July 31 – August 6
This week we are in Heber City, Utah not far from Park City staying at the Mountain Valley RV Resort. It’s a really nice resort with great amenities, concrete pads, grassy areas and views of the Wasatch Mountain range. The resort is divided into two sections, a front section and a new back section that opened after we made our reservations. The back section has bigger sites and all adult amenities.
After breakfast on Wednesday we are met at the campground by our driver, Lee, for the pedal portion of our Provo Canyon Pedal and Paddle tour. He loads our bikes on his trailer beside the raft and drives us out to the canyon and up South Fork Road until we reach the upper parking area. There he unloads our bikes and gives us some instructions. Bill and I hop on our bikes and proceed to ride (or more accurately coast) down the road while Lee follows with the van and trailer a short distance behind us. We leave the road at Vivian Park and follow the Provo River Parkway Bike and Walking Trail. We stop briefly to admire Bridal Veil Falls and touch base with Lee who is waiting along the trail. From there we continue following the trail until it ends. Lee is there to meet us and quickly places our bikes on the trailer while we hop in the van. He drives us to a riverside park where Jeff (our “driver” for the paddle portion of the tour) is waiting. They set out a picnic lunch for us by the river. As we eat they unload our bikes and chain them to a tree. After lunch we hop back into the van with Jeff and Lee and set off for another river access point. There they unload the raft, hand us life jackets, and help us into the raft. Jeff climbs into back of the raft and mans the oars. He expertly guides the raft down the Provo River amid kayakers and tubers. This gentle float gives us yet another perspective of the canyon. When we reach our picnic spot Jeff beaches the raft and helps us ashore. Lee is there with the van and trailer. They load up the raft and our bicycles and return us to the campground. What a fun, relaxing day.
Friday morning we drive into Park City to meet our guide for the Park City Signature Collection Hikes. Coulton is there waiting for us so we hop into the van and set off. He drives us past Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resorts. We stop at a small lake with an encircling footpath which provides an easy, scenic stroll. The second hike leads to a scenic overlook above Park City while the final hike is along an unimproved trail that overlooks a silver mine. As we drive back to our meeting point we discover that there is an art festival in downtown Park City that has snarled all incoming traffic. Main Street is closed for the weekend festival and parking is already an issue. We decide to delete Park City exploration from our plans and head back to Heber City for some pool time instead.
The remainder of our time here is spent either enjoying the campground amenities or exploring the nearby towns of Midway and Orem. We’ll just have to see Park City some other time.
