Wednesday, October 19, 2011 (Palisade State Park, Sterling, Utah)

We woke to clear sky...but it was pretty chilly out there!  It was going to be a beautiful day.  We had our usual leisurely start to the day. Steve decided not to do his weightlifting because his back was quite sore so I did my resistance exercises while he had his shower.

It was shortly after 10am when we decided to head out for a walk around the lake.  It was such a beautiful morning...

That is our rig in the background...

We have the whole beach area all to ourselves...

The valley on the other side of the dam...

Walking along the end of the lake where it is dammed  up...

Here is a little history of Palisade..."Funk’s Lake was created in 1873 by enterprising pioneer Daniel B. Funk, who wanted surrounding settlers to have a place to relax and recreate. At that time the valley was owned by a small group of Sanpitch Indians led by Chief Arapeen. Mr. Funk bargained with the chief and obtained a long patent from the government. He then set about the arduous task of building an earthen dam and diverting part of Six-Mile Creek to fill the lake. The lake quickly became a well-known pleasure resort, now called Palisade."

Very nice this time of year but I understand it gets very busy in the summer time...

As we were passing the park entrance, we came across the attendant that was just heading out in the golf cart they use to get around the park.  We asked her if there were any maps of the trails, so she opened the gate-house and gave us an ATV trail map along with some other info on the area.  She asked us what campsite we were in and that is when we found out that our site was reserved for tomorrow night...sheesh!  I guess she was just going around to all the reserved sites and making notes on them.  Why couldn’t she have done that yesterday?  Well, I guess that means that we are leaving tomorrow.  I guess with the weekend coming up, people are reserving the waterfront sites...it looks like all the choice ones (like the one we are in) are reserved for the weekend.  We also found out that it is a school holiday Thursday and Friday so we may have problems getting a campsite anywhere this weekend.

Before returning to our site, we checked out the golf course.  I was hoping they would have Wi-Fi in the clubhouse/restaurant but no such luck.  Judging by the number of cars in the parking lot, there were quite a few golfers out on the course today.

Back at the trailer, Steve settled in his chair to enjoy the sunshine and read the maps and brochures we had just received.  I thought I would bring the laptop outside and see if I had a better chance of getting an internet signal using my Rocket Stick.  But I was unsuccessful...all I have managed was a brief connection last night that enabled me to check our email.

With the screen too hard to see outside, I decided to take it inside and sit at the kitchen table and work on our budget spreadsheet...work...work...work! 

Shortly after 2pm we decided to head out on another hike...this time we headed out on a trail that went up the mountain behind the campground...alongside the golf course.  Absolute incredible views...we were on the crest of the mountain so we could see both valleys....

Hmmm....which path should I take down?...

On the way back we decided to walk the trail that goes to the adjoining mountain...more fabulous views...

We walked back along the lakefront trail...we had a good hour a half walk.  It was now time to relax in our chairs.  Another tough day at "the office"...

We spent the evening watching TV...I also sat at the kitchen table with the laptop for awhile trying to get an internet signal.  It was very frustrating to say the least...I would manage a fleeting connection for a couple of minutes and then it would be gone.  I finally gave up.  Hopefully we’ll get a signal at our next stop...but I doubt it...we’ve set our next destination as Dead Horse Point State Park about 30 miles northwest of Moab, Utah.