(slow soft music) - Welcome to "This is Utah."

I'm your host, Liz Adeola.

Family traditions can be the glue that hold people together during tough times.

Straight ahead, we're celebrating some of those traditions by taking a closer look at the bright little bugs that have created awe and inspiration in Spanish Fork for the last century.

We're on the run with another tradition, a sheep run with a third-generation sheep rancher.

And how about a trip back to a simpler time that may not have been so simple?

Carson Pate shows us what it's like to live in the mountain-man era.

- [Announcer] Funding for "This is Utah" is provided by the Willard L. Eccles Foundation, the Lawrence T. & Janet T. Dee Foundation, and the contributing members of PBS Utah.

Thank you.

(funky upbeat music) - There's something about the brilliant glow of tiny lights that sparks awe and fascination in people.

It's like pure magic, and you can experience nature's version of that magic for a few weeks out of the year in Spanish Fork on grand display.

(slow soft music) (crickets chirping) - I tell people tonight you're all children, you're all chasing fireflies, you know, so you get to be a child again.

And I mean, and they love it because we forget that we can do that.

We can run and play with our kids, we can chase bugs.

(slow soft music) (water babbling) 19 or 20 years ago, I was out here and we were irrigating, and it was my son, my dad and I, and all of a sudden I saw fireflies everywhere.

And I was like, "Do you guys see this?"

And I was like freaking out.

And my son and my dad were like, "Yeah, those are fireflies."

Like nothing, and I'm like, "Nobody told me!"

(laughs) So the farm's been in the family since 1851.

My great-great-grandfather Samuel Thompson came here and he gave it to his son, George Payton, who then gave it to his only son, George Elmore.

And then my grandpa, George Elmore Thompson, gave it to my dad who was an only child.

And then my dad gave it to me.

Oh, we're not gonna hurt you, Herbie.

My dad knew that I would keep it as a farm.

(chain rattling) So I get emotional about this, (laughs) but like my grandfather, he did not get a tractor until the 1960s because he loved using his team of horses.

He liked the hands-on stuff.

It was more work, but that's what he liked doing, that connection, that pride in his work.

So when I think of those things, that's what I want to preserve, because people get disconnected from that.

I don't know.

I don't know if it's the simplicity, if it's the, the imagining the times or, or what it is.

But yeah, I wanna, I want to keep that alive.

I want to keep that going as long as I can.

(slow soft music) (horse chortles) Okay, so this is the trail to the fireflies.

I mean, I do all these tours for free because I get the reward of seeing people get excited.

By the time we're halfway down, people start seeing all the lights go, and there's like, "Oh, Mom, look!

Do you see that, do you see that?"

It just really gives you goosebumps every time.

I do this every night and I never get tired of it.

(slow soft music) You're in the moment.

And we miss that so much right now.

We're not in the moment, we're thinking about what we gotta do next week, what we gotta do tomorrow.

We're worried about, oh, what time is it?

And when they come out here, they're in the moment, and they forget all of that stuff.

You know, it totally takes them away from all their worries.

And that's priceless right now, super priceless.

(slow soft music) (crickets chirping) My dad wanted it to stay a farm and to keep that heritage, so that's what I'm doing.

And I have three children and they want to keep it as a farm.

So, development's gonna come around us, but hopefully we can keep this little slice of heaven going.

(slow soft music) You're gonna chew on my shirt again, I know you.

- I never thought flashing fireflies were all over the entire state of Utah, so I'm thrilled.

You know, we always say like, there's a bunch of undescribed species in your backyard, I'm sure.

But like, there's a whole bunch of fireflies in Utah?

What?

(soft lighthearted music) Incredibly charismatic species in our state we didn't know about?

In almost every county?

That's phenomenal.

I think they've always been here.

The reason why they're more prominent in other areas is 'cause they have higher humidity and more moisture.

Hi babies.

My beauties.

You'd be surprised.

They're in many places that people who've lived places for decades didn't know.

Spring Lake.

We're still expanding, trying to define the range.

It's mostly the same species, but I'll tell you, there is a little stinker down in Moab that's a totally different species.

What?

