Sunday, June 26, 2011

A BBQ Contest and Vacation

After the Smoke on the River BBQ contest in Heber we stuck around several extra days to enjoy a short vacation.  The area was so green and beautiful.  The campground was at the base of Jordanelle Dam at the edge of the Provo River...not a lot of traffic since it was literally at the end of the road.   They went out of their way to make us feel welcome, we even enjoyed a campfire and pot luck dinner with them on two nights. 
Instead of dragging along the canopy for the BBQ and a tent, we put up solid walls on the canopy and used it for our tent after the contest.  Cassy enjoyed the air mattress and being able to slip out under the walls without any of our help.  Evenings brought leisurely walks around camp and along the river's edge.  As much as Cassy wanted to jump into the river, it was flowing to deep and fast for her to handle.  Instead we made sure she was able to swim on several occasions elsewhere, including Deer Valley and Silver Flat's Reservoir. 
We drove up the narrow valley past Sundance, the views were spectacular.  There is still much snow on the upper mountains.  In fact, the road was still impassible to get to Timpanogas Caves from that side of the mountain.  Instead, we had to access it from the American Fork Canyon side of the mountain.  Since dogs weren't allowed, we didn't go to the cave...not to mention the hike up the mountain.  We opted for a side trip up the just opened road to a high mountain reservoir (Silver Flats?).  It was a steep climb to a gorgeous valley that bordered the wilderness area.  Cassy saw the water and took off.  She wandered through the streams that entered the reservoir, played fetch, barked and had a great time...making a great time for us as well.   We left on Tuesday, visited a couple of craft stores in Salt Lake City, had lunch at Fuddruckers in Orem  (YUM),  stopped in Beaver to pick up wood and cheese...and ice cream, and spent the night in Cedar before coming home on Wednesday.  It was a great week in cooler, greener, more scenic country.