Katie & Todd Blake

Almost one year ago to the day, Katie and I had our first date as an engaged couple. The adventure was to go canoeing up at Mirror Lake. This time, however, we wouldn't just go up for the day. We would actually be spending the night. We were goin'campin'.


Though I would have presumed Katie to be a very outdoorsy type of girl (she does drive a Suburu WITH a 'Life is Good' bumper sticker) she told me that she really isn't that big a fan. My philosophy is that those who don't like camping just haven't done it the right way. So, we loaded up the canoe and set off for the weekend into the High Uinta mountains of Utah.











We left just after work on Friday, so by the time we made it to the camp grounds they were full. We ended up driving for over an hour (and almost into Wyoming) before we found a spot. Thankfully, however, it ended up being a fantastic place! It was dark when we got there, so we had to do our camp setup and cooking by lantern light. But, thanks to the a little elbow-grease, we had everything done relatively fast. Katie made the best foil dinner I've ever eaten, and we had about 4 inches of padding for our bed that night. I think it was a combination of the full stomachs, plush bedding, and the little stream next to our tent that helped us to sleep so well.












We woke up in the morning refreshed and excited for the day. Thanks to Katie's bear-repelling techniques like clacking sticks together and putting our garbage in the front of the truck and locking the doors, we didn't have any visitors in the night. Hooray! We set about making breakfast. I made German pancakes and Katie made campfire bananas with Rollos. It was great. I like to think that it was because of the fiery intensity that I chopped the wood that made the fire burn so well, which in turn made the food cook better. But I could be wrong.





















After breakfast, we packed everything up and headed for Mirror Lake. Just before we left it started to rain just a bit, which made us worry about whether or not it would get worse just as we got to the lake. Luckily, the rain let up just as we got there. The shoreline was choked with visitors, but we pretty much had the open water to ourselves. During the process of trying to take pictures we almost flipped the boat, but we were able to get a couple nice ones here and there.





























On the way home, we stopped by Provo River Falls. It's a very impressive cascading water fall that has three different 30ft drops in just under a quater-mile stretch. That may not seem great for some, but in Utah it's pretty unique. It was the perfect way to end the best camping trip ever. And, since this one went so well, there is a good chance there will be more in the future. Keep an eye out for us in a campground near you!