Because they're only out from late May, usually, to like mid-July, we just have such a short window of their adulthood.

The rest of the time they're larva down in the mud, so we don't see 'em.

I think that's also partly why people don't see 'em.

Just to see glowing lights in a meadow at night, I mean, you know, we recreate these experiences all the time with Christmas lights and candles.

But the fact that nature's doing it for us?

(sighs) It's amazing.

They communicate with each other through lighting.

If there's too much light, they won't communicate.

Lampyridae, so that's a lamp.

Like, I think we're richer for knowing we have them.

So, I think they're worth protecting.

(soft lighthearted music) - So right across on the other side of that fence, a development is going in, and there's going to be 139 homes.

So fireflies need dark skies.

If they can't see each other blink because there's all these street lights and cars going by and porch lights on, then they don't mate, and then they don't lay eggs, and then the next generation doesn't come.

And after a couple of years there won't be fireflies here.

I've been trying to bring awareness for the last five years to try to get the development to develop wisely and responsibly so that they don't have light pollution and what they build and do there take away what I have.

(crickets chirping) (slow soft music) Come on up.

- I figured they were more like a, you know, back in the South type thing.

But it's something that not very many people know that they're here, so, and not very many people see 'em.

- I've lived here for about 20 years and I had no clue.

- I don't know, it's just something that just, how fun they are and how they glow and they blink and they are just so unique.

- I like their bums.

- [Woman] And just, I love to give my kids different experiences.

- Are you getting the perfect marshmallow?

Now what we're gonna do is we're gonna meet at the end of the driveway and we're all gonna walk over together.

Okay?

(slow soft music) (crickets chirping) Oh, I'm starting to see them.

- I saw them flying around.

- Did you?

Well now you get to catch one.

Do you think you can catch one?

They're Tinkerbell.

That's right, they're little fairies, huh?

- It's like seeing stars kind of, but like they fly around and around you.

It's really cool.

- The guys that like blink and they'll stop.

And then like if you follow them, they'll blink again.

And then, so you can just catch up to 'em and then like right as they blink, you just have to go fast around them.

- I caught mostly girls.

They were easier to catch for me.

The boys were a little harder.

- [Man] Did you like catching the fireflies?

Yeah?

Did you catch one by yourself?

- It's just amazing seeing all those fireflies out in the field.

- And that's my reward is being able to share something so magical and special in the state of Utah that a lot of people didn't know we had.

Looks like a little sunflower seed, huh?

(slow soft music) I'm just trying to fight for it.

(light upbeat music) (bird squawks) - Heritage is important to Lane Jensen.

His family is closing in on a century of holding an annual sheep drive that goes down Sardine Canyon to Brigham City.

(light upbeat country music) (lamb cries) - Sheep are an interesting animal, they require patience.

And they themselves are very impatient, especially when it comes to food.

(laughs) (light upbeat country music) My grandfather put the outfit together in about 1928.

(light upbeat country music) This was his sheep outfit, we're just caretakers of it after the fact.

We look up to him and respect him for what he did, for what he put together.

He was a child of immigrants who came from nothing.

(light upbeat country music) I remember sitting in the end of the barn, we'd come out, sitting there with my grandfather on a bale of straw, and it seemed like there was always a sack of cookies or something that he was sharing with us.

And then we were always expected to be around at shearing time, or whenever we moved, to help load the trucks or work the sheep in the corral.

I guess I fell in love with it as a teenager and always wanted to do it.

(birds chirping) (lamb cries) (slow steady country music) There's some freedom to it, to be able to work for yourself and to take care of things.

But it's also taking pride in taking care of the animals too, to see them grow and do well and have something that you think has value to it that you feel like you helped produce.

- It's our life.

It's not only our livelihood, but it's the way we do things.

Everything revolves around, well, what needs to be taken care of the sheep?

What needs to be taken care of on the farm?

Why do we need to do here and there?

I love my husband's work ethic with it.

When we first got married, that was really hard for me, especially not growing up on a farm and not knowing how many hours and how detailed every little thing is that has to be completed.

- We can spend time with family, too.

