The Longest Picnic Table We Have Ever Seen!

21st trip – days 94-104, June 25- June 27, 2021 Wasatch State Park, Midway, UT, site 49,   June 27-July 5, 2021 Echo Island, Coalville UT, site E41

This trip started out as two weekends but you know us! We want to camp/travel as much as we can. So, we decided to add a week in-between.

Friday, 06/25/21 As we got on the freeway, we both commented to each other that there was hardly any traffic. Reasons why abound and we came up with several possibilities: a bit later than last weekend but before the evening rush? Everyone was already gone for the weekend? There continued to be very few cars. Later as I looked at my Twitter news, I read there had been a motorcycle accident behind us that had completely shut down the entire freeway. Sad for the guy who passed away and his family.We drove through Provo Canyon. This is the third time we have driven up this canyon in three weeks. 🙂 We went to Wasatch State Park. Thankfully I had looked at the map the day before because it turns out the park is huge.

We found our campground, checked in with the friendly camp hosts and then parked at our site. It was a pull in site that is curved like a C. I asked Kevin if he likes those and he said he does, if it fits our trailer. Our site has lots of trees around and can’t see past ourselves, which is nice. We actually like both kinds of places to camp: closed in with lots of trees AND wide open, great view sites.

As soon as we were set up, Kevin took his chair down a short path to take a nap. Pretty soon he came back to HOWE, signed in American Sign Language (I lost all my hearing 03/19/20) to be quiet and to follow him. There was a large young deer just eating away. He would look at us and then just go back to eating. We watched him for probably 10 minutes before he slowly wandered off. After Kevin’s nap, we got in the truck and drove around a little bit. We discovered we had no cell service so we thought we better let a few people know. We ended up at Heber at the Maverick Gas Station for drinks (diet Coke and diet Pepsi). Then we went back to HOWE for dinner. I had made a roast in the crock pot at home and used my Food Saver and then froze it. So I just plopped a bag of roast in some water to boil. When it was hot, I took out the pasta salad I made at home and we ate outside.

Oh, picnic tables! I am so very happy when campgrounds have them. But, I never knew they came in all different sizes. Not kidding! On this one, I set my 84 inch tablecloth on the table and it barely covered 1/2 the table. The funny thing is, the campsite only allows 8 people so Kevin and I were laughing at how big the people must be to fit only 8 people at that table. (Of course we know that family and friends will often camp together and so the large table would be needed.) That evening I read another book in the fiction quilt book series that Marsha, our sister-in-law, gave me. Kevin started reading “The Lincoln Conspiracy” on his kindle. I had read it a few months ago and wow, it is so good. Kevin was hooked reading it, too.

Saturday, 06/26/21 Breakfast was muffins I had made at home. Then we decided to go to an antique show in Wallsburg. We saw an advertisement for it on an old thrasher by Deer Creek Reservoir. We thought we would be there just a hour or two, but no, we were there the entire day. They had everything from tractors, tractor pull, all sorts of vehicles, plus odds and ends. We were glad we went.

When we got back to HOWE, around 5:30, we got out some homemade sloppy joes that I had made at home and sealed with the Food Saver. Chips and homemade molasses cookies finished off the meal.

Sunday, 06/27/21 MOVING DAY! We had originally planned to go home this day but we added the week. When I looked at the next campground, low and behold, the exact site we had reserved for July 1-5 was available.  😁 Check out at Wasatch State Park was at 2:00 which is so nice! We hung out, reading our books until it was time to go. Kevin saw a hummingbird and decided to stop at Walmart for a feeder. It is so nice to have cell service again. Not that I need to check Facebook or text but just to look up things that come to mind: planning a trip, look up the weather, what is the news, etc. I feel the same way on a cruise ship.

We got backed into our site which is very nice. Trees behind us and to the side, with a tiny stream running past. Behind the trees is an open, green field. Kevin says he can really hear the traffic on the freeway but it doesn’t bother him. The evening we sat outside and read our books and people watched. We also watched our favorite Youtube RV channels.

