Western Trip 2023 – Provo, Utah

July 27 - August 2

https://photos.app.goo.gl/cAGpoq94y773J38q9

After heading north from Moab, Utah we drove to Provo. Have never been in that area and wanted to explore the sights and activities there. We stayed at Provo Lake State Park, nice campground but only had water & electric, worked for us. The lake was only usable by boats and other watercraft. The water there was not fit for swimming… that’s okay by us. Rarely swim in any lake. Our campsite was nice and tucked back into a corner with a few trees. Later, that became a minor problem when a wind storm went through the campground and blew down a couple of large tree limbs, barely missing the back of our camper. However, there was no damage.

Our perception of Provo was that it is a huge city in the valley. We drove all around town and found the Brigham Young University. Huge campus with large stadium, and many Mormon temples around town. It actually is very beautiful city and growing like crazy. New housing is being built all around town.

We found several scenic drives and hikes to enjoy. The mountain range to the east of Provo is named the Wasatch Range, with 7 extreme peaks, over 11,000 feet high, with amazing views. Some peaks still had glaciated areas. It is the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the Great Basin region. The drives through the mountains were amazing and like none we have ever seen.

We found a great trail leading to the Bridle Veil Falls in the mountains adjacent to the Provo River. The trail was a beautiful shaded walk path which was 14 miles long. We took the dogs on a nice day, walked the trails and let them run and explore off leash. It was a lot of fun and the falls are beautiful.

We also found a very nice dog park in town and the boys had a fun time playing with other dogs and doing zoomies! They are so happy when they go to dog parks.

Another day we drove up to Mt. Timpanagos to look for some great easy hikes. This area is the Uinta National Forest. On the way up we stopped briefly at the Sundance Resort. Walked around the area and then headed further up into the forest, where we did find some good forest hikes. One trail had a very large waterfall and was very rocky and steep. I decided not to hike that trail due to steep path.

We continued driving through the Forest until we finished at the northern end of the drive down into Orem Utah. During this leg of the trip, Kurt decided to hike up to a cave, however a major rain and wind storm rolled through and we had to leave and head back to camp. I did hike with the dogs on another easy trail and we enjoyed it until the storm rolled through.

After camping for a week, we decided to continue our trip north through Idaho and further into Montana. We were ready to get into a remote area not within a big city. We then headed to a small town called Cardwell and stayed there for a week. On to Montana next!