Happy 4th of July Camping Trip: Day 1 & 2

Since the 4th of July fell on a weekend we decided to take advantage of the long weekend by going on a family camping trip. We love camping as a family!

The things we love about camping:
being out in the woods
soaking in nature (or getting soaked by nature)
campfires
hiking
star-gazing
sleeping in a tent
going adventuring and seeing where it takes us

The things we don't love about camping:
mosquitos (BR really doesn't like stinging insects of any kind to be near him)
outhouses (but hey, trust me, they're better than building your own latrine!!)

We decided to leave after we both got off work on Thursday July 3rd. GM got off after a half-day at work and packed up everything we needed. I had to work until 4 or 5. By the time I picked up the kids, dinner, and headed home, the Passport (our silver SUV) was packed and ready to go! Thank you GM!! I really DO NOT love the packing up part.

We didn't have an exact destination or any reservations, we just picked a general area to head to and started off. (It brought back memories of my college days when we'd head out on the spur of the moment and go camp where the wind blew us!) We drove about an hour and a half East through a small town called Kamas and up into the Uintah Mountains, the Uintah National Forest to be exact. Once inside there are oodles of campgrounds scattered throughout the park. We discovered that some offer more amenities than others. Since it was dark when we finally arrived in the Forest, we decided to take the first spot that "called" to us. After driving through 3 campgrounds we found one that seemed to suit our needs perfectly. (We were looking for lots of shade, BR and I wanted somewhere especially wooded, and nice places to set up tents, also privacy). So, without much ado, we promptly set up camp and went to bed.

In the morning, while preparing breakfast we sent BR and MC on a hunt for a water spigot. We'd brought about 8 gallons of drinking water but we didn't want to waste it on dish washing and such. They quickly returned informing us that there was a sign (that we'd apparently missed) stating that this campground has no running water. Oh well. You can't win them all. :P

After breakfast we packed up our coolers and some hiking gear and headed toward Mirror Lake (about a 40 minute drive). The drive was spectacular! We followed the Provo River all the way up the mountain and the views simply took my breath away! We decided to take a little detour on the way to Mirror Lake when we saw a sign and a pullout for "Provo Falls". We explored the falls for several minutes and took some pictures before hitting the road again with a promise to stop here on the way back if the kids wished.





As we got near Mirror Lake we passed a summit called Bald Mountain which BR wondered what was on the top of it. We told him we were pretty sure there wasn't much up there since it was called "Bald". With this determination, BR declared that it would be the perfect place to establish his Thunderbirds Base (you might have to go watch Thunderbirds the movie or 1960's tv episodes to understand his obsession...even then you might not understand his obsession, but at least you'll know from where it comes...for those who are so enlightened all I have to say is, "FAB").

Upon arriving at Mirror Lake we saw that there was a lakeside campground...with running water I might add. We drove around it for a few minutes trying to decide whether or not we wanted to go back, pick up camp, and re-set it up at this campground. Besides the obvious hassel, wasted time of driving and re-doing something we'd done yesterday, the biggest deal breakers were the obvious influx of mosquito population and the lack of a site that equaled ours. We did however pilfer some of their running water into a few of our now empty jugs.

We had a picnic by the lake and then went looking for a hike. We found a few different trail heads close by, but we decided on a trail that circumfered us around the entire lake. (It wasn't a huge lake.) As we setout on this lakeside trail we noticed various people engaged in different occupations around the lake.

The activities that caught our interest:
a couple launching a two-man canoe
oodles of people fishing lakeside
a couple, each in their own kayaks, attempting to pass through marshlands (and mostly being stymied)
a father and son (we presume) going for a swim in the lake
a father teaching his son how to gut a fish and the son freaking out
the same two-man canoe, that we'd seen launched, beached on the opposite shore (which sorely tempted BR to hop in and take it...for he sorely coveted thier canoe)

On this hike we decided that it'd be fun to add some two-man kayaks to our camping paraphernalia.

About halfway around the lake everybody stopped to sit on some rocks and enjoy the view, and I was just getting ready to snap some pictures when GM jumped up and starts tearing into his backpack. I asked him to sit down so I could get the picture of them that I was about to take before he freaked out but instead he pointed out at the lake. At which point I saw a wall of rain headed straight for us. And of course, my boy-scout of a husband who likes to be prepared for every possible contingency, bless his heart, ;) had packed each of us a little rain poncho. (It made me wonder what else he might be packing around in that pack...MRE's? Insta-shelter?? A raft???) :)





Well, the rain was short-lived and soon the ponchos were back in the famous pack and we were almost finished with our hike. At the end of our hike we had fun crossing a little stream (back and forth I might add) on some perfectly placed rocks.



On the way back down the mountain BR and MC wanted to stop at the falls again but GM and I really wanted a nap! We pulled over anyway and let them explore a bit more while we vegged out on a rock. :P

Back at camp GM started on the fire while I drove down the mountain a ways to get cell-phone coverage and call GM's parents to see if they were coming to share our fire that evening. After my phone calls we made a salad, grilled some yummy salmon over the fire and put the kids to work on "rolling" some vanilla ice cream for dessert. (We couldn't resist the ice cream ball from REI.) We also made some delicious guacamole (it's not so fun to make it without a KitchenAid)...we were absolutely stuffed but happy!

GM's parents came just in time to enjoy the ice cream from the ball with us as well as the campfire. They stayed and chatted for a few hours, until MC fell asleep in her grandma's lap and had to be put in the tent. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures that night...I guess I was too distracted by the yummy ice cream. :P