2016 Off-Road Adventure -Marysvale, Utah (Elevation 5,863)

11^th day (Monday, June 27^th) Left Fillmore, Utah and headed southeast to Marysvale, Utah (population 400) http://www.marysvale.org/history.htm. Got here around 2pm. It was a might hot, got to 99 degrees. It’s expected to be 95 tomorrow, however, the remainder of the week it will be a little cooler  (or should I say less hot)

After setting up camp I checked out fellow campers to see who had Quads. I’m looking for someone to go riding with, don’t really want to head out on the trails on my own, Michelle and Andre’ would reprimand me. I took a small ride within sight of the RV Park just to get the layout of the area and to take a few pictures.

Tonight I decided to treat myself to some good old home cooking. I menu follows:

(1)         16 oz steak, slightly seasoned with Montreal Steak           seasoning.

(2)         Large Baked potato topped with butter, white Tillamook cheddar cheese and fresh onions.

(3)         Beringer White Zinfandel wine (2014) in my favorite 1950’s vintage Perma Hues anodized aluminum tumbler (red), I can remember as a kid how cool aide tasted so much better in those tumblers.

(4)         Desert was one of Kim’s oatmeal cookies (I’m not sure I will have any left after July)

With breakfast in mind, I only ate ½ of the steak and baked potato. Looking forward to eggs, steak and hash browns topped off with a fresh cup of coffee. I may even have enough steak left over for a nice sandwich also. Heck, live doesn’t get any better then this.

"Camp all Set up"

"Scenery from the RV park"

"Dinner ,Yum Yum"

12^th day (Tuesday, June 28^th) After breakfast I decided to walk around the park while enjoying my coffee. I got as far as my next-door neighbors, real nice folks, Steve & Kathy are from Tennessee, Their daughter Monyeen and her husband Keith are from California. We talked for a spell and I ended up being invited to ride with them. I'm always fortunate to meet up with wonderful fun loving folks.

We explored Edna Peak (elevation 11,640) and the Silver King Mine region (elevation 10,000) via Beaver, Spring Gulch and Deer Creek trails. http://www.marysvale.org/history/silver_king.htm

for a total of 66 dirt miles.  Edna Peak by far had the best scenery while the silver King trails provided a better riding challenge. 

" Edna Peak"

 

"Silver King Mine"
Below left  picture (from Left to Right) Steve, Kathy, Monyeen and Keith. 

They are the neighbors, acquaintances, friends (Inside joke) I have been riding with.

In the summer of 1987 Brigham Daniel Darger married Pansy Permelia Brown and moved into this cabin located at the mine. They lived downstairs and 6 to 10 hired miners lived upstairs. Originally, the only way into the loft was by an exterior staircase on the west end of the cabin so the newlyweds had some privacy

The remains of this log cabin are a mystery. The door is not very tall and the walls did not extend much higher than they are now. The absence of manure and the presence of chinking between the logs inside the cabin suggests that it was not a stable or corral. The out house just reminded me of the one we used up until I was 20 (1970) so I took a picture.
 

On our return route we came across Deer Creek Ghost Town, http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/ut/deercreek.html not sure if it was originally a real town (I think it was restored for tourism purposes), didn’t matter, made for some interesting conversations and great pictures. The town even had a corral full of well-fed burros.

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13^th day (Wednesday, June 29^th) From our campsite we could see TV and radio antennas way up on a mountaintop so we decided to plot a trail to reach the top.

The trails we used were part of the Paiute and National Forest system so they were well maintained. In some places they had just graded them. The areas we travel through had names like, Dry Creek Canyon, Box Creek reservoir, Monroe Meadows, and Manning Meadows. Elevation at the top was 11,260. We started getting a little concerned, there was a storm rolling in, it totally missed us.

On the way back we ran into a sheepherder moving his sheep to a new grazing pasture.  Was weird to see them at the 10,000-foot elevation. The trails were so nice we were able to open up our Quads a little (45 to 55). We clocked in 94 dirt miles. I will let the pictures show the beauty of the scenery.

This is the Mountains as seen from our campsite. The antennas are located in the top center of the pictures 

14^th day (Thursday, June 30^th) Today we decided to rest up so we sat around the campsite and just chatted and shared family stories.  Keith is a real charter (in a good way) so I laughed most of the time; I finally met someone that can match my quick wit.

15^th day (Friday, July 1^st) Today we plotted a ride over towards the Freemont Indian State Park.  Steve & Kathy drove via vehicle to meet us, the rest of use went over the mountains with our Quads. I had already visited the area during our overnight trip from Fillmore the week prior. From Marysvale it only took us an hour to reach the State park.  We visited the Freemont Indian museum then headed back to the campground via a different route.  We found some old mines to explore and traveled through some rough hilly terrain.  Some of the trails were not clearly indicated on the maps we had, so it was a good thing Mooyeen was using the GPS. She is an amazing navigator, always gets us back home, may take a while but we get there. All week long I have been looking at a big hill right next to our campground, well I decided it was time to climb it. My little RZR 800 just ate that hill right up. Today we clocked in 52 dirt miles.

Time to climb the hill

16^th day (Saturday, July 2^nd) Steve and Kathy left  early this morning. Rain was in the forecast so we did not ride. Keith & Monyeen decided to leave late afternoon. We washed our Quads; I did laundry and got things ready to depart tomorrow morning. Good thing we did not ride, a massive thunder and lightening storm passed through this area, it lasted over 2 hours. I can just imagine how stormy it was in the high eleCvations.

I had an amazing time with my new friends (riding partners) It’s great when you meet people and you feel totally comfortable with them immediately.  I feel like I spent the last 5 days smiling and laughing. Thank you Kathy, Steve, Monyeen and Keith.

Sunday I leave for Mackay, Idaho.  I will be on the road for 2 ½ days; I get there around 4pm on the 5^th of July.