Farewell to Shady Dell and Cobblerest

Fall in Samak

It is fall in the Uintas.  Labor Day weekend has come and gone, and effective September 2 at 1:00 PM, we were fired.  We cleaned the campgrounds early that morning, returned our supplies to our area managers, and hooked up the trailer for the trip home. 

As we drove west down the Mirror Lake Highway, trailer in tow, we passed some of the landmarks that have become so familiar this summer.   

The Beaver Creek Nudist Ranch, on Nudist Road in Samak, really doesn't exist.  The sign has been there for years, but no naturists actually inhabit the area.

Beaver Creek Nudist Ranch?!?

The Notch, a pub in Samak, has a beautiful patio, great food and good beer.  We celebrated our second-to-last day there with good friends.

Samak is Kamas spelled backward. 

The donuts at the Chevron station in Kamas really are fabulous. 

The Mirror Lake Café has great food – most of it named after campgrounds and attractions on the highway.

The Sinclair station sells espresso and vanilla crisp Powerbars.  I hadn’t found them anywhere in Salt Lake, in fact, my last vanilla crisp Powerbar was from Dave’s Jubilee in Ashton.  I bought them out.  Hopefully they’ll restock by next year.

At The Notch

The best part of hosting at Shady Dell and Cobblerest was the close proximity to home.  It was really easy to go home for our “weekend,” get laundry done, get groceries, and even keep the house up a bit.  Because it was so close, we had several friends and relatives come up to visit.  And we had the opportunity to really get to know Rick and Judy, who live in Kamas and visited several times.

The worst part of hosting at Shady Dell was the Fairy Forest.  Don’t get me wrong – the Fairy Forest is delightful.  But since it isn't really sanctioned by the Forest Service, we got no support from them regarding parking instructions.  I was exceedingly grateful to all the bloggers who directed people to park outside the campground and walk in.  I was exceedingly grateful to all the visitors who willingly paid the day use fee and had picnics and played fairy games in our campground.  I was exceedingly perturbed by those visitors who drove past at least four signs stating that the campground was a fee area, that a day use fee was required, and that the Mirror Lake Highway Recreation Pass didn't cover our fees, only to park in our best pull-through campsite, and not pay.  OK, rant over.

We’ll be back on the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway next summer.  We expect to get our assignment in January of 2015.

Wildlife of Shady Dell

The large picture window at the back of our trailer faces into open forest, which has made it perfect for observing the wildlife that we share our campground with.  Mama Moose and her calf have grazed on the willow leaves near our firewood twice now.  I’ve named Mama “Cicely” in honor of my favorite TV show of the 90’s – Northern Exposure.  I haven’t named the calf – mostly because I don’t know the gender.  Either Joel or Maggie…  I took the photo through the window as I didn’t want to scare them off.

We get a lot of deer traipsing through the campground.  They don’t seem to be afraid of us.  We sat in front of our trailer and watched two of them about 50 feet from us – contentedly pulling down leaves.  The deer wander throughout the campground.  Shady Dell stays open through the deer hunt.  I suspect these guys are smart enough to go far far away come October.

And then there’s the squirrel.  We watched her tear off a little piece of a newspaper we had near our wood pile, run off with it, and then come back and get another one.  I suspect she is building a nest.  Who says there’s no need for newsprint in this digital age?

This little bird made us laugh for several days.  He appeared to be protecting his nest – way up in the aspen tree – from the bird in that strange white box.  He flew at his reflection several times a day, and was always surprised when he hit the glass.  I guess he finally figured it out; he’s gone now.

A three-foot snake lives near the creek.  I wish he’d do a better job keeping the mice under control.  So far we’ve trapped 26 mice in our trailer.  Oh, well – I guess a single snake can only eat so many mice.

We haven’t seen the domestic life of the Uintah Mountains’ open range yet, but I’ve found the flat and round evidence of bovine digestion throughout the campground.  I suspect it won’t be long until I’m chasing them out of camp with my broom! 

