was say, "Gary, can I have a kiss?" My friend Noelle got kissed on the lips!
I believe we all continue to be pioneers, and this day reminded me of that. Keep pioneering!
