Cruizin... On A Sunday Afternoon...! Part I

Woke up to a beautiful Sabbath on 8/21/2011. Got my praise one in the morning and decided to take a little road trip. What better way to remember the Lord than to be out in his country enjoying his creations. I jumped on I-15 and headed north. No particular place in mind. Just the desire to soak up the last bit of the weekend before the Monday grind. I found myself headed toward Ogden. I’d heard of a camping location up that way and wanted to check it out. Before hand I kind of just drove around the city and the neighborhood where at family home sits. After my quick tour of the city I headed East toward Ogden Canyon. If you’ve never taken this drive you gotta do it. Not only is it a gorgeous view it has elements of danger: Sharp curves, falling rocks…not just rocks… boulders from the eroding mountain ranges from above that have landed in the road and moved to the side.

I hoped this particular road trip was going to be an adventure. The plan was to just go where I have never been before and see where I end up. There’s road construction going into the canyon which is always a delightful joy. Once you get passed it the drive is quite refreshing. This will not be a boring drive and will keep you on your toes.

I came upon a place called Pine View Reservoir and a camping ground Called Anderson Cover. This will become a spot on my list of places to go camping. Its beautiful with the lakes in the background. I had seen the Reservoir and the dam before, but never went passed it. Little did I know I was selling myself short. I have sense learned there is great adventure in the phrase…” let’s just keep going and see what’s up ahead!” That’s exactly what I did. I continued passed Anderson Cove and decided to take the next left turn that came around. The left turn had me then headed north. I traveled North for a small while and decided North looked boring and decided to turn at the next intersection. I took a left and was immediately fascinated by the building and the signs I saw.



I had hit the little town of Huntsville, Ut. I parked my care at Huntsville Square, grabbed my camera and started talking. The air was hot but there was a cool breeze dancing around the sleeves of my blouse causing them to tickle my arm.
I passed a dentist office that looked as if it was façade from “Little House On The Prairie” and right next to it was a bbq house.




I turned the corner and across the street was a small building: Ogden Valley Community Church. I was small and cozy. Visions of a 1 room chapel danced across my mind .

I continued down the block and across the street and before me was the Shooting Star Saloon lined with Motorcycles with laughter and music floating outside from the windows.





Then I turned the corner I saw more of the “Walnut Grove” houses with rustic relics on the houses and in the well manicured lawns. It was truly a step into Norman Rockwell-ville and Old school Americana. I was content and a peace with myself and the world.





I walked the streets and drove the neighborhood and encountered horses,



beautiful lake front homes,





an elderly woman in Pajama’s walking down the street with empty water containers



and a tiny vegetable stand with summer and zucchini squash on it next to a sign with the word “FREE” next to it!





For a moment I wished it was my neighborhood. After about an hour of peaceful roaming I headed back to the intersection that led me to this place and decided to see what the East side has in store for me. The roads were windy and reminded me of the snake river. Along the way there were several turn outs for Camping sites. Cache National Forest: Magpie, Monte Cristo, South fork, perception park, Meadows, Willow.... some of the places were very dense with trees and brush. Once again getting restless with the winding of the road, I decided to turn off at the next main intersection.

But instead I got off on a turn out and headed up a steep incline. The road is immediately narrow with very little visibility in front of me because of the winding around the side of the mountain. A little bit nervous, I press the gas. I'm in intrigued as to where this road will take me. There's a turn out to the right that levels off to less dangerously entry way and I can see several cars parked on what seems to be ledge. Of course I continue up the narrow steep incline. On the passenger side of me, a rail and a steep drop off. On the driver's side the oncoming traffic lane and a mountain. For the most part very little shoulder on each side.

One Thing you learn when traveling narrow mountain roads: You gotta commit! There is no u turning in situations like this and backing up it out of the question. When faced with this kind of thing, you must be sure you are willing to go the distance because the only way out is whatever way you find at the end of the road, sometimes you get a place to turn around on the other end, sometimes the road takes you a scenic byway that ends across the state line. Personally I recommend exploring every wrong turn because it may actually a correct turn. In my case, it was.
I crested a hill and spotted a place with a small shoulder to the side and decided to pull of and see what was over the side of the cliff I was driving on. What I found was absolutely breath taking.











I couldn't stop taking pictures of this place.
I jumped in the car and continued on anxious to see more










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I looked around and finally got some inkling of where I was:



Still No idea where I was at this point. That Sign meant nothing to me! I lingered at this location for a while and walked down a dirt path to the bridge where the water fall was. I stood on the bridge enjoying the breeze and the mist of the water.

(crystal clear water)



(Off the bridge over the waterfall)

After walking around soaking up the Sun and taking in the Scenery, I recognized it was getting late and I probably needed to head back down to Salt Lake. Much to my reluctance I jumped back into my car and began to head home. It was a perfect day of solitude and peace... UNTIL...(to be continued)