Jordanelle Reservoir

I really wanted to go on another camping trip so I started looking into different places to go since I've only been up Big Cottonwood Canyon this year.  I discovered that Jordanelle Reservoir is only one hour away and it has a few cabins that you can rent.  The cabins are just glorified tents with electricity (and A/C!).  We had to provide our own bedding, the bathrooms and showers are across the street, and you can't cook in the cabin- seriously just bare bones furniture, but rather comfortable.  The $60/night price tag was pretty comfortable, too! 

Since Seth is in school, I decided to have this trip be just for the older kids.  I invited my nieces, Mieren (age 16) and Alys (age 15) to come with us.  I borrowed some life jackets, bought another 2-man boat, packed up some food and we were good to go! 

I had such a fun time being around these kids!  The ride up was loud and crazy- they were singing some of the strangest (and yet quite clever) songs from You Tube.  I had no intention of getting in the water- the water part was strictly for the enjoyment of the kids.  I enjoyed just sitting on the shore and watching them play. 

Sadly, the reservoir is really low this year.  It was only at 60% capacity, so we had a lot of 'beach' to walk along to get to the water.  The beach wasn't sandy, it was muddy and overgrown with weeds, so it wasn't the easiest trek with flip-flops on!  We are excited to go back when the water level is higher just to see how different it is.  If I want that to happen, I need to deal with a lot of snow this winter!

Alys and Paul on the Enterprise

Mieren and Paul

I loved watching the kids get on the boats and try to figure things out.  None of them have had much experience on a boat, so they did a few 'donuts' and had a great time laughing and figuring out how to work together.  Each new companionship on the boat needed to fine tune their methods, but by the end of the first time out, they had it down.  It was really windy when we were out the first afternoon, so it added a bit more struggle to the job! 

I loved sitting on the shore watching the kids play.  There was a lot of scenic beauty to enjoy as well!

Mieren and Paul decided to go out on the boats again after dinner.  It was during this trip out that they named the boats.  The yellow one is the Enterprise and the green one is the Green Lantern. 

Mieren

Paul

After Mieren and Paul showered and got dressed, we all headed back down to the water to explore the shoreline.  Unfortunately, part of the muddy area was REALLY muddy and they sunk in fast!   They named this area of the shore the Tar Pit! 

Mieren had shoes on at one point- they were a muddy mess!  Alys looks like she is wearing boots, but it is just the mud marking how far down she sunk!

The weather was beautiful. It was probably around 80 degrees with a very slight breeze.  Alys and Mark played football and Paul, Mieren and I played Frisbee.  Toward the end of the evening we caught 24 passes in a row!  It was amazing because before then we had only caught 4 in a row!  We watched the sun as it set.  The water turned red for a while because of the sunset- it was beautiful!

The reservoir normally goes up to the line in the background where the vegetation starts. 

We lit a fire, roasted/burned marshmallows and talked around the campfire until about 10:30.  When I came back to the cabin after brushing my teeth, there was a bit of excitement over a spider that Mieren found by her bed.  I came to the rescue and got rid of the spider and we all settled down to go to sleep.  I really didn't sleep well, but got enough sleep to function the next day.  The nice thing about having Mieren along is that she could drive if I was unable to. 

The water was really calm the next morning, so the kids had a lot of fun rowing around on the boats. 

Paul and Alys

Mark

Paul, Mark, Mieren, Alys

After we showered, we just hung out in the cabin for a while.  Mark read his book while we played some games.  Then we ate lunch, packed up the van and headed home. 

Hanging out in the cabin.

Saying goodbye to the cabin

 This trip was a bigger success than I anticipated.  The kids got along really well- we didn't have a fight or argument the entire time- even when Paul took shotgun on the way home!  I think that the kids liked not having little ones around.  We didn't have to worry about nap times or hanging back a bit because someone has shorter legs.  We didn't have anyone to tease or pick on.  Sometimes the older kids just need a get away, so I am glad that we did it.

I loved spending time with my nieces.  They are beautiful girls and they are growing up so fast!  Alys was born just a  month after I started dating Daniel.  I feel really short around them because they are getting so tall now.  Daniel says that Jane reminds him of how Mieren was at this age.  I will be delighted if Jane is a lot like Mieren as a young woman because she is a delightful girl. 

I am physically exhausted from this trip, but mentally I am so happy. I'd dare say that I wasn't the only one who was tired, because the ride home was super quiet- such a contrast from the ride up there!  Being away from the city and spending time in nature is rewarding enough to me that I'll deal with all of the physical effort it takes to get there.   I am super grateful to Daniel for taking care of Seth and Jane while I went on this trip. I'm hoping to do this again and again.