Gracie's Last 2 Days with us

On Monday, July 21 we left Jensen, Utah and drove 75 miles in about an hour and a half to the Fred Hayes State Park for the night. We were originally scheduled in the Indian loop with no hook ups. After driving through the loop we realized this wasn't going to work. We drove back to the entrance shack and inquired if we had any other options for our one night stay. The park attendant was very helpful and found us a pull-through site in the paved Beach Campground next to the lake with water and electricity for extra $10. This was a no brainer for us and we jumped at the chance.

Our pull-through site was long enough for two trailers!

Fred Hayes State Park was originally named Starvation State Park, after the reservoir it surrounds. Starvation State Park was established in 1972, two years after the Bureau of Reclamation constructed the dam, which created the 3,495 surface acre reservoir as part of the Central Utah Water Project.

The name “Starvation” has been credited to two legends. One says that a group of mountain men caught in winter snow survived by stealing a cache of food belonging to local Native American tribes, and as a result, the tribe starved. The second and more common legend tells the opposite story, with the tribes stealing the trappers’ cache of food and leaving the trappers to starve. It is very likely, however, that neither legend, even if true, resulted in the naming of the dam and reservoir.

The weather conditions were a bit windy and it looked like rain. We walked down to the water's edge to get a good look at the facilities. Boaters and jet-skis were on the lake with an occasional wind boarder. If it was warmer I might jump in for a swim but this wasn't the day for that. I did enjoy the night sky here. No light pollution, so the stars were quite visible.

June 22, Tuesday was Grace's day to fly out of Salt Lake City Internatioal Airport about 2 hours away, so we got up earlier to pack up and depart. The drive was beautiful and took us through the Wasatch Mountains and past Deer Creek State Park. We came through a pass in Canyon Glen along the Provo River and into Orem, Utah. From there we traveled up Interstate 15 to Sandy, Utah and parked at Sego Lily Church, a Harvest Host. This was our base of operation for Grace's last day with us.

We unhitched the RV and set up the rig before leaving for lunch. We found a Jersey Mike's in the same complex with a Scheels Sporting Goods Store. We had to take Grace to Scheels to ride the indoor Ferris Wheel for a dollar.

After the ride we did some exploring in the store which is massive. Grace found the Lego area while I examined the $279 Pickle Ball rackets! Honestly, $279 for a Pickle Ball racket? We checked out the aquarium and the stuffed wildlife exhibits which were quite impressive.

I was hoping Grace might see a moose during her trip to Colorado and Utah. Well, look what I found hanging out in the store! Real but not living was the best we could manage.

Well, the time finally arrived for us to take her to the airport. Traffic was an issue but we got to the terminal two hours prior to her flight time. I had to say my goodbyes from the Departure Drop-off Area while Karen went in to get her through TSA and to her gate. I killed the time drowning my sorrows with a Freddy's Tuttle Sundae!

Karen and Grace had dinner at the Freddy's inside the terminal while I ate alone. After a flight delay, Grace was winging her way back to California.

We got a call from her after getting picked up by her dad, so we knew she arrived safety back home. We really enjoyed her ten day visit with us. We just wished she hadn't beaten us up at cards so much!

It's now back on the road with only the two of us Classy Nomads.