Still cold!

That's right, it's still cold here in Clearfield, Ut.  Not that it isn't supposed to be because it's Utah, right?  But I was hopin' that it wouldn't be so cold at this point.  Yes, we could get the moho cranked up and head south, but that just isn't in the cards right now.  So I guess I've got to suck it up and find ways to stay warm.  No, I'm not gonna start shoveling snow again while the snow blower is working, because the snow blower is faster than shoveling, and does a better job as well.  Yesterday, I used the snow blower for about 20 minutes or so, and found that I was sweating when I was done.  There, I can stay warm doing that.  That lasts for about 20 minutes or so, but only when there is new snow, and that isn't in the weather forecast for the next week.  So, I'm still stuck with sucking it up.  Maybe I'll try sucking it up with long underwear on while I stay inside...

The Travelogue - The end of June 2012

Ok, the BIG annual event happening in Garden City, Ut., is Raspberry Days which is held on the first Saturday in August every year, along with the Thursday and Friday before.  As there are many raspberry fields in that area, it's only natural that they'd celebrate the berry as it enhances the economy, and it's good for ya also being high in fiber, manganese, and vitamin C.  There are a few small eateries in Garden City and in the surrounding area that sell raspberry milkshakes, among many other flavors as well.  Most of those eateries serve various other fare as well, but what impressed me a bunch are how the milkshakes are so thick, AND they make them "over the top".  At first, I didn't know what that meant, and the best I could come up with is that they are over the top with flavor, or something along those lines.  But I was wrong, and found out that the milkshakes are made in such a way that they are up to an inch higher than the top of the cup when they're served, kinda like these...

... except they're thicker than these by a long shot.  As a matter of fact, when these thick shakes are made, they look like they've been molded that way.   Now because of what I'm saying here about these milkshakes, it may open up a bunch of comments about how I haven't been to very much of the country because somebody might have seen them somewhere else, and know about them already.  Ok.  So be it, I haven't been to much of the country.  But I'm still hoping to see a bunch more.  Maybe I'll even see other places that have milkshakes over the top there also.  And if they had raspberry milkshakes, the journey there would be that much better. 

...Not quite sure how I managed to get from Raspberry Days to milkshakes that are over the top, but I did.  And in the process, I failed to mention the different festivities that we missed while we were there, which would be the parade, beauty pageant, fun run, fireworks and other things which would be mentioned on the website linked above.  In spending time with other Utahns, we were able to find that many people enjoy going there and have a great time.  So if you're ever in the area around the 1st weekend of August, I suggest that you take part and see the festival.  Get a raspberry milkshake also, ok?

Other things that we saw at Bear Lake are lighthouses.  I don't think they all work though.  Here's one:

It's located on the SW corner of Bear Lake, near a few buildings called Pickleville, so it's called the Pickleville lighthouse.  Next to the Pickleville lighthouse is the Pickleville Playhouse, which isn't where a bunch of people go to play as much as people go there to see plays and/or eat dinner as dinner is served there for those who want to have dinner also.  If you click on the link, you'll be able to find prices and what's playing there.  If you're able to find something on the Pickleville lighthouse, please pass it on to me.  I'm thinking that it was made to promote the housing development that is near there, but it's also possible that I could be wrong.  Kinda slight though, right?

There are other lighthouses also with one being inoperable and two others that are working.  The one that isn't operable is north of Garden City on the west side of the lake and is visible from the road as you travel north on highway 89, but I don't remember exactly where.  But in Garden City, Harbor Village Resort has a working lighthouse, and on the east side of Bear Lake at Bear Lake Aquatics Base, which is run by the Boy Scouts, there is another lighthouse which is operable as well.  For more information about these lighthouses, go to this link.  I mentioned lighthouses previously when we were in Celina, Oh., and when we got here, we just thought it was kinda neat that there were more lighthouses on Bear Lake, even though we didn't think that they were really that necessary.  But apparently they are.  In talking with folks that live in Garden City, there have been storms that came up quite quickly, and I suppose that if a boater was on the lake just prior to the sun going down and a storm came up, there may be some degree of difficulty in getting back to a marina, and those lighthouses might come in handy to guide those boaters in.  But since I'm not a boater, I don't know that stuff.  Any thoughts on having lighthouses on that lake from anyone?

The pictures that I used a couple of posts ago (26 degrees...) were taken at the Bear Lake overlook (on highway 89 also) after we'd been at Bear Lake for a couple of weeks, and we wanted to get out and see some of the sights around the lake.  The overlook is well equipped with the usual restrooms, and tourist information and was manned when we went there.  Here's a picture of a fine looking gentleman

standing in front of the overlook facility.  Not quite sure why the fine looking gentleman was looking so dour, have to as him about it next time I see him.

And here's a picture of some of the wildlife that's at the overlook:

We'd been told that there were large wildlife in the area, namely moose, but all the time we were at Bear Lake, we never saw one.  Maybe because there aren't any moose feeders like there are for hummingbirds, ya think?  Imagine getting a picture of a moose in mid-step...  Naw, don't because it isn't anywhere near the same as a bird in mid-flight, anytime!  Having said that, it still would've been neat to see a moose.  Maybe somewhere else down the road.

As we drove around the lake, there were more than a handful of tractors, predominantly Farmall, and here is what one of them looks like.

As I recall, all of the Farmall tractors that we saw were red, and this one is at the boat rental facility at Bear Lake State Park, adjacent to the campground where we were camp hosting.  It was used to take the rental motorboats into the lake so they could be launched from the boat trailer the boats are stored on, and they were used because of the high ground clearance that the tractor has for the engine.  I'm guessing that at some point in time in the past, there was a Farmall dealer in the area, and anyone who needed a tractor would get it from that dealer.  Obviously, they were a good brand and continue to work well as I don't think that there were a lot of those tractors that were living in tall grass as we drove around the lake, indicating that they weren't used for some time.

The beach at Bear Lake State Park was pretty nice at the time, although the lake was high and had been that way for a couple of years when we got there.  Here's a picture of the beach at the park.

As you can see from the picture, the date is the 15th of July, 2012 at 11:27.  As this was a Sunday, there were usually more folks using the beach, so this was an easy day there.  Don't remember if the weather was inclement, although all we can see are little fluffy clouds below some hazy clouds.  Maybe everyone who was gonna go there heard about the Bear Lake Monster and didn't want to chance meeting up with it, ya think? 

So... what was the Bear Lake Monster?

Have a blessed day!