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!

 

 Western Trip 2023 – Moab, Utah

July 13 – 26, 2023

Photo link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/BqoW3GGYAZAbMj8P9

After leaving Colorado, we headed to one of our favorite destinations, Moab Utah. Home to 5 National Parks in Utah, and never-ending outdoor activities. Mountain biking and hiking are the favorite activities to spend outdoors. Also, scenic drives through amazing natural wonders are fantastic. We stayed for 2 weeks in a very nice RV park in the town of Moab, where we could walk downtown to shop and explore how the town had changed over 10 years since our last visit there. We did notice the change in the town area, more building of homes, hotels and vacation rental properties. The surrounding areas outside of town were much the same as the visitors want to explore those places.

We had planned to boon dock camp for 4 nights on the BLM lands along the Colorado River. After arriving in Moab, we found the extra high temps to be 103 – 108. So, we chose to stay at the RV park where we had all the amenities and comforts (air conditioning). We found a nice dog park in town, so many mornings we would take Luca and Benji to the park to play off leash with other dogs. Met some nice locals and found out their opinions on how the area was changing. A lot of Pacific coast people were buying second homes in Moab and this seemed to change the availability of affordable homes for locals. We are seeing this in many areas in the western states.

Just outside of town, there are many outdoor experiences including the hiking trails along the Colorado River. As shown in the picture file for this blog, you will see what we explored. We saw these places when we traveled there 10 years ago. One day we drove up to Canyonlands N.P., such a beautiful scenic drive and hikes out to the rim edge to view the spectacular canyons carved by nature, the Colorado River. We brought our picnic lunch and found a shady picnic area and enjoyed our food there with the dogs. Another day Kurt drove back up to Dead Horse State Park on the mesa where we camped 10 years ago. There were great mountain biking trails that I also rode 10 years ago. Nothing seemed to change, it was all stunning views. Kurt drove back to Dead Horse one day and was able to ride all the great mountain bike trails, remembering they were so much fun from the last visit.

While in Moab, he also biked several days on the well known Slickrock trails, which are rated as difficult. He was in his happy place. We truly enjoyed our time in Moab, despite the heat.