Camping at Flaming Gorge

This past week was crazy busy. At the beginning of the summer I asked the kids to make a list of some of the things they really wanted to do. Dallin said he wanted to go back to Classic Skate in Sandy with Erika and her kids. It has more than just roller skating but water slides, inflatables, a jungle gym, and arcade games. So we went there on Tuesday and had a blast. It was four hours of swimming, sliding, jumping, climbing, and gaming.

Every spring the kids can earn a free pass to Seven Peaks water park. So Wednesday we spent five hours there with the Heraldsons and the Mickelsens. It was a little tricky at first doing the water slides with Eden and Austin so it was nice to have help but I soon discovered that Eden was able to manage them all by herself. She's such a big girl (and literally). Austin was asleep in the car before I ever left the parking lot.

Then Friday morning we packed up (I actually did most of the packing on Thursday) and headed to Red Canyon Campground at Flaming Gorge. It was a lot further away than I thought. Ryan and I had never been there before and had no idea what to expect. I've decided you definitely need a boat to actually enjoy the gorge but camping above it was beautiful. If I had a boat, though, I don't think I'd ever use it anywhere else this place was so amazing.

We had tin foil dinners and thanks to some suggestions on FB they were a huge success. For one of Dallin's Webelos badges he helped set up the tent and prepare dinner. Cameron helped me with dessert.

After dinner we went to see what was at the end of our campsite. It was the gorge. With no fence! Except for this one viewpoint. I was hoping our campsite was close but I didn't realize it was that close.

We had a fire and roasted marshmallows and starburst (a first for Ryan). At one point, just as it was starting to get dark we heard a strange growling sound. We tried to keep the kids quiet so we could figure out what it was. We had seen plenty of deer in the area but didn't think they could growl. Ryan thought it was an elk. But I was pretty darn sure it sounded like a bear. It finally sounded so close I told him I thought we should "run". We literally ran to the van, Cameron was still holding her starburst on the stick, and locked the doors. It was too dark to see much so Ryan decided to try to drive closer (which totally freaked Eden out, there was crying involved). We drove down the road and were joined by four or five other slowly moving cars. Everyone was enjoying the view of multiple deer grazing near the road. We never saw a bear.

When we finally got back to camp it was too dark and time for bed. I admit I was still freaked out as I listened to the growling while brushing my teeth by the little water post. The kids were terrified still as we got there p.j.'s on and started tucking them in. I said a little prayer that whatever was making that sound would just go away so the kids could go to sleep. Fortunately, it worked and we never heard the sound again. What was it? Ryan thinks it was this.

Saturday we went exploring around Flaming Gorge and Dinosaur National Monument, had dinner in Heber and then came home. It was a busy week but lots of fun, so I should be off the hook for entertainment for the next few days, right?