Lagoon

People will tell you different things about Lagoon.

It’s an amusement park.
It’s got rides.
It’s a great place.
Some will even say that Lagoon is lame and that Lagoon is just a smaller version of Disneyland.
Okay, we’re all impressed that you’ve been to Disneyland.

But here in Utah, Lagoon is a tradition of fun that goes back to the 1800’s.
Here in Utah you’ll mostly hear people say: “Let’s go to Lagoon this year!”

Lagoon is an amusement park in