Koosharem

After the family reunion we spent the night just outside of Koosharem so we could go and ride the o1 of the Paiute Trail. It was fun to see this part of the trail again. When Garry and I met we were camped in Marysvale and rode this part of the trail. The first I remember seeing him was at Manning Meadow Resevoir. That is where we got Orson's middle name.

Manning Meadow Resevoir

On the trail we saw a herd of elk. It was really one of the coolest things to watch. The babies were chasing each other in circles around the meadow, oblivious to us. We could have watched them longer except some other riders came up making noise.







On a lot of the trails they will have these bridges for you to use as you cross soggy areas. I think they are pretty cool.












They also have these darn gates to keep people out whose machines are wider than 50". We had to inch in to our back wheels and then step on the gas to squeeze through.


Grandpa got stuck - Rhino to the rescue!





Random meadow

Upper Box Creek


Trail 33. Caution. They really mean steep and rocky. Really. I have no idea what you would do if there were riders coming the other way. I swear we almost had tires hanging off the cliff and I wouldn't have wanted to back up and there was NO place to turn around.


This is no indication of how steep the trail was.


Milo's Kitchen. Beautiful!


A map at the Kiosk where you come out at Milo's Kitchen.

Grass Valley

Before we went to Grover for the Colby Family Reunion we met up with Grandma and Grandpa Colby in Grass Valley. It is kind of in the middle of Salina, Loa, Richfield and Koosharem, UT. It is a beautiful, get this, grass valley, with Koosharem Resevoir in the middle. There are cows in the midst of these giant green meadows with rolling hills in the background.

While there we went on a Rhino ride on the Paiute Trail. We rode on the 01 trail for part of the day then took a bunch of side trails. We let Grandpa navigate and he drove up back to Sigurd instead of camp, but we saw some beautiful pieces of Utah landscape.

We were trying to get to Lost Creek Resevoir but a mud slide and snow drifts got in our way.

High Top


Skyline Drive and Mary's Nipple in the background

Lunch Break

Rex's Resevoir

End of the trail, spillway going to fast and too deep (1 1/2 feet)


On the way back (I think trail 52) we had to ride through all this beaver family's hard work. They had started building their dam across the road!

Grandpa's dirty face


Learning to drive the Rhino

At camp, after no luck fishing, Orson busied himself playing with mud and building a castle.

Memorial Weekend

Cherry Creek

This is a weekend that will go down in the memory books for sure. It wasn't supposed to, but then things like this aren't supposed to happen. We were able to go camping with good friends to Cherry Creek, down by Jericho and Little Saraha. I am not a fan of the sand dunes at all, but this turned out to be a great spot to camp and explore. With the weather this year we were planning on rain, and it did rain and rain. The kids don't seem to mind as long as they are together.

While we were out on the rhinos one day we kept leap frogging another group at gates. Apparently I was getting the "stink eye" from some members of the group according to Caroline. We met up with them again and two cute girls came over and asked if my name was Kelly. Boy, my memory is fading, I was trying to put their faces with kids at school but I couldn't. They introduced themselves as the Dowding girls - Jennifer and Stephanie, and oh my. was a I flooded with memories of growing up.

Camping at Smith and Morehouse

I have told Garry that I want Orson to have some of the same memories of camping with friends an here it was coming full circle. I grew up camping with friends from the fire department and here we were in the middle of no where running into each other with our kids, doing the same sort of thing.

Then the weekend got really interesting. Garry and Brendan took off for a motorcycle ride. No big deal until it gets later and later. Jana and I feed the boys, wonder when it is time to start worrying. We eat dinner figuring they are together, they can eat when they get back, but we are hungry. Finally.... one singular motorcyle light comes up the road to camp. Brendan. Alone. He is soaking wet and looks beaten. Then he says, "I can't find Garry." Now it is my turn to panic. We talk for a few minutes, Brendan says he has been looking for him but was so turned around in the rain storm he didn't have any idea where he was. We decide it is time to call 911. We get connected with the Juab County Sheriff, Brendan is giving them details while Jana and Caroline jump in the Rhino to wait for the sheriff at the junction to camp. What literally was just a few minutes the sheriffs pull up. Jana and Caroline start to describe Garry to them and he comes down the road. They said it was a typical Juab County rescue, call and the riders show up, but please call, you did the right thing.

Long story short. In the weather they got separated at a junction. Garry stopped not knowing which way Brendan went and couldn't see tracks because of the rain. When Brendan turned around he couldn't see his tracks he started guessing. They left each other big arrows in the road telling which they went. Now, they don't leave without their GPS (both were at camp). Happy ending! Thanks to the campers that filled Garry's motorcycle with gas so he could get back to camp! And to Juab County!

The "Bear" House (that is what the kids called this)

Caroline, Jana, Bobbie and Garry checking out a tax notice on the mines:

Porter Rockwell's Ranch

Orson and Joe

Mud Ride

And this got me thinking about this:

And this: