Our next destination was Lakeside RV Campground in Provo, Utah – the home of Brigham Young University located just south of Salt Lake City. Topographically, Provo fills the gap between Utah Lake and the western slope of the Wasatch Range, providing some lovely backdrops to those strolling around the BYU campus.
Upon arrival, we realized that we had once again misjudged our new campsite based on its name. However, unlike the unexpectedly capable OK RV Park in Moab, “Lakeside” RV Campground surprised to the downside. As the quotations suggest, “lakeside” was not quite the most accurate way to describe this RV park – “lake adjacent” would even be stretching it. Lake Utah was not visible from the campground and a fee was required just to get to the lake via the nearby Utah Lake State Park.
After some grumbling under our breath, we paid up and made our way towards the lake. Although the pictures turned out alright, in the moment, we definitely regretted our decision to enter the park. Let’s just say, the admission money didn’t appear to be going towards much general upkeep. The trash cans and dumpsters were overflowing with garbage, the bathrooms were disgusting, and the tall, unmown grass was a breading ground for all sorts of flying insects.
Thankfully, this was the low point (both literally and figuratively) during our time in Provo. The next evening, we took a slow drive through campus on our way to hike the popular Top of the “Y” Trail. Prominently featured on the mountainside east of town, this impressive figure-Y made of white rocks was originally constructed by BYU’s class of 1906 (classic zany Mormon youngsters) and can be seen for miles making it one of Provo’s noteworthy landmarks. Although the hike isn’t particularly long, it’s what Sam likes to call a “booty buster” thanks to the rapid elevation change.
With the help of a few motivational speeches and a healthy number of breaks, we finally made it to the top! We were beginning to accumulate quite the collection of scenic views during our short time on the road.
Feeling thoroughly accomplished, we made our way back home to whip up some grub. The evening’s menu consisted of some grilled asparagus and barbeque chicken topped off with a generous heap of buttery rice.
Thankfully, we invested in this little Weber propane grill about a month or two before embarking on our journey. To say we’ve gotten our money’s worth is a massive understatement. In less than a year, I’d estimate that we have cooked out 50+ times and mastered several of our grilled favorites in the process.
In our next post, we’ll pick back up on our trip through northeastern Utah as we make our way through the Salt Lake metro towards Ogden.