Uinta Mountains, Utah

On July 17, 2023, we began a two-week stay in one of our favorite places on earth, Utah’s Uinta Mountains. The picture to the right illustrates the view looking east from the top of Bald Mountain at 11,949 feet. The view includes several of the more than 1,000 natural lakes in the Uintas. This area also has more than 400 miles of streams. Many of the lakes and streams support fish and other wildlife.

Our first three nights were spent at Washington Lake Campground. This campground is located along UT-150. The campground is at an elevation of 10,000 feet. We occupied campsite 22, right across the campground road from the lake. The site is quite close to the neighboring sites, but this was the only site available on short notice. Its availability was likely due to a cancellation we happened to find before others.

We were joined by a daughter and her beautiful little girl. We all fished, kayaked, walked the camp, and enjoyed each other’s company. It was fun sharing our love for this area with our child and grandchild. My wife’s grandfather and grandmother introduced us to the Uinta Mountains. Glad we could pass the love along.

For the following 11 nights, we stayed at Moosehorn Lake, just over the mountain pass and 6 miles from Washington Lake. We anticipated staying here for five nights and then moving on, probably to Island Park, Idaho, but we decided to stay and relax. The campground has a seven-day stay limit, but the host was happy to renew our site, site 32, for six more days.

We were eager to stay to rest and relax but were also inspired by the amazing beauty and views from our particular site. While relaxing outside our trailer, we had this fantastic view of the trees, lake, and Bald Mountain.

All sites at Moosehorn are first-come, first-served. After walking the campground multiple times per day each and every day we were there, it is clear that many sites are available from Sunday evening to Wednesday, but the place gets pretty busy from Thursday through the weekend.

While at Moosehorn Lake, we had several visitors. One of our sons stayed overnight and hiked to the top of Bald Mountain with us. You can see our trailer in the photo taken from the summit. He was much faster than us and waited at the top and bottom on our return. Bald Mountain was much easier to climb when we were younger and more fit! Our daughter, son-in-law, and their boys joined us for two separate days. We enjoyed fishing, kayaking, talking, and of course, food.

On the days we were alone, we enjoyed fishing, kayaking, and a trip to Evanston, Wyoming, where we enjoyed great Mexican food at Jalisco Mexican Grill. We hiked around Moosehorn and snapped this picture from the far side. You can see from the photo why we stayed additional days; our site was stunning.

The first few days we were at Moosehorn, we caught a dozen fish per day and enjoyed the fishing immensely. During the last week or so, the fishing was much slower. We don’t know what changed, but the fishing was simply slow.

On one of our days, we took our kayaks back to Washington Lake, kayaked the entire shoreline, and enjoyed dipping into every cove and working our way through the trees partially submerged by our wet winter. To the southwest of Washington Lake is a small lake named Tail Lake. You can see from the included map that this is generally connected to Washington Lake by a small, impassible stream. However, due to the above-normal precipitation this winter, the lakes were connected; our outing included a circumnavigation of Tail Lake as well. The around-the-lake trip to us a leisurely three hours or so.

One of my favorite things about staying in the Uinta Mountains is enjoying high-altitude mountain thunderstorms. However, it rained very little during our stay, and all thunderstorms were enjoyed from a distance. Several nights were very clear, and the almost full moon illuminated the mountains. Illustrated here is Bald Mountain illuminated by the moon. In the dark sky, the Big Dipper is easily seen.

While we enjoy the solitude of the Unita Mountains, spending 14 consecutive days disconnected from family, friends, and work is difficult. For this trip, we borrowed a Starlink setup and found it amazing. High in the mountains, where we get absolutely zero cell coverage, we had 120 MB down and 20 MB up during our entire stay. The WiFi coverage was stellar in our RV and the whole campsite. This was sufficient for emails, video calls, streaming movies, and accessing maps and other resources. It is a unique new tool that will forever change the remote work world. The entire device and accessories fit in a single backpack carrying case; it was straightforward to set up and was pretty inconspicuous when placed on the RV roof.

Our time in the beautiful Uinta Mountains was relaxing, rejuvenating, and inspiring. We look forward to our next opportunity to visit this part of Utah.

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4 States, 10 Nights, and 1,714 Miles

On June 22, 2023, my wife and I departed with our truck and trailer on a ten-day outing that would end up spanning four states and just over 1,700 miles. Our route is depicted in the figure to the right.

We spent the first three nights at Indian Trees Campground in Montana. The following five nights were spent in the Luby Bay Campground near Priest Lake in Idaho. The last two nights were spent at Cronwell Dixon Campground in Montana, and Riverside Campground in Idaho, respectively.

Indian Trees Campground, Montana

We spent the first few days at Indian Trees Campground. We occupied site 3, one of five first-come, first-served sites. Site 3 is lovely in that the small creek flows adjacent to the site, so you can enjoy the sound of rushing water as you lounge around camp. After several walks around the campground, we selected a few sites worth considering the next time we’re up this way. Site 8 is away from others, but the walk from the parking area to the table and fire pit is quite long. Site 13 is likely the best reservable site. Site 6 is excellent and reservable but it is their designated disability site. Sites 7 and 9 together would be fantastic for families occupying both.

