Pioneer Day Scavenger Hunt

On Saturday night we wanted to get out of the house, but we didn't want to spend money, so Jared and I came up with a plan for a simple scavenger hunt that would go along with Pioneer Day.  (Pioneer Day is the day we celebrate the early Mormons arrival in Salt Lake and honor our pioneer legacy.  It's an actual holiday in Utah.)  We told the kids that after dinner we would be having family date night.  We hopped in the van and headed to the district.  On the way there, I told the kids our first task.

1. Find something that would have helped the pioneers build a fire.
We searched REI until we found something.

Then we read the next task.

2.Find something that would have helped the pioneers make food.

On to #3
3. The pioneers slept in tents, find a tent you can go inside.

Those were pretty easy, so we left REI and gave the next task.
4. Get a ride on something that would have made it easier/faster for the pioneers to cross the plains.

The trolley!  We rode the trolley across the street and gave the last clue.
5. Find a horse you can ride - pretend to be a pioneer while you ride.

 We let her pretend the giraffe was a horse.

After the carousel (it's free all summer, by the way), we got some free popcorn and walked back to the van.  On the way, Jared told us that there was one more secret clue that we would find out about in the car.  Once everyone was buckled, he told us what it was,
6. After a long day on the trail, the pioneers liked to spend time with family and sometimes have a treat together.
At home, we ate some ice cream, had family prayer, and then got everyone ready for bed.  It was such a fun and simple family activity.  I don't know why we don't do that kind of thing more often.  I have to share a website that we often look to for inspiration when it comes to dates, family or just Jared and I.  thedatingdivas.com  I recommend checking it out to anyone who needs to spruce up their dates.

Here are a few pictures of us waiting for the trolley.

To find out more about what we believe, you can go to mormon.org.  To find out more about Pioneer Day, you can go here.