Strawberry Reservoir | Utah

 

This is a very small area of the Strawberry Reservoir.  For those who are curious, I never saw any strawberries growing around here.  There are 7 campgrounds scattered around this part of the lake.  Out of those, only 1 has hookups, for people who must have air conditioning and other comforts.

 

My first site was overlooking the marina, of course.  Most days started out sunny and then started to cloud up midday.  This was sunset light, sometimes the best times to take shots.  Below is a little ground squirrel, they seem to be shy in this area.

I have no idea what kind of birds are, but I just like the shot.

 

This gives an idea how far away some of these campgrounds area.  I stayed in this campground the second time I was here this summer.

 

 

An old boat dock was in this little cove, but it has been retired. 

 

 

Following are photos during the second visit to this area this summer.  Just a different loop in the campground, different views.  I think I liked the views on my second visit more than the first visit.

 

 

 

 

 

Clouds sometimes create great sunsets. 

 

Forest Fires | Soldier Creek Forest Service Campground | Utah

Soldier Creek Campground belongs to the Forest Service, it is part of the Strawberry Reservoir but it took about 12 miles to get to the this side.  It's a very nice campground, and I had a really scenic spot overlooking a part of the lake - this is my view right out my door.

Unfortunately, the view from the back window gave me a front seat to view the fires.  This was pretty much the scene for the first few days.  I wasn't really concerned because I was told that it was about 2-3 canyons away from the campground.  Besides, there was lots of water in the lake and a good portion of it was between the campground and the opposite shore. 

For a few days, I watched two of these seaplanes land on the water, run for quite a while and then take off to circle to the fire.  They were loading water from the lake into those pontoons and then going to dump it onto the fire.  They always worked in pairs and I was told that they do that so one could go in low and the other goes in high to douse the flames.

Even after working at this for about 3 days, for 5-6 hours each day, the fire was still going, and getting really smoky when the wind shifted.

When the wind shifted, the campground was full of smoke - and ash!  Tiny flakes were floating from the sky and landing all over everything.  Still, we were in no danger because the fire itself was far away.  Below is a long shot of one of the helicopters that appeared as the smoke fog came in.  This is a really long zoom, and with all the smoke in the air, you can just see the helicopter itself and the bucket they're filling from the lake, which he then dumps on the fire. 

After 2 days, the wind shifted again and we were back to clear air again.  The fire was still burning, but it had certainly decreased in size.  There were still hot spots that were flaring up and the workers on the ground were dealing with them.

I was talking to the camp host one day and we recalled "Smokey the Bear", which was a big campaign decades ago.  Ads would be on television and in print publications, as well as signs along the highway.  I'm not sure why this campaign was stopped years ago, because certainly people still need to be educated about fire prevention.  This year has brought us major forest fires that have raged for thousands of acres. 

Two years ago, I visited the Smokey the Bear museum in Capitan, New Mexico.  The displays showed all the signs, posters and all sorts of information about how to deal with campfires, and fire safety in general.  A small bear cub was rescued in a forest fire years ago, which is where the Smokey the Bear mascot came from. 

Little animals, like the ones below at this campground, and larger animals that are rarely seen, are killed by forest fires if they can't get away fast enough from an approaching fire.  Homes are lost, as well as some fire workers. 

Across the lake from the fire, right my area, people were still out in boats and enjoying the day.

At the campground, it was business as usual, I was hiking around finding pretty scenery and other people were enjoying their stay. 

This was a bit of a hazy day, but I love the wind ripples on water.

I took a drive to the opposite of the lake, the road was snaking along the side of the mountain, but at least they had guardrails.

The scenery was pretty, but you could tell the haze had blotted out the blue sky that you'd normally see.

Unless you were facing away from the fire.

By the time I left this area, the fires were out and the air was clear all over!



Boondocking | National Forest Service | Arizona

The photo above shows how the Forest Service gets ready for a burn.  I don't know if this entire area will be a controlled burn, or if they are just clearing the area of deadfall.  I have been helping in my own little way by gathering wood for campfires while I'm here.

I have been boondocking in the National Forest near Jacob Lake, Arizona for the past week.  I found this site on a website called freecampsites.net.  The site I am camp at is just about 1 mile from the main road road headed to the north rim of the Grand Canyon.  There are many others in the area along Forest Road 461, but this one was the easiest to get to.

The photo above shows Jacob Lake.  I was expecting something more picturesque since the area is named for this lake.  It is totally fenced in and there are signs that say no trespassing.

This is the restored original Forest Ranger post from the early 1900s.  Unfortunately I never got to see the inside since it was always closed.

When I first got here it rained for about 4 days.  I did find out you can see a rainbow in the middle of a forest, as you can see below.

I have been told by another camper that there is a resident hawk flying around, but I have not seen it. I've been trying to get a good picture of the local squirrel.  This squirrel is only seen in this area of the north rim of the Grand Canyon and he's very distinctive since he has a big fluffy white tail.

I am so glad that campers share the good camping areas they find so that others can enjoy them.  And, it's great to have the technology to be able to share this information on a large scale.

Red Canyon | Utah

If you're headed to Bryce Canyon National Park from the west, you will pass through the Red Canyon.  Before you get to the Red Canyon, you're driving through nice green meadows with patches of trees.  Then, all of a sudden, you're driving through red rock formations similar to the one above.

The campground is right off the road in the middle of all these rock formations and hills.  From my campsite I could see a panorama of beautiful red rocks.  There were hiking trails from which you could see amazing views.  The campsite itself was great - $9 with a Senior Pass.  Showers are available, as well as rest rooms and water.  Another great National Forest Service park.

There are other very steep hikes you could take that bring you into the middle of these formations that are called hoodoos.

As I was exploring this area I saw a sign about some tunnels.  When they made the road they drilled right through some of these rock formations.  There were two of those quite close together.  Luckily they are tall enough for large RVs to fit through.

This area is very stunning and as you keep going, the red rock formations disappear and you get meadows again.  Until you get to Bryce Canyon which is quite close, but I haven't been into the park yet.