On Friday, June 23, we traveled north to Sula and bought one-day fishing licenses. We then fished on the Bitterroot River just north of Sula. We both caught several fish. The river was much fuller than the last time we were in this area; it was July, the last time we were here, and we had a very wet winter. After fishing, lunch, and an ice cream snack from the Sula store, we returned to the campground and enjoyed a nice soak in the nearby hot springs.

We left Indian Trees Campground on Sunday, June 25, and headed to Luby Bay Campground on Priest Lake in Idaho. From the above map, you can see that we traveled through Missoula, Montana, west on I-90 and north to Priest Lake.

Luby Bap Campground, Priest Lake, Idaho

We arrived at site 52 on Sunday evening, had dinner, and walked all the campground loops. There are several individual sites we liked. Sites 18, 20, 40, 48, and 49 are reasonably private from both sides, and the table and firepit are on the door side of the trailer. Site 52, which we stayed in, is only private from one side. Sites 11, 32, 39, and 42 are great, but the table and firepit are behind the trailer. Site 11 is by the lake and our first choice. There are several combinations of sites that are great when traveling with others. For example, excellent double sites include sites 10 and 11 near the lake, site 16, which is a 125′ pull-through, sites 41 and 43, and sites 50 and 52. For three groups traveling together, sites 13 and 24 would work well.

On Monday, we totally relaxed for the day. We blew up our tubes and headed to the beach at the Luby Bay Campground. We floated for a while and then enjoyed lying on the beach. The water is remarkably warm, given the time of year and the northern latitude of Priest Lake. We were so lazy and relaxed that we went to Hills Resort for dinner: no activities, food preparation, or even dishes to do.

On Tuesday, we drove from our campground to Roosevelt Grove Of Ancient Cedars And Granite Falls. You may notice that the linked site talks about visiting Idaho and things to do there, but this grove and waterfall are both in northeast Washington. I’m not sure you can get there without going through Idaho, but the grove and waterfall are definitely over the border. It is a very short hike from the parking area to Granite Falls. It is quite a bit longer hike to the cedar grove. The hike to the grove is easy and well worth the time. The cedar trees are enormous, and the undergrowth and surroundings are beautiful and peaceful. On our way back from our hike, we stopped at Elkins Resort for some great hamburgers.

On Wednesday, June 28, we took our kayaks around the east side of Priest Lake to Lionhead Campground. This is one of the Idaho state parks around the lake. It cost us $14 for a non-resident day-use pass, allowing us to park our truck and launch our kayaks. From that launch site, it was a quick trip across the open lake to the beginning of the thoroughfare that leads to upper priest lake. The thoroughfare is open to boats of all kinds, but no wakes are allowed, making it a great paddle.

After a 2.5-hour paddle, we reached Upper Priest Lake. This lake is only accessible to hikers and boaters. The return paddle only took about 2 hours, and we stopped several times to feed ducks and appreciate the scenery. I probably said this last time I went, but I will fish along the way the next time I go.

On Thursday, we took another lazy day and enjoyed lying around camp, playing board games, walking the campground, and enjoying the beach for a late afternoon swim. After our swim, we went to Elkins Resort for dinner; the food and service were excellent. After dinner, we drove by a property for sale and dreamed about living near Priest Lake. We love the area but dislike how far it is from the rest of our family. We’re not ready to settle down away from others.

On Friday, we packed up and headed to Seeley Lake, Montana. What were we thinking when we decided to move without reservations on the Friday of the 4th of July holiday weekend? We weren’t thinking, so we didn’t get to stay near where we wanted to be.

Cronwell Dixon and Riverside Campgrounds

After driving for the entire day, we pulled over in Avon, Montana, to eat at the Avon Diner and regroup over food. The food was actually pretty good! While eating, we decided to head toward Helena, Montana and hoped to find something along the way. We ended up at the Cronwell Dixon Campground. We arrived just before sunset and struggled to get our big rig in their little back-in spot. I think it was a combination of being tired and a difficult parking spot, but it took us forever. However, we finally got in, streamed a bit of entertainment, and went to bed. We didn’t set up much and so our exit was quick.

On Saturday, July 1, we pulled into site C-19 at Riverside Campground near Island Park, Idaho. We have often been to this campground and know our way around pretty well. There wasn’t a single site available on loops A and B that are reservable, but we had a few to choose from on loop C. C-19 was a great site. We loved the trees, shade, and the separation between neighbors. From Riverside Campground, it was a straight shot home.

Summary

Our trip was wonderful and relaxing. This is the latest in the year we have begun camping, and I hope we get some more in before the cold weather once again haunts our lives. I hope we get some more later in July and potentially for Thanksgiving. The more, the better!

