Ockey Family Adventures: Bear Lake Day 1

Our first vacation of the virus year was a short trip to Bear Lake. We got a deal on a wagon at Conestoga Ranch, but there were a few problems. The first problem was that we couldn't get multiple nights at the ranch. We solved that by adding two nights at the Ferlan's house. The second problem was that it was freezing cold and a bit stormy when we woke up to leave for the trip. That didn't stop us from hitting the road early, though.

We drove directly to Hyrum Canyon in Cache County because we wanted to try a new waterfall hike. The drive was so beautiful, we were really excited when we finally reached the trailhead. We were extra excited to see a bunch of baby skunks along the drive. It was only a little muddy, and though we had several slips, we found the waterfall, and the rain passed us by. It was a really nice waterfall, too, the thirty-sixth we have visited in Utah!

We saw a family of skunks! They were adorable.

Dad was "horrified" to see so many skunks running around!

We hike in all types of weather!

We spotted this beautiful golden eagle.

Since it was so wet, we saw lots of big worms.

The boys were excellent hikers!

We found a fun chair made out of rocks.

There was a fun teepee to check out on this hike.

Dad likes to get right under the waterfalls!

It was a beautiful waterfall!

We loved how green it was!

Mom fell and got quite muddy!

Mark is almost taller than Mom (he is standing on a rock in this pic).

Jolly Ranchers change are our hiking treat!

After lunch in the van on the drive back to Logan, we stopped at the zoo. The boys love buying bird food so that they can feed the ducks. They did plenty of that, but they also fed a few larger birds. Their favorite was the pelican. He couldn't swallow the tiny nuggets, but he would open his mouth and beg for them just like the other birds! The sandhill cranes cried for food so loudly that we had to cover our ears! We had a great time seeing all the other animals, too.

We always enjoy a stop at Zootah.

We love feeding the birds.

Seth was the most excited to feed the babies.

Dax takes awhile to warm up, but he finally fed the ducks.

The pelican was the funniest of all!

We checked in at Conestoga Ranch and went over to our free power bike ride. We made a deal to ride and promote some electric bikes, and even though it was getting late, we headed over to the shop. Just as Dad and Seth got outfitted and started down the road, the rain and cold came up. Before they could get turned around and back to the shop, they were soaked. No one else even got to ride. We knew we needed another adventure.

We loved staying in the wagons.

It was so fun inside, too!

Dad got soaked, but had fun!

Luckily, there's nothing like a trip to the Bear Lake Bird Refuge. We started off really well, spotting a bittern before we even got on the road. It was so cool to see. In seconds, it sidled back into the grass across the river and disappeared. It turned out to be a really good day on the refuge. We saw a few baby animals, including some different kinds of ducks. One favorite was a ruddy duck doing a strange bouncing type of dance, but there were also herons, cranes, pelicans, and osprey. There were even some beautiful rainbows. It turned out to be a pretty great night despite the rain and cold.