Monday 06/28/21 For breakfast, I heated up some gravy that I made at home and cooked some biscuits in the oven for biscuits and gravy. Still getting use to the oven; it works great but takes just a little bit longer than normal. Then I did some work. Then I did research and booking campgrounds which took me about 4 hours. We decided to extend our Glacier National Park trip. By adding 3 days to Kevin’s PTO, we get 5 more days of traveling. So I figured out how far we want to go, used my document of places and things to see that I have been keeping, and got our camping stops planned and booked. I really do like doing that and planning it out. After that, I read.

Then we drove on a road that I found on the map that goes east of Coalville. What a beautiful drive. The landscape along the paved road is very green with lots of trees and bushes and a lovely river (good size for Utah standard). There were lots of farms with cattle, horses, and hay fields. Some huge houses, too. The road went past large natural gas sites (we think where they compress the gas).

Soon we saw a marker and it is the corner post of the southwestern corner of Wyoming. We went past it until the road turned to rough gravel. There isn’t anything out there except the gas lines and signs talking about snowmobiling. Back to town and we stopped at Polar King. We thought this would be the normal “burgers and shakes” place but it was more than that. They had indoor and outdoor seating. We ate Navajo taco and cheeseburger inside. Kevin looked at the menu for a patty melt but didn’t see it. After he ordered his cheeseburger, he saw a white board with the special of the day: patty melt. HAHAHA I told him we might have to go back. The temperatures are perfect here and we haven’t ran our A/C at all. It is about 10 degrees cooler here than at home. When we got back to HOWE, we walked around the campground. It is really quite large. There is a good-size fishing pond and we saw a grandpa teaching a boy how to fish.

Tuesday 06/29/21 This morning I was busy with work things. This kept me busy until about lunch time. For lunch I used the second package of gravy for biscuits and gravy. I found the cutest little Pillsbury biscuits at the grocery store before we left; they have 5 biscuits instead of 8. Perfect for the two of us. The rest of the afternoon I worked on editing and sorting pictures on my laptop. I have so many and have fallen way behind in weeding out some, editing some, tagging and putting them in albums. I like doing it but sometimes it is overwhelming because I have so many. HAHA After work, Kevin watched a couple of shows while I read.

Then he decided we need to go back to Polar King in Coalville so he can get a patty melt. So off we went. This time had a chicken fried steak, mash potatoes and salad. Kevin got his patty melt and said it was so yummy. Of course we had to finish it with a shake. Went back to HOWE and was cold cold cold from the shakes and the weather had dark clouds. We wished it would rain (we are in a severe drought) but not one drop. We walked around the campground for our walk-about. Up until this evening, we have had the entire front part of the campground to ourselves. It is nice because we can see “incoming”(we like to see all the different types of RVs coming in and out of a campground). There isn’t an office at the front of the campground, it is way in the back. There is a gate where you punch in a code. Many people don’t have that code and have to call for it (as did we when we first go here). So that is interesting to watch as the RV’s pile up in a train clear out onto the main road. After our walk-about, we just settled in with movies and relaxing.

Wednesday 06/30/21 Perfect weather continues for us here. Highs in the 70s to low 80s and 50s at night. Sunshine. In the afternoon, we headed to Park City. We tried to visit a fabric store from The Traveler’s Quilt Book there but it was gone and a distillery was in it’s place. We drove to Historical Downtown Park City. We have been here several times over the past years. We walked along but didn’t see any stores we wanted to go into, except for Mountain Town Olive Oil. We went in and Kevin bought me two bottles. This is my favorite place to get olive oils.

We looked for a fun place to eat and ended up at No Name Saloon. 🙂 Kevin had the special, Philly cheesesteak and I had fish and chips. The building is very old and unique with curved ceilings covered in bricks and a motor with a belt that turned the ceiling fans. After dinner we were done and went back home to HOWE. Echo Island RV Campground sent a text that they were having a food truck and showing the movie “Up” tonight. We thought that was a fun idea. We walked around but didn’t stay for the movie.

(More about this trip in next week’s blog.)