Our power system continues to function well. We regularly used our microwave oven, toaster, hair dryer, and curling iron. We even used the air conditioner a few times to cool the trailer after we’d been gone all day and yet never had to use the generator to recharge our batteries. We have hit our sweet spot with 800 Watts of solar and 360 Ah of Lithium-ion batteries. While at Priest Lake, we would use about 10% more battery than we were able to recharge, but over five days, this only amounted to half of our reserve. When driving between stops, our batteries fully charged.

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Snow Canyon State Park, Utah

On November 22, 2022, my wife, son, and I left for Snow Canyon State Park in Southern Utah. We met many of our family members to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday. We hoped we were far enough south to find warm weather, but it was a particularly cold Thanksgiving, with lows near freezing and highs in the 50s. One family started in a tent and quickly moved into our trailer for warmth.

While it was cold, the weather was otherwise splendid. Most days were sunny and warm enough to spend time outdoors and participate in activities, with little wind and gorgeous sunsets.

We had four trailers, several vehicles, and 19 family members. We stayed in the group site and enjoyed our five-night stay. The group site has more than enough room for dining and activities, but the parking is limited. It might be possible to squeeze a fifth trailer in, but it would be tight.

We love camping for Thanksgiving. It gets the whole family together in an outdoor setting where it is fun to work together. We cook traditional Thanksgiving food, including turkey, ham, potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, pies, and more. We cook these foods in Dutch ovens, outdoor stoves, barbecues, etc. One of my sons brought a smoker this year, and our two main turkeys were cooked in it, delicious!

We also set a traditional table, sit together, and consider our blessings and friendships. One great aspect of a camping Thanksgiving is the dirty dishes (paper) go right in the fire. Cleanup is easier than a traditional stay-at-home Thanksgiving.

In the afternoons and early evenings, we played games, painted pictures, or hiked some of the numerous park trails. There were several very close to camp and easily accomplished by our numerous small grandchildren. The views were quite stunning.

The dry waterfall was awesome, but it made me want to visit during or after a significant rainstorm. Of course, you would want to avoid basins and drainages, but it would be incredible to see significant water flowing over that cliff from a high vantage point.

We enjoyed our stay in Snow Canyon State Park. It is always fun to be with family and work together. The park is small but beautiful. We enjoyed the hikes and the relative solitude of the group site. I don’t think the rest of the camping sites are worth considering. In the future, we’ll likely head further south in pursuit of warmth.

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521555420358

Red Canyon Campground, Utah

On Friday, June 29, 2022, we departed for our first outing of 2022. We headed toward Red Canyon Campground, northwest of Bryce Canyon National Park on Highway 12. We weren’t sure whether the campground was open yet or not, so our backup plan was to boondock just east of the campground. Upon arrival at the campground, we were pleased to find it open and nearly empty. The camp hosts informed us that the campground opens each year on the last weekend of April. The campground costs $21 per night but has running water, pit toilets, flush toilets, showers, and a dump station.

We chose site 29 for our stay. The parking spot was reasonably level and approximately 50′ long. The area is shady in the morning until about 10 am and then sunny for the remainder of the day. The table is nestled in the trees and stays shadier longer into the afternoon. Other sites may be better for the hotter months of the year. We would also consider staying in campsites 22, 9, and 1 in that order.

Campsite 22 is up high against the canyon wall affording excellent views. It is very private from others and has a nearly 70′ long driveway. However, the site doesn’t have very good tent spots. Site 9 is a wide, almost double campsite that is very flat, private, and away from the highway. Site 1 is a lovely, large, flat drive-through spot, but the table and firepit are not very private at the end of the drive-through.

We came south to red rock country to do some hiking and enjoy the outdoors. After arriving on Friday afternoon, we hiked straight up from our site until we reached the Golden Wall Trail. After that, we hiked on the trail to the arrow on the map. It was getting late in the day, so we decided to take the Buckhorn Trail dead-end and then return to camp. It was a great little hike. The Buckhorn trail was the highlight of the day. A few areas of the trail are narrow but nothing too tricky with a bit of care.

On Saturday, we walked along the paved bike path running along Highway 12 to the Red Canyon Visitors Center. Then, we took the Golden Wall Trail up to the intersection of the Golden Wall Trail and the Castle Bridge Trail. We debated over which route we would take and even considered making it a loop, but in the end, we chose to take the Castle Bridge Trail.

Eventually, we rejoined the Golden Wall Trail and hiked back to our campsite. While it was an enjoyable hike, those who don’t want to or are unable to hike 5 miles won’t miss much by just doing what we did on Friday. The views on both hikes were phenomenal, and the April weather was nearly perfect.

It was great to get away for the weekend, relax, and go on great hikes. The Red Canyon Campground is excellent, and even though it is close to Highway 12, the noise isn’t too bad after dusk. We’ll very likely return to enjoy some more hiking, and for sure, we’ll ride bikes on the paved bike trail that goes for at least 8 miles and ends in the Bryce Canyon National Park. Can’t wait for the next outing.

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