Sept. 14. We back tracked a little bit because we decided we wanted a place to stay for awhile to avoid some of the rainy weather that was called for further south of us from hurricane Odile. Plus, it is still just too hot for us down in Mesa, AZ, where we want to stop for some RV repairs. So back through the pass from the Strawberry Valley. It really is a pleasant drive and I was looking forward to it, especially with the leaves changing.
We are staying at the Mountain Valley RV Resort in Heber City, and were busy exploring the first few days after arriving. We originally reserved a spot for a week but it is so nice here, that we decided to take advantage of the monthly rate. It is a real nice park and we are surrounded all the way around by mountains with great views right from our site. So you know I am a “happy camper” whenever I am in the mountains! The park is less than a year old, so everything is new and nice and clean!
The owners of this new park must have lots of $$$$$! They also own cattle, about 900 acres in the mountains, cabins/houses/lodges for rent on lakes, and they provide meals and fishing gear. The park clerk said these are not just back woods cabins, but real mansions that are gorgeous. Then in the winter they offer lodging for skiing, hunting, and snowmobiling. I think a one room stay in one of the lodges is $200 a night. Ouch! But I bet it is pretty up in those areas. The couple that own the campground down in the canyon on a previous post were even up here the other day to see if the owners might be interested in buying their campground and land. Heber City is small but a busy area! You have I-15, HWY 40, the route to scenic HWY 89, access to the fishing and boating at the reservoirs, back roads for horseback riding, dirt biking trails, plus scenic mountain drives. We drove through a couple of mountain neighborhoods and there are many homes well over 2 to 3+ million dollars! These homes are built right smack into the side of the mountains with steep roads that made me nervous. If you don’t own tire chains or your own snow plow, you are pretty much isolated in winter. Some people actually commute from here to Provo. We even revisited Wasatch State Park campground where we camped on our very first trip though the west long before we were RVing. Funny, that we are back here after 14 years!
Heber City is in the bowl of the Wasatch, Uinta, and Cache mountain ranges. It is just a small town, but we have a Wal-Mart! Heber City was founded by English emigrants who were members of The Church of Jesus of latter-Day Saints in the late 1850s, and is named after the Mormon apostle Heber C. Kimball. The city was largely pastoral, focusing largely on dairy farms and cattle ranching, and has since become a bedroom community for Orem, Prove, Park City, and Salt Lake City.
Our second day, we took a ride around the Deer Creek Reservoir through Prove Canyon. It is just a few miles from town and is the route to Provo, only about 28 miles away. the reservoir is on the Provo River in western Wasatch County. The dam is a zoned earthfill structure 235 feet high with a crest length of 1,304 feet . Construction of the project began in May 1938 and was completed in 1941. The reservoir supplies water for agricultural, municipal, industrial, and recreational use. The Deer Creek Dam is the key structure of the Provo River Project managed by the U.S. Dept. of the Interior Bureau of Reclamations. Deer Creek is home to several fish species, including Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Yellow Perch, Walleye and Common Carp, which makes it a fisherman’s paradise!
The canyon is pretty and there is even a waterfall. There are a couple of parks below the road with some really nice biking and hiking trails along the Provo River. You can even raft down the river.
We didn’t go all the way through the canyon. We will be making a few day trips to Provo later to explore that area.
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