Camping at Palisade State Park

We had a fun little camping trip to Palisade State Park in Manti in June.  We made early reservations to stay in a tent cabin at the park.  These are big canvas tents permanently set up on wooden platforms with a queen-sized bed, a double bed trundle, and a futon, plus a table and chairs inside.  It was really fun to be able to camp without worrying about setting up a tent, and while still sleeping in beds.

We left really late and didn't get to the park until after 8:00.  I worked on getting the beds set up while Ben got coals started so we could make dinner.  Everyone made a tin foil dinner and they turned out great.  I loved seeing how the kids were eager to help with chores such as getting water and washing dishes.  Eliza was quick to volunteer to sweep out the tent cabin whenever necessary.  We were all really excited to be there.

We spent the bulk of the next day on the lake at the park.  They had paddle boats, canoes, kayaks, and paddle boards for rent for reasonable prices so we had lots of fun in the water.  The kids took turns paddling and steering the paddle boats.  Luke loved getting to sit at the steering wheel, but the rest of the passengers didn't appreciate going around in circles endlessly.

After a picnic lunch we decided to enjoy the air conditioning of the car and go for a drive.  We checked out the mountains near the park and drove to Ephraim and Mayfield to see the cemeteries there to look for family grave stones.

When we got back to the park in the afternoon, we rented a kid kayak and a canoe.  Cat took to the kid kayak like a pro and loved being able to zip around the lake.  She let Eliza sit with her for a little while, and when it was almost time to turn it in, Jack had a turn with Cat.  He was really curious about how deep the water in the lake was and leaned over more and more until he capsized the kayak.  Ben and I were nearby in a canoe, so we helped them out and everything was fine.  It was a good experience for Jack, though, who we'd just been talking to right before the tipping about what to do if he fell in the water, and how he shouldn't panic.  (He completely panicked when the kayak flipped.)

Dinner that night was campfire pizza, which turned out 80% great.  I found the recipe in a Boy Scout Camping cookbook and it seemed pretty simple.  We took foil pie pans, lined them with heavy duty foil, rubbed that with butter, then spread out a portion of refrigerated pizza dough.  We spread the sauce, cheese, and toppings on to the crust, and put another piece of heavy duty foil on top.  We crimped the edges, then set the pizzas on the coals for about 5-10 minutes.  4 of the pizzas were really good but one of them got burned on the bottom and wasn't edible.  We'll have to keep working on the recipe but I was pleased with what we got on our first try.  For the record, we used two cans of refrigerated pizza dough, one jar of pizza sauce, plus the cheese and toppings.

Another experiment that night ended with opposite results.  We filled ice cream cones with cut fruit, mini marshmallows, and mini chocolate chips, then wrapped the cones in tin foil and placed them in the coals for about two minutes.  Eliza loved them.  Nobody else did.

We'd rented the canoe for several hours and gone all over the lake in the afternoon.  Then we spent some more time canoeing after dinner.  It was lovely, and Eliza was excited to finally get the chance to do some paddling.

That night some of our camp neighbors who we'd shared extra watermelon with at lunch time brought us popsicles and marshmallows for roasting.  Then we got out the glow sticks and Ben and I enjoyed a glow stick show for the next 30 minutes.  Eliza was so excited about the quality of the show that she suggested we invite everyone in the campground to come watch, and we could put something out for the people to put money in when they watched.

We checked out the next day after getting the tent cabin cleaned out and letting Eliza finish the requirements for the Junior Ranger program.  She was so proud of her badge!  Cat had earned hers the day before, and Jack was thinking about doing it too but decided that the final requirement gathering trash in a bag to show the park ranger was too much work.

Then it was on to Manti for some more fun!