 

Shady Dell's Fairy Forest

One of the tasks we expect as camp hosts is painting picnic tables.  The color we expect is, of course, Forest Service Brown.  So what’s with all the multi-colored picnic tables here in Shady Dell?  The answer lies across the creek and deep into the woods behind the campground where you will find the Fairy Forest. 

The Fairy Forest actually started in the late 60’s as a Vietnam veteran’s memorial to his fallen comrade.  As the years passed, many families or groups visited and added to the forest, eventually morphing it into a miniature world of painted rocks dotted with plaques, trinkets, and even fairy dolls. 

I am amazed by the creativity of the people who have contributed over the years.  This year’s new theme appears to be Frozen.  There are a couple of congregations of Despicable Me’s minions.  And I found my personal favorite, Star Wars.

The trail sits between sites 6 and 8, and is pretty well marked once you get across the creek bed.  This proved a little tricky during late May and early June, when spring runoff turned the creek into a raging river.  It’s much safer midsummer through fall.  You go straight back from the path until you come to the fallen tree marked with an arrow pointing to the fairy forest.

There is no charge to visit the Fairy Forest; but there is a charge for parking.  You have two options:

1.  Purchase a Mirror Lake Highway Recreation Pass for $6, park outside the campground – there’s a pullout at milepost 17 – and walk in.  The path from the pullout leads directly to the path to the Fairy Forest.  This is your best option if the Fairy Forest is just one stop along your Mirror Lake Highway adventure and you plan to stop at a picnic area, fish at one of the lakes, or hike at one of the trailheads.

2.  Park inside the campground and pay the $8 day use fee.  Parking inside the campground gives you a picnic table and fire pit, so if you’re planning on spending the day and having a picnic, this might be your best option.  Of course, I work at Shady Dell, so I might be a bit biased.  Remember – the Mirror Lake Highway Recreation Pass is not required in the campground, so you don’t need to pay double fees.

On my way across the creek bed on July 4, I met Michelle P., who runs the web site enjoyutah.org.  She knew Natalie O., on whose web site utahsadventurefamily.com  I first found posted information on the Fairy Forest.  The miniature world behind our campground proved once again what a small world we live in.

 

 

Welcome to the Mirror Lake Highway

Our campgrounds – Shady Dell and Cobblerest – are two of the sixteen improved campgrounds on the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway (SR 150).  The Mirror Lake Highway runs from Kamas, Utah, to Evanston, Wyoming, up and over the Uinta Mountains.

One of the most beautiful highways in Utah, it boasts scenic viewpoints and picnic areas, access to over 400 lakes, many hiking, biking and ATV trails, and opportunities for improved camping as well as dispersed camping. Much of the highway parallels the Provo River.  The road is the highest paved road in Utah when it crosses Bald Mountain Pass at an altitude of 10,715 feet before descending past its namesake, Mirror Lake. 

Visitors are required to purchase a recreation pass to use facilities in this area.  A $6 pass is available and good for 3 days; a $12 pass is good for 7 days; there is also a $45 annual pass available.  The pass allows access to the picnic areas, fishing areas, and trailheads.  The pass is also required for camping outside of the improved campgrounds, which have their own fees.

So how do these fees work together?  The short answer is they don’t.  If you want to camp in an improved campground and don’t plan to use any of the other Mirror Lake Highway facilities, all you need to pay is the campground fee.  If you want to camp in an improved campground and then drive to a trailhead or a lake, you’ll also need to purchase the Mirror Lake Highway recreation pass.

For our fellow retirees – your Senior Pass allows you full access to the Mirror Lake Highway AND gives you half off your camping fees.  The Senior Pass is available to anyone 62 or older; the fee is $10 for a lifetime pass.  Find out more about obtaining a senior pass at http://store.usgs.gov/pass/senior.html

See you in the mountains!