My favorite memory so far this summer was, was three weeks ago when we brought in one of the herds of sheep and got the camp set and everything else and sat down with my wife and kids on a, on a blanket on the grass and had a little picnic.

A pretty pleasant thing.

(slow soft guitar music) (lambs crying) - I think our girls will be the ones that, you know, if anyone takes it over, it'll be the two girls.

You know, my husband's third generation, they would be fourth.

He's worked really hard to be able to pass this on to them and give them this legacy.

And I'm really proud of that, that we have taught them, this isn't a man's job, it's as much a woman's job.

(sheep crying) (slow steady country music) - I think it's pretty cool, just knowing how far back it goes.

And I mean, in a couple years, it'll soon be 100 years old.

(slow steady country music) So, that's pretty cool that we get to do this all the time.

And some people don't even get to have this experience at all.

(slow steady country music) - That's lupine.

- I just, since I've grown up around it all the time, just going out with my dad and my older brother, I've just grown attached to it.

(slow soft guitar music) That every year you get to see new animals.

'Cause I've just been doing it since I was little, and I like it.

(laughs) I don't think I'd ever want to stop doing it.

- I've had these metal flanges that we've drilled- - He's great.

He's taught me how to drive trucks and how to do a whole bunch of different stuff, like docking and branding and moving sheep.

And so, being out to work with him is always one of the best parts of the day.

(birds chirping) - But the animals have to follow the feed.

So that's why summer times are up in the high country like this.

Stay here as long as we can, where there's as much green feed as we can.

And even, even when the feed dries out, it's still, it's still got a lot of, a lot of punch to it to, to help the animals do well.

(light upbeat guitar music) Well, the summer has come to an end.

So it's time to leave the high country where we've been since the end of May and head back home to the, to the fall and winter pastures, just here in Box Elder Canyon.

The route is a public livestock trail.

It was in existence before most of the roads and a lot of the homes too.

But, my grandfather started using it in the, in the mid 1930s.

And this trail existed before that.

(light upbeat country music) Trailing is just, it's just the means of moving them from one area to another.

With sheep or cattle, you can do it when you want to move 'em a long distance.

There's a process that gets into it and that you've got your group together.

You've got to have the help to keep the back end pushed up and keep the sides tucked in so that they're not, you're not losing strays.

If the sheep are in good shape and in good health, it seems it's better to walk them.

(light upbeat country music) As we go through Brigham City, anyway that part, and you know, there was a time then that a lot of the housewives were out there with a broom in hand to make sure the sheep didn't set foot on their lawn.

Now there's been a change in that there's quite a few people want to come out, and see it, and bring their kids.

(kids chattering) (light upbeat country music) There's lots of squeals and laughter.

(child babbling) (light upbeat country music) Because it's something that, you don't see it every day, and you may not see it forever.

- It's a beautiful life and I wouldn't change it for anything.

(light upbeat country music) (slow dramatic tribal music) - Utah's history is rich with stories that showcase the perseverance of the human spirit.

Take for example the early mountain men, who explored the rugged terrain of the West.

Carson Pate brings that history to life by stepping into their shoes to become a 19th century mountain man.

- I guess we just hope that we live long enough to discover what some of our interests and our passions are.

I'm going to work so I can make a little money, so I can put gas in the truck, and go to work and make a little money.

And it was kind of this, just this vicious cycle that it just repeats itself.

(upbeat country music) So you have to find, you know, releases for yourself and find those things that you feel like draw you in.

(upbeat country music) Some of us, you know, want to be sports stars.

Others want to be really good photographers.

Some of us just want to run away and be a mountain man live like we could in the pre-1840s.

The term mountain man is interesting 'cause it really doesn't show up in period literature.

It tends to be a term that we've come up with more towards the modern day.

You'll see it in dime novels and stuff.

Typically they're known as trappers or mountaineers.

(lighthearted country music) - [Man] Fire!

(guns firing) - There are certainly people that go out and, you know myself included, that try to put yourselves in a pre-1840 setting and to get everything as close to what they can and as accurate as you can.

Being right here in Cache Valley, we kind of are in the, in the heart of a lot of fur trade events that happen.

- [Man] They would actually have a thing where they'd meet about once a year and they'd all get together and trade, because if you've got all your beaver, how are you gonna get 'em back to St. Louis?

