We’re still here! Just been so busy that blogging has taken a back burner.
Cleaning out those fire pits…but the view helps!
We’ve been putting in pretty close to 40 hours each here at the campground…Michael doing the majority of the work in our loop and with the boat ramp parking lot and me mostly working in the store and helping Michael a little here and there.
Our day off (Wednesday) is pretty much a whirlwind of trying to run errands, visit with the kids/grandkids, catch a movie, pick up groceries, go out for dinner etc. We’re usually gone from early morning until late evening and are exhausted from our day ‘off’!
What a beautiful drive!
A couple of Wednesday’s ago we decided to take a drive up the mountain to our east, north to Randolph, Bear Lake and Garden City and then heading west to Logan & Brigham City and then south to Clearfield to pick up Paityn and Cameron from ‘school’.
June 15th and still some snow on top of the mountain!
The drive was gorgeous with the scenery changing from mountainous to hilly to urban and back again. We stopped and drove through each of the campgrounds that are in our area and run by American Land and Leisure as well. There are about 7 of them and sit along a little creek…but they’re quite remote and not nearly as large as the campground we’re working at.
Michael making friends
We had a special request from Kelsea to stop at the Randolph Country Store to pick up some cheese curds…something we normally only find in Wisconsin. We honored her request and got some for her and for us too. There were a couple of horses in the pasture next to the store so we stopped and visited with them for a short while too!
Bear Lake
The drive took us along Bear Lake, which is a big tourist area and easy to tell why as it is a gorgeous setting with the blue lake and the mountains off in the distance.
Hometown Drive-In, Garden City, UT
We stopped in Garden City, another little touristy town, for lunch. We stopped at Hometown Drive-in, one of several drive-ins in this little tiny town. We each stepped a bit out of our comfort zone and ordered the Mama Burger, a single burger with cheese, mayo, lettuce, onion, tomato and topped with a slab of pastrami. Michael didn’t care for the pastrami at all and after one bit removed it. I didn’t’ think it was too bad and only removed it when I was down to my last few bites.
Gorgeous views and a river down below us
We enjoyed our lunch outdoors on the patio and even shared our fries with a couple of resident sea gulls. Don’t know if we’d go back or just try one of the many other drive-ins in town if we were in the area again.
They ever-changing scenery really made the drive interesting
After lunch we just made our way back to civilization, stopping quickly at Walmart in Roy to pick up a few things and then on to pick up Paityn and Cameron from school so their mom could work a little late. Since we were in town the five of us went over to Noodles for dinner. Zack was at a conference in Korea so he wasn’t able to join us.
Thorough exam for Michael’s back issues
Michael had an appointment at the SLC VA and we were both very impressed with the quality of care. He saw a PA and he did a really thorough exam of his back and since there was a lack of reflex in his left Achilles he ordered x-rays and an MRI. Once they get the results they’ll decide how to proceed.
Just chillin’
Tuesday the 21st Dan, Amanda, Alex, Ben & Zoe flew into Salt Lake City from Wisconsin to visit for a week. They stayed with Zack and Kelsea that evening and then on Wednesday Zack pulled their 5th wheel up here to the campground and parked it next to us so that we’d all be able to spend Thursday – Sunday together.
Everyone helped us with our campground duties…even almost 3-year-old, Ben!
It was so nice to have the entire family here! We shared all of our meals together, shared cooking/clean up duties, shared parental duties, played games and sat by the fire. The kids/grandkids all went down and played in the water one afternoon. Zack and Dan both gave Michael a hand with his campground duties. Zack brought me breakfast at the store two mornings (I had to be to work at 7am). Dan, Amanda and the kids visited me a couple of time in the store while I was working. It was awesome!
Sleepover at Nana & Papaw’s house!
Sunday was Dan and Amanda’s 6th wedding anniversary so they went to visit the Homestead Crater where they soaked in the mineral water and then spent the night at the resort. While they were gone Alex, Ben and Zoe spent the day/night with Nana and Papaw and were absolutely wonderful for us. Not one problem at all.
Cameron was happy just playing with his trucks in the dirt!
On a side note…while we were all here at the campground 8 people (Zack, Kelsea, Paityn, Cameron, Dan, Amanda, Alex & Zoe) slept in ZnK’s 5th wheel while just 3 of us (Michael, me & Ben) slept at our house. Each day we’d ask Ben where he wanted to sleep and his reply was always ‘Nana & Papaw’s house’….makes my heart go pitter patter.
Dan, Alex, Ben & Michael checking out a bobsled
On our day off while Dan & Amanda were here we took at drive down to the US Olympic Park in Park City where part of the 2002 winter games were played out. There is a small museum-like area/visitor center to walk through as well as activities like ziplining, alpine slide, summer bobsled, obstacle course, etc that you can participate in for a fee. However, just to visit the park, museum or watch the athletes train it’s free.
Here you can see one of the athletes as he’s completed his stunt and is preparing to go into the water
Freestyle skiers are able to train during the summer with the use of a large swimming pool. They go down the ski run, launch themselves into the air, do whatever trick they do and then land in the pool. We took quite a bit of time watch several different skiers perform their stunts. It was quite hot so watching them land in that refreshing water was quite a tease!
Cheesesteak with cheez whiz…good stuff!
Dan is a cheese steak aficionado so we hunted down a place in Salt Lake City called DP Cheesesteaks and stopped their for lunch. They have quite a few different cheesesteak offerings and each of us were happy with our orders.
Five sweet babies waiting for their dinner
That evening all 11 of us went into Huntsville for dinner. We’d been impressed with the Huntsville BBQ restaurant and told the kids. They, too, were happy with their meals so we will continue to recommend the place.
Five sweet babies on a swing
Our last full day with everyone here we got together and had family pictures taken. The last time we had pictures done was in August of 2012 when there was just 8 of us…we’ve grown by 3 more grandbabies since then so we decided while we were all together to get it taken care of. We’re supposed to have the edited pictures/files back in a couple of weeks….can’t wait to see how they turned out!
Enchiladas, rice and beans
Before we had pictures taken Michael and I drove over to Eden and had dinner at Carlos & Harley’s a Mexican place and were, once again, happy with our orders. It’s not perfect but for being Utah and a little itty bitty town and only about 8 miles or so from home…we’ll take it!
Taco salad with shredded beef
Yesterday being our day off we did our normal errands, went out for lunch and then took in a movie at the Cine Pointe 6 Theater. We saw Eddie the Eagle and both loved the movie. It’s a true story about a British ski jumper who participated in the 1988 Winter games…the first Brit since 1929! It’s just now coming out on Red Box…rent it!