After leaving Lightner Creek Campground and heading north, I finally had my first stay at a Harvest Host, harvesthosts.com. If you haven't yet heard of this membership program yet, definitely check out their website, as I think you'll be intrigued. Essentially, once an RVer signs up for an annual membership, they are invited to stay at Host properties (often wineries, farms, museums, golf courses, etc.), without paying a camping fee. Guests are required to be in a self-contained unit and are generally expected to call ahead a day before they arrive and make a purchase at the business in exchange for overnight parking. The above photo is of Rowley's Red Barn in Santaquin, UT just south of Salt Lake City. It is a country store that has everything one would hope for. Homemade fudge and ice cream, farm produce, old fashioned candies, canned salsas and sauces, local cheeses, and pies. Everything looked so good that I spent way more than a night of camping, but I got some great stuff for dinner and to take home. Seemed like a win to me, all the way around. One other class b van showed up after I did (mine is the one closest to the store). It's right off the freeway, so I couldn't call it quiet, but there was no traffic on the street after the store closed. I found it an all-around excellent experience. In the morning I walked the dog, cleaned up, made some coffee, and hit the road.
My next stop on the drive home was Farewell Bend State Park. I hit some of the worst weather just outside of Boise, ID and was very glad to get to the park. There was a brutal hail storm that had everyone doing about 35mph on the freeway. It was really hard to keep the van between the lines in the wind. By the time I got to the park, I was exhausted. It is a nice park in the middle of exactly nowhere. It was Memorial Day weekend madhouse and everyone was having a great time. Tons of kids, tons of other dogs, and Litha got to meet her first ground squirrels. She was over the top overstimulated by all the activity and friendly people, kids, and wildlife. Definitely an opportunity for some practice... All of the fun being had for the holiday weekend and the smell of campfires and grills really made me wish I had reserved for two nights so it would be worth it to at least have a fire. I decided that going forward, I would try to plan enough time whenever I could so that I would actually have a night or two of camping along the way so I could at least have a campfire without having to pack out so early to get to my next destination.
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