First Ice Fishing Trip 20/21 Season

We headed to the mountains looking for hard water. I met up at Parker's place around 7am and we loaded up the rest of the equipment. He already his truck loaded with his Snowdog and all the fishing gear. We headed south after a short discussion about how much snow we wanted to hike through. We went through Spanish Fork Canyon to the turnoff to Fairview, turned south, and made it to Fairview Canyon. Drove up the canyon and turned east at the top to go to our favorite little early ice pond.

Arriving at the pond Parker pulled the Snowdog out and got it running and took the auger to the edge of the ice to check for thickness. It looked plenty thick but you never know with early ice. He cut the first hole right the edge and found it to be about 3 inches thick, he moved out farther onto the ice and cut another one to find it thicker and then a 3rd and it was 4-5 inches thick plenty thick for us to venture out on to.

Parker went back to the truck and loaded the rest of the equipment for the morning fishing session. I cut a couple more holes farther out and closer to the dam to get deeper water. I found some 8-foot deep water and set up camp. Parker made it back to the ice with the poles, chairs, and finder. I dropped the first line and missed the first couple of hits and Parker put his line down and hooked up with the first of the season. He caught the next two fish nothing of size but we had fish on the deck. I downsized my lure and finally decked a rainbow trout. We caught 20 rainbows and then as the sun rose higher in the sky the bigger fish came out and we got a couple decent Cutthroat trout. We fished until early afternoon and called it good.

We drove around the corner to Huntington and Cleveland to find them capped off with clear ice. We thought it was still open until we could see the cracks going across the ice. It was quite a sight. We stopped in Fairview for a late lunch and headed home.

Great Basin National Park 2020

This year's ride took Kelly and I to the Great Basin National Park on the border of Utah and Nevada. We took off early Saturday morning and headed southwest out of Utah county. We made our first stop at the Oneman Band in Nephi and got breakfast. After breakfast, we took state road 132 southwest and headed to Delta. After a quick pitstop and top off the truck at the local Maverik, we continued west on highway 6/50. Our first stop was at the dry lake bed of Sevier Lake. We took a dirt road to the lake bed and drove a little way out on to the dry lake bed. We didn't realize that it was so large. Very cool but multiple signs said not to venture far because the subsurface layers could be wet and you could get stuck. Not wanting to dig out and being alone we followed the advice of the signs.

We next saw this very cool mountain with huge cliffs and there were a couple vehicles out by it and a couple vehicles we were following took off in that direction. We decided we needed to investigate further. So glad we did! This was a surprise find. The area is very well known for rock climbing and bouldering. It is known as Ibex. We watched a few climbers move up and down the rock faces and talked to a couple of them. This place I will return and spend a couple days at. Not only to watch and maybe do some bouldering but also for the night sky. I can only imagine that it is brilliant.

We moved on down the road and came to the border and turned south for a couple miles and stopped at the visitors center of the Great Basin National Park. The folks were very helpful with instructions and information. We drove up the road to the top parking lot. Stopping along the way to take in the sights and pictures. Wheeler Peak is awesome and towers over the desert floor. This trip was to see the Bristlecone Pines that are abundant on the peak. We parked and got ready for the seemingly short round trip hike. The folks at the visitors center said it was 1,2 miles round trip to the Bristlecone grove and only an elevation gain of 600 feet. Not quite! It was more like 2 miles one direction and a gain of 1000 feet. Kelly made it to the cut off to Teresa Lake about halfway and took a seat. I continued on and got to the bottom of the grove and took a couple pictures. Our side trips took a bit more of our time than expected and cutoff our hiking time. So I turned back, only to find that Kelly had started his way back to the truck. I asked a couple if they had passed Santa along the way. They said they had, I told them he probably got chilled, after spending the summer in the Bahama's and Florida. We had to acclimate him slowly to return to the North Pole. The young lady looked at me like really.....I had quite the chuckle the rest of the way back to the truck. I found Kelly at the truck and we loaded up and went to the entrance of Lehman Cave and the visitor center. We stopped and picked up a late lunch at the center.

After lunch, we hit the road for the return trip home. We had a great ride and saw some amazing country, some of which I will return to explore more.

Bass Fishing - Sand Hollow Reservoir Utah

Shifty had to get in one last trip to Sand Hollow. The temps had dropped out of the brain scorching temps that southern Utah is known for in the summer months. So I decided to accompany him on this last sojourn to the southern desert reservoir. We drove to St. George Tuesday night and stayed in Shifty's favorite hotel in Washington, The Quality Inn. We ate and took a dip in the hot tub and then readied our poles for the next day.

