This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It's often easy to take Utah's incredible beauty for granted.
That thought occurred Thursday. A cousin from England came to visit and had never seen the High Uintas.
So, on a moment's notice, we joined my goofy labradoodle Lucy in the truck and headed up Highway 150 to Kamas, Bald Mountain and, of course, Mirror Lake.
Driving this road has been a summer ritual for me for as long as I can remember.
Sometimes, it's just a day trip for fishing. There have been times we've parked and backpacked into the Kamas Lake or Naturalist Basin. I've interviewed deer hunters in the fall or battled mosquitoes while camped at Trial Lake.
As a kid, I went to Camp Roger in the Soapstone Basin. Last summer, I took my three grandkids fishing at Mirror Lake. I also have snowmobiled up the road and gone cross country skiing near Yellow Pine in the winter.
Mostly, though, I take a short day trip like the one I did with Charles and Lucy Thursday. This involves a stop at the Provo River Falls, a picnic at Mirror Lake, chats with visiting tourists, anglers and sightseers and stops at overlooks for Hayden Peak and Bald Mountain.
On Thursday, while we ate lunch at Mirror Lake, a retired biology teacher from Woods Cross gave us an interesting lecture about a plant called skunk weed that he said was being studied as a cure for cancer. He was a delightful, knowledgeable guy and like everyone we met, friendly.
I watched trout jump on the calm waters of Mirror Lake and secretly wished I'd brought my fishing rod with me.
The highway and campgrounds weren't crowded. Lucy, an outgoing mutt, was a hit with folks on the trails and turnoffs, who wanted to pet her and ask what kind of dog she was.
Charles and I ended the day stopping at the old Kamas drug store soda fountain on Main Street where we had two wonderful milk shakes while sitting on a bench and watching the world go past.
The whole day took about five hours. We returned to Salt Lake refreshed and amazed that such an incredible place could be so close to home.
Now, my summer is complete.
Twitter @tribtomwharton