But for half a century now, a KOA Campground has thrived along the north side of that busy thoroughfare. Across the street from Rocky Mountain Power's corporate offices, tucked behind the Old Bottling House private club and a car wash, the campground has more than 600 spaces for monster motor homes, smaller recreational vehicles (RVs), manufactured housing and tent sites, stretching back to the Jordan River, which forms the rear boundary.

The campground has become a year-round home to senior citizens evicted from other motor home parks razed when their underlying real estate became too valuable for the homes. It annually attracts scores of RV owners who put down roots for months at a time. Georgians Glenn and Julia Smith, for instance, have used it as a winter base for skiing during the past 18 years.

Construction workers find its monthly housing rates affordable while they work jobs along the Wasatch Front. So do genealogists looking for ancestors in LDS Church-collected records. Out-of-town sports fans frequently pull in for a couple of nights when their teams play the University of Utah. An endless succession of U.S. and foreign tourists also stop in for single nights, some plopping down tents, while on treks to discover America.

And for those who have loved ones receiving treatment at Primary Children's Medical Center or another Salt Lake City hospital, the KOA's medical discount makes it possible for them to stay close for daily visits. And to wait. And to hope.

"We are in a most unusual position for a campground," acknowledged Victoria Orme, who has managed the park for 21 years along with her former husband, Doug.

The fact that a divorced couple can work side-by-side in the front office reflects the amicable atmosphere that pervades the park and keeps people such as the Smiths coming back year after year.

"We came here in the summer of '89 on our way to Alaska," said Glenn Smith, excited to be 80 because it meant he qualified to ski free at Alta. "We met some nice folks here. We'd been skiing Breckenridge, Keystone and Copper Mountain [in Colorado], but after we experienced the campground and the ski runs here, we decided to come back every year."

June Giles has been a full-time resident even longer - 19 years. And the 79-year-old has no plans to move. "I enjoy it here," she said. "They protect us elderly ladies and gentlemen. They keep the park clean. They respect the elderly, and I'm very happy with them."

Developed in the mid-1950s, the campground was purchased in 1974 by Jim and June Menlove. Their children now run facility, which has expanded multiple times and adds new features annually.

"They are the greatest family, so cool," said Victoria Orme. "Every year they re-invest in the property, and it's gotten nicer and nicer."

Just last year, the park added a pavilion that provides coverage for 150 people. There was a Monday night s'mores party last summer, with inspirational story-telling for a chocolate/marshmallow/graham cracker treat. The installation of a sound system and movie screen will result in Friday night shows this summer.

The campground has basketball and volleyball courts, a couple of playgrounds, two swimming pools and a hot tub, three laundries and a game room, a barbershop, wireless Internet access, a grocery store and a close relationship with adjacent restaurants.

"It's our little gold mine," La Morena Cafe owner Maria Ramirez said of the campground, saying most residents know her husband, Manuel, will always "cook them a plate that will make them think they'll never need to eat again."

Best of all, said Orme, a community has formed around the campground.

She looks forward to seeing people who return every year. To her, they're not just customers but folks "who you have to come out from behind the counter for, to give them a hug."

And when first-timers pull in, sometimes overcome with road buzz, she knows that staffers such as Jenny Craigmiles (one of 12 in the summer, five in the winter) have been trained to make them feel welcome.

After all, Orme said, "it's our job to take the road dust off them and make them happy."

mikeg@sltrib.com