Summer ‘24 Week 3

Hi all. We just completed week 3 of our 8-week summer 2024 road trip. Here’s an update on our exciting week.

At the end of last week, we were finishing up our stay in Virgin, Utah. From there we headed North on I-15. Our first stop was a one-night stay at the Fillmore KOA Journey in Fillmore, UT. We weren’t expecting much, given it’s just a “Journey” park, and it’s kind of in the middle of nowhere. But, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the park was well shaded with mature trees (which was good since it was hot, and we still had a broken bedroom air conditioner). The park had easy access from/to I-15, and was nice and quiet (a mostly empty park, and with no noticeable freeway noise). It was one of the better KOA “Journey” parks we’ve stayed at.

Our site at the Fillmore KOA Journey in Fillmore, UT.

Plenty of shade to help keep us cool at the Fillmore KOA Journey

After Fillmore, we spent two nights at the Mountain Valley RV Resort in Heber City, UT. This is a park I really love. We had previously stayed here during our summer 2022 trip, and I was happy to be back. We stayed in the “adults only” section of the park again, which has long and wide pull through sites. There are two grassy dog parks, including a really large one in the section of the park where we stayed. Rosie had a great time playing with other dogs in the park. The weather was the best we’d had on the trip so far, in the eighties during the day, and low sixties at night.

On our day off in Heber (after the first night), we drove up a windy mountain road in Wasatch Mountain State Park to “Cascade Springs”, and did a nice hike there. At Cascade Springs, millions of gallons of water percolate out of the rocks each day, and traverse different levels of ponds, before flowing into the nearby river. The hike is short (less than 2 miles round trip), and there are lots of informative signs along the trail providing details about the area, the water, and the wildlife in and around the park.

After the hike, we drove to Main Street, Park City (about 20 miles from Heber City), had a nice lunch at Collie’s Sports Bar & Grill, then spent the afternoon checking out all the Main Street shops. For dinner, we went back to our RV, and got yummy take out from the Back 40 Ranch House Grill in Heber. Then I did a 11 mile bike ride around Heber City in the evening.

Our side at Mountain Valley RV Resort in Heber City, UT

Hiking at Cascade Springs. Heber City, UT

Andrea and Rosie on our Cascade Springs hike.

Nice evening for a bike ride in Heber City, UT

After Heber City, our next stop was the Park City RV Resort, in the Kimball Junction area of Park City, UT, only about 22 miles from where we were in Heber City. This is a park we stayed at last year, and we chose to move the short distance from Heber City to Park City in order to be even closer to my family that lives in Salt Lake City, UT. Our Park City stop was the longest stay so far for us (5 nights). We had one of the pull-in sites, that overlooks the meadow below, and has nice views of the mountain across the river. It also had a large patio which was great for when we hosted a family BBQ dinner one of the nights we were there. The weather in Park City was perfect, especially at night when we were actually a bit cold for the first time on this trip (in the 50s).

On the first day in Park City, we finally managed to get a mobile RV tech to come out and diagnose our broken air conditioner. Turns out the compressor had failed, and the best way to get it fixed quickly was to order a brand new air conditioner, rather than try to fix the broken one. There was no replacement units available in SLC, so the RV tech ordered one, and it was supposed to show up in time for him to install it on our last day in Park City.

The main reason we were staying in Park City for 5 nights, is that it was my dad’s 85th birthday weekend, and we wanted to be there to celebrate with him. One of our sons (Jordan) and his fiancé (Juliet) came from California, and my sister’s two adult kids also came (from Seattle). We had a great time with the extended family, and enjoyed multiple dinners together, a birthday brunch, as well as some hiking and shopping. We spent an afternoon at Brighton Ski Resort, where they were having an outdoor crafts fair. And we were able to leave Rosie at my sister’s house (with her dog Chilly) a few times so that we could do some non dog-friendly activities (like eating inside a restaurant). I also did a 22 mile bike ride around Park City on their beautiful paved bike trails. Overall, it was a nice break from being on the road, and we were happy to get to spend quality time with the family.

Our site at the Park City RV Resort. Park City, UT

The view out our windshield at Park City RV Resort. Park City, UT.

A view of our Park City RV Resort site from below.

Visiting with family at Park City RV Resort.

Relaxing in my hammock at Park City RV Resort.

Rosie visiting with Chilly at my sister’s house in Salt Lake City, UT.

On our last day in Park City, we hung around the RV waiting for the air conditioner to arrive and get installed. When it did finally arrive in SLC, it was too late to do the install that day. So we decided we needed to add an additional one-night stop-over in the area. We choose to move about 60 miles to the Springville/Provo KOA Journey for one night, and have the repair tech do the install there. That means that we will only be staying for two nights at our next stop, Moab, Utah, instead of the three nights we originally planned. The KOA in Provo isn’t all that exciting, but it does mean our drive to Moab will be 60 miles shorter than originally planned. I am happy to report that the install went well, and we once again have two working air conditioners, just in time for the expected triple digit heat of Moab.

Our site at Springville/Provo KOA Journey. Provo, UT

Springville/Provo KOA Journey. Provo, UT

Old AC unit gone. About to get the new one installed.

So, that’s it for week 3. We had loads of fun with family, enjoyed some cooler weather, and got our AC fixed just in time for some warmer days ahead. Next week, we start in Moab, UT, then on to four exciting destinations in Colorado. I’ll update you all next week. Thank for following along on our journey.