You're gonna walk.

Do you want to walk all the way back to St. Louis every year?

So they'd have trading posts similar to this one, where they'd have things they called rendezvous.

And a rendezvous is a French word that means come together, is basically what it means.

But they'd get together and that was kind of like their Wal-Mart.

(laughs) - Rendezvous, since the earliest days, have kind of been a social gathering and a social event.

And they still are that today.

It's a time to go see old friends and see people you might haven't seen for a year, and sometimes even longer.

And you go and you socialize.

But a big part of the rendezvous is public.

- [Boy] There is goes.

- There it goes, whoa, look at that.

- Presenting it to people who would otherwise have no exposure to it.

- We're gonna shoot 18 rounds.

If you hit one, good, hit two more, okay?

(gun fires) - But then you also have kind of that image of the, the lone free trapper.

You know, the man is kind of off by his own self and he's kind of captured the imagination of the American people.

I don't know a whole lot of the history.

I can't tell you what year every single rendezvous was held and where it was held.

But I can tell you what it's like to jump in this water.

I can't tell you what it's like to skin a beaver and get your hands all greasy and stretch that on a, on a hoop.

(slow soft banjo music) (water babbling) A mountain man's primary job is to go out and harvest beaver so they can use the pelts to ship back East and make hides.

So the only responsibility of you as a trapper, is to come out and trap beaver and prepare those hides so they can go to market.

Bait is just carried in a little glass bottle and that keeps it a little more fresh, keeps it from drying out, and keeps that scent nice and strong.

Some people, some people don't like the scent.

I've come to like it quite a bit, I think it smells pretty good.

(water babbling) (slow soft banjo music) It's really rewarding to me when you can do something just the way they described.

It gives you kind of a unique perspective, but there's something a little more when you take it a little further.

Even when it's hard, even when it's tough, and I think we've kind of lost that in our society today.

You know, we've gotten too used to comfort.

We've gotten used to the ease of everything just being there when we need it.

I take it pretty extreme sometimes and pretty hardcore.

But, but if you don't, you'll never really know what it's like.

(slow steady country music) (metal clanging) All the tools that you see here come from an era when they were still being used.

This is what they used when blacksmithing was still a part of everyday life.

And a lot of the machines work, they work every bit as good today as they did in the day they were made.

(slow steady country music) So when you develop the skills yourself to where you can, you're able to do things yourself, you're able to make your own things, there's a, there's a deep satisfaction, I think, that comes from that.

(slow steady country music) (tools clanging) You know, you're capable of doing amazing, amazing things, if you're able to push yourself and kind of get over that, that mental block.

It's when you kind of disconnect from that and disconnect from the modern world, it reconnects you with your mind, and then you say, "Well, I can do this.

I'm gonna make it and I'm gonna be fine."

(slow steady country music) (iron sizzling) You do about as much research as you do in the field work.

You know, you're always studying the old journals, looking at the old paintings, and trying to figure out, you know, what, what did they do?

Why did they wear certain things?

Why did they dress as they did?

And then you go out and you try it.

And as you do so, you find, you know, certain things start popping out at you.

You say, well, I read that in a journal and now I see why they did it.

I understand a little bit more.

You know, when I read that journal of Jeremiah Johnson, you know, coming up over the, over the hill and looking down into the Green River Valley and seeing all the rivers, and all that kind of stuff, you say well you look back over your shoulder, you say, "Well, this, this is what it was like.

This is what it was."

And in a way, you literally are walking in the same footsteps that they walked in.

And that's pretty cool when you're, when you're dressed up the way that they were, living the way that they were living, and experiencing some of the same things that they experienced in the same place.

We do it because it's fun, we do it because we enjoy it, and we do it so we can preserve it and pass it on.

- Those are certainly some amazing family traditions.

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Until next time, I'm Liz Adeola, and "This is Utah".

- [Announcer] Funding for "This is Utah" is provided by the Willard L. Eccles Foundation, the Lawrence T. & Janet T. Dee Foundation, and the contributing members of PBS Utah.

Thank you.

(light upbeat music)