Summer 2013

Wow, where did the summer go! I can't believe school has already begun. Of course, I have greatly neglected this blog as I have had much frustration all summer regarding other issues, but I am trying to be more optimistic and get back to doing and even thinking about doing the things I love.
First off, a recap of our summer to be reminded of dos and do nots for future reference!

June: spent a weekend at a cabin near Bear Lake
          What to do: take canoe/kayaks and play at the lake (kind of a given, I know!), bike around the lake and splurge on yummy shakes afterwards, hike to Bloomington lake (possibly make it an overnight backpack trip).
           What NOT to do: Rent four wheelers/razors--may as well just buy them or have awesome family/friend connections! 











June: spent a weekend at The River's Edge campground near Jordanelle Reservoir.
Stayed there because it had cabins that slept 4-8 people and campsites to please all family members.  Cabins were nice with a small kitchen area and a bathroom, but one family member said they seemed overpriced. Campsites were kind of small with not much room for tents, but overall it was acceptable. Would look elsewhere for future reunions but this type of campground set up is not easily found in Northern Utah so we may stay here again. Played out on the lake all day Saturday.

July: Spent a weekend camping at Mirror Lake campground in the Uintah's. We had fun fishing, wading, kayak/canoeing, and treasure hunting. I was kind of disappointed in Mirror Lake. I have heard how gorgeous it is up there but we have seen much more pristine beauty other places. My husband has spent a couple of extra trips up there, and he says he has seen much more pretty parts of the Uintah's by backpacking, not to mention there was a lot less people backpacking. Boy was the lake area thick with people. This area is definitely not a place to go to "get away from it all." The campgrounds were lovely with plenty of space between camp sites so we just went back to camp to "get away from it all"! I guess that is what we have to deal with because of the area in which we live. Close and convenient are popular excursion factors.

If time permits I would highly recommend backpacking the Uintah's or traveling 6-8 hours up to the Wind River Range of Wyoming.. east of Jackson Hole.  (The last 20 or so miles are torturous...awful dirt road, which later caused furnace issues in our camp trailer!!). The Wind Rivers area is truly breathtaking. In fact, I need to do a write up of its own on here sometime because I would love to go back. It has been quite a few years since we have been.

Aug./Sept: Camped at Wasatch Mountain State Park near Midway, Utah. So much to do in the area over Labor Day weekend! We spent Saturday at the sheep dog festival and the evening at Midway's Swiss Days...both events are annually held on this weekend.
Do: go to the sheep dog festival on Saturday. Depending on how much you like dogs or other animals will probably determine how long you will stay! Plenty of activities for the kids. Cost is around $8-12 a ticket but discount tickets can be found at sponsor locations.

Do: Go to Swiss Days Friday if you want to have a chance at purchasing the pie/ice cream the relief society makes every year since it is pretty popular. We went Fri. evening and they were out of chocolate pies and my thought was oh well, they will stock up and have more tomorrow, BUT no they were out of many more flavors! Swiss Days was perfect to visit after 5pm when it was not so hot. Nice setting for the entire family (well, minus the little ones if possible) as the guys can hang out watching the entertainment under the big tent while the women shop the many booths. Wow was there a ton of booths, and many with great new and cute items.

Don't visit the Heber Valley Air Musuem unless you LOVE airplanes or WWII memorabilia. We went in hopes our boys would enjoy it but they were not as overjoyed as I had thought they would be. It was small with 4-5 airplanes that I believe they still fly occasionally, and a small hanger with memorabilia displayed around the edges. Not worth $8 for our family. The hot weather could have played a small factor in our disappointment.


Hope for next year: Camp at Wasatch Mtn. State Park...in a shady spot this time. Our campsite was awful while the grandparents had a lovely shaded camp. There was plenty of space between sites though.
Visit Swiss Days on Fri. and Sat. evenings and hope that Joshua Creek perform again!
Walk/hike the trails in the area
Visit Huber Grove and have a picnic
Splurge on Aggie ice cream at Heber Valley Cheese
Fish at the state park pond
Maybe take a warm dip in The Homestead Crater. Have to reserve your 40min. dip which will cost $11-16 pp depending on the day of the week. Life jackets are required which they provide. They have a small built in seating area so you don't have to float around the small crater the whole time, and kids are welcome, but I wonder if they would get bored...would be comparable to sitting in a hot tub. Personally I would leave the little ones with someone else mainly because of the price. People are welcome to walk around the top of the mound/crater and inside to check it out and get your own opinion.