Wednesday morning we woke at 6:10 am. We loaded up and drove to the Maverick in Hurricane picked up breakfast and arrived at the gate at 6:45am. We were 6th in line but only two boats ahead of us. Sand Hollow was hosting a UTV and ATV rally that weekend and they were showing up to get their campsites. We got out and readied the Cruiser for launch. We got to the ramp and launched in the twilight of the morning. Shifty put the lights on and we cruised to our first stop. Shifty likes the pumphouse and he put on a big jighead with a trailer and was immediately on his first largemouth bass. He got a few fish in a short period but it wasn't fast action. We moved to another area and to another and then another we got a couple fish along the way but not enough to satisfy Shifty's need for the tug on the end of the line. We finished the morning off in the weeds beds that Shifty loves to fish with his drop shot. He caught a few more on the weeds. I actually caught a couple as well. We called it and headed in for lunch.

That evening we returned to fish the West dike. I tossed jerk baits and curly tail jigs and caught three fish for the evening. The evening was perfect, in fact, the day was perfect no wind and very little traffic on the water. Kinda weird for us, usually we get wind and tons of traffic. We enjoyed it! We called it a night as the sunset over the red horizon. The red rocks of SW Utah are spectacular in the evenings and mornings. We walked back to Great White and headed for the hotel and something to eat. Oh and we got some custard at Nielsen's Frozen Custard! Another dip in the hot tub and pool and we were ready for Thursday.

Thursday morning we woke up at 6:00 am and loaded up everything and headed to the lake, got breakfast at the Maverick, and was at the gate third in line. We readied the boat for launch waiting for the gate to open at 7:00. We launched again in the twilight of the morning and watched the sunrise over the red rocks of Southern Utah. Today it Shifty's objective fish where I wanted to fish and how I wanted to fish....I told to just go fish but he insisted. So we went to the rocks or 'riprap' as he calls it. I put on a jerk bait and started the cadence. Two casts into the morning and I had my first largemouth hooked up. It didn't take long for the second one to hook up. Shifty changed out to his favorite crankbait and he was on fish quickly as well. We fished this way for a while and then the bite completely shut down. We moved to weed beds and started fishing slow again. Shifty was on them and I got a couple more. We fished until early afternoon and called it a day. Shifty ended up with over 30 fish for the trip I think I ended up with around 13. It was great to hang out with Shifty and enjoy time on the Cruiser with him.

Back Through Time - Fall Break - Vernal

Parker and Syd invited us all to join them on their fall break staycation in Vernal Utah. We accepted and the whole family joined them on an adventure that took us back through time. We all made our reservations at the local hotel and met up there Friday evening. We met up with Rogan and Jen and went to dinner with them at the Plaza Mexicano, good food, large portions, and a good price.

We met up later at the pool and played in the water for a while. Bonus time, it was Rogan and Jen's 10th anniversary. Syd made arrangements for us all to meet in their room and we would surprise them with a cake. It was a great evening. We laughed and shared stories for most of the evening before returning to our rooms.

THE UTAH FIELD HOUSE OF NATURAL HISTORY - Utah State Park

We woke the next morning had breakfast and went to The Utah Field House of Natural History - Dinosaur Museum. The grandkids loved this! We spent the morning wandering through the exhibits and listening to grandkids explain each dinosaur they saw on the tour. We watched the video explaining what archeologists do and the grandkids were fascinated by the stories and findings they showed. Immediately our granddaughter said she wanted a tractor to start excavating for bones.

The first stop was the dig for bones. They had a box of "dirt" covering bones and the grandkids starting digging and finding bones. They got to climb through caves of stone and see fossils in the walls.

They also have a really cool wall of fossils of all different types. There is a sidewalk tour outside and the grandkids enjoyed climbing on the rocks and exploring the area. As we walked through the exhibits more stories and understanding took place. The grandkids loved it. We finished up with a walk through the gift shop and souvenirs were bought.

McConkie Ranch Petroglyphs

I wanted to see the McConkie Ranch Petroglyphs. This is a private ranch in Dry Fork Canyon. It's a little way out to the ranch from Vernal. They ask for a $5.00 donation. There are signs as you get near the site but google maps will take you there. I invited those that wanted to join Sally and me out there to come along. They all came along. We arrived at the ranch and readied ourselves for a small hike around the ranch. The trail is marked as .8 of a mile but it doesn't explain that it is steep and rocky at the beginning and return to the parking lot. This was not the case it was a little more intense than I thought it was. Some after seeing the first short climb decided not to go any further. They stayed back at the parking lot while the rest of us ventured on. We saw some petroglyphs on the first leg but not the ones they had advertised. At this point, the littles and some of the other adults were headed back to the cars.

Jimmy and I pushed on looking for the big panels. We went another few hundred yards around the corner and found some of the bigger panels with many petroglyphs on them. This hike was fun but not to be taken lightly. Take water and snacks to see all the panels. Have good shoes and in the heat of the summer a good hat. This was late fall and we were not prepared well. We made it, but some like I said had to turn back sooner than expected. Worth the effort? Yes.

Remember the USS Maine

Sally and I made a stop on the way back into town and checked out the memorial for the USS Maine that is high the wall in Dry Fork. It was something I had photographed years before while I was in college and I wanted to see it again.

Dinosaur National Monument

We made our way back to town and got something to eat. We all met back up at the hotel and made our way to the Dinosaur Quarry outside of Jensen UT. We got there and all the tickets were sold out and had to be purchased in advance. This was not made clear on the website and we were not happy to find out this was the case. We made the best of it!

We hiked along the Fossil Discovery Trail that took you up the backside of the mountain and saw more Indian art, some petrified wood, and dinosaur tracks and fossils. There were a few lizards along the way.

This hike was a little over a mile in length and we had plenty of water this time. We made it all the way around the mountain and saw the Quarry just a little way up the road. The rest of the group was headed down the road back to the parking area. Max and I were like we are this close we are going to take a look through the windows at least. We made it to the Quarry and a nice ranger met us at the door asking if we had our tickets, we explained our dilemma about the tickets and she said wait here........She returned a couple minutes later and allowed Max and me to go into the Quarry!!

It was fantastic! Max was enthralled with the whole thing. We had been in there for a few minutes when all of the sudden we saw others of our group entering the exhibit. It turned out to be a great experience and the rangers made it possible. Everyone had the opportunity to visit the wall and touch the exhibits. We were so happy that we pushed on and made it an adventure. We headed back to Vernal and readied ourselves for the evening. No, the day was not over yet!

Stargazing

I wanted to go stargazing and told the boys that I would bring my scopes and set them up so we could look at the stars. After returning to the hotel some went swimming and others relaxed for a few minutes. Sally and I went on a scouting ride for an area that would be suitable for all vehicles to caravan too. We found one not too far out of town on a dirt road. We met up at dusk in the hotel lobby and went to the designated spot. We arrived in the dark and I set up the scopes. Being hunting scopes they didn't work that great, we saw a couple stars. We started looking at the star map and I pointed out constellations and stars to the grandkids. It was a little brisk and the evening moved on quickly. We called it a day after we found a few cool things in the sky. Harrison did find a satellite cruising across the night sky. We packed up and headed home. The ride home for everyone was pretty quiet as the kids were fast asleep. Arriving at the hotel Jim and Hil arrived at the same time. It brought back great memories for me seeing the grandkids fast asleep in the back seats. A successful day!!

Day 2 - Moonshine Arch

Sunday morning came quickly after the long day on Saturday. Each family made their own plans and ventured forward. Parker and Jim returned to the Quarry and did more exploring in the monument area. Rogan and his family made their way home via a couple side roads. Sally and I went for it and found Moonshine Arch north of Vernal.
This was a sand-filled hike into the hills outside Vernal. We followed a road all the way to the arch and wished we had our Outlander it would have made quick work of the trail. Not having it we ventured out on foot and had a good time exploring the area. From the parking area, the arch is nearly a mile hike on dirt, sand, and sandstone. Find as much sandstone as possible and stay on it. We made it to the Arch in a little over an hour. There were quite a few people on the trail which was surprising to us but it was fall break.
After we got a few pictures we turned back toward the truck. We arrived at the truck and took off our sand-filled shoes and put the sandals on....oh what a relief. We loaded up and headed for town. Gassed up and hit the road for home. We stopped in Duchesne for lunch at Cowan's Cafe and who did we run into...Parker and Syd. We had a good lunch and decided to go through Spanish Fork Canyon since Provo was closed due to a fire.
SFC on a Sunday afternoon is a joke! The traffic was backed up past Thistle so we decided to turn off at Diamond Fork and had a nice ride back into the valley.