Utah Trip Part One
Although I was solo parenting while Dan was hunting, the kids and I had a blast soaking in the sun, and we enjoyed our stay at New Joes Campground and Joe’s Valley Reservoir!
As soon as we arrived in Utah we got set up at New Joes Campground. When I say set up, I really mean boon-docking! Joe’s campground is very remote, about 10-15 min from a town called Orangeville and this was our first dispersed or dry camping experience, which means zero hookups! No water, no sewer, no power. Luckily, we were prepared and we had a full tank of fresh water, and we made sure our sewer and Grey tanks were empty so they could hold everything until we were able to dump. Although we had no power, we did have the generator to run power for when I needed the Starlink for WiFi to work and charge or power our devices. It wasn’t all that bad, we also had propane for cooking, and nature was our entertainment.
Unfortunately, Dan left with our friend @linnea.and.akela for a few days to hunt and I was left to figure out life with a new pup, and two kids in the desert “alone”. We did have our friend Chris close by in case we needed anything. You may know him as @offgridskoolie or the man behind @tinyhometours! The kids and I found a local aquatic center to go to and that was a blast. We got to soak up the Utah sun! However, one day a guy came into camp that looked a little sketchy so the kids and I headed to the aquatic center. Chris said the guy ended up leaving, BUT when we returned to camp the guy was parked right by our campsite. Something didn’t sit right. I was overwhelmed, alone and scared, so the kids and I drove 2 hours to stay at a Hilton for 2 nights. Bougie, yes but I don’t care. My safety and my kid’s safety is my first priority. We ended up having a blast at the hotel! We went swimming, I took the kids to a movie at the local Megaplex theatre, and we even got to try Fatty’s restaurant! It was a great place to eat! It was so cute, and the service was great!
Dan came home a few days later. He felt bad for leaving, but life is all about balance, and we made it work. It was so good to have him back. We ended up moving our rig about 30 minutes away from the first campground to Joe’s Valley Reservoir. It was way more beautiful than our last spot and a little more civilized, but we still dry-camped. Once we were at Joe’s valley reservoir I officially started homeschooling with the kids! Aren’t their school pictures the cutest? I am loving The Good and The Beautiful curriculum, it makes it so easy to follow for first-time homeschool moms! We also snuck in some learning time on the Homer App! the kids loved riding their dirt bikes up the dirt roads and playing in the mud at the reservoir! After getting the kids cleaned up a little, we went on a family bike ride with our Aventon E-bikes. We have loved getting around the campgrounds with them! The family time was so nice, but Dan had to head back out to finish his hunt. Listen here!
The night before Dan was done hunting the kids and I were able to drive up to the top of the mountain to see where he and Linnea have been camping and hunting. It was such a beautiful drive and ended up being so fun to glass the mountainside and look for mule deer. We got to see where their base camp was set up with all their gear and food. It felt like we were on a season of alone or something, haha. When Dan got bad from hunting and it was time to head out we went back to the aquatic center to get showered before hitting the road. I’ll never regret getting a good shower in before travel days :)
It was a long week and a half solo parenting, and roughing it and we are finally ready to hit the road and explore more of Utah. Stay tuned for our NP adventures!
XOXO Sam