Cave, Lake, and Crepes

So the plan was to avoid extreme seasons.......snow and intense heat.  We should have researched a little more thoroughly because the intense heat won't let up.  We have done all kinds of research and reading about why it's colder at higher altitude when it seems it would be warmer cause you're closer to the sun and why is the sun so intense and ready to burn your skin at such high altitude.  This weather has inspired all kinds of learning opportunities :)

So from the beautiful luxury of Mountain Valley Resort we headed north through Utah and even dipped into Wyoming briefly and back into Utah up to Bear Lake.  It's amazing how much of this country is land as far as the eye can see with the occasional house, farm or trailer.  We have seen so many signs similar to "Welcome to _______.  Population 121"  And so many times we have said "who is living here?"  I want to knock on their door and hear their story.  Not just because it's a microscopic town without a grocery store, but because some of the towns look abandoned.  Like a scene out of The Walking Dead.

So as we arrived to the Bear Lake area, things started looking more lively.  There was a cute little town called Garden City on the southwest side of the lake and several boat rental places as we drove up the west side of the lake.

Garden City down in the distance and Bear Lake from top of a nearby mountain.

The water was beautiful.  Almost reminded me of the Gulf of Mexico on a clear, calm day.  I had just seen what the Great Salt Lake had in store, so when the lady at the campground told me the most fun thing to do in town was swim in the lake, I was skeptical.


We settled in our campground, which was another "nothing amazing, nothing terrible" kind of place, and the girls were off to the playground making friends.  The lake is part in Utah and part in Idaho. We were camping in St. Charles, ID on the northwest corner of the lake.

Bear Lake North RV Park

Common area for volleyball and sports.

It was the week of the 4th of July, so lots of families were starting their holiday off early.  We were actually only able to get a spot there up until the 2nd of July because they were booked up for the holiday.

First day we headed to the shore and were surprised to see that we could drive right up to the picnic tables.  I will have to say it was very convenient having your car so close to your blanket.  You didn't have to haul it all out at once.  The girls found their friends from the campsite and took off.



I was very pleasantly surprised at the water.  Sandy bottom with crystal clear blue water.  The shore itself wasn't so great, but the water was so refreshing.

Diego working from the lake.

During our time at Bear Lake we were back in Garden City having a treat when we saw the rental company for UTVs, scooters, kayaks, etc.  Diego has been wanting to rent a UTV for months now and so we went in to check prices.  Good rate, so off we went.

Notice how clean the car is.

 We found a trail back in the canyon and once you got back into the woods there were so many turnoffs and options is was amazing.  I'm still surprised we found our way back.  We spent two hours out there and it was sooo much fun!  A little bit of a noise polluter, but other than that so cool.  We came back with so much mud and dirt on us and the car that the lady at the rental place took our picture for her brochure :)

This town is known for it's raspberry shakes so we tried one.  Never had a raspberry shake but it was pretty good.  My meemaw would have loved that one.

We had a few accidents during roof maintenance.  My hand went right through the skylight and later another accident took out the back tail light.  So ironic that we were getting some things checked off our maintenance list and had to add two more :)

Duck tape will have to hold until we find a Camping World.

Visited Minnetonka Cave in the Bear Lake area and had a nice tour.  Very cool cave, but after Carlsbad Caverns NP it was a baby.  So many caves and cool stories of what this planet has been doing long before we arrived.



Last evening in the area we rented a jet ski and kayak for a last bit of fun out on the lake.

It was evening time and the we didn't realize the wind had picked up quite a bit so the wave runner was the more fun option in those conditions.  The girls couldn't quit talking about how cool it was and what a crazy driver papi was.  We watched a safety video before going out and Diego was apparently not paying too close of attention because when they came back in Sofia told me all of the rules he broke :)  She told him "Papi, the video said no sharp turns"  and he returned with "Sofia, you're such a party pooper."

Ended the week with a crepe :)  Yum.

Beautiful sunsets in St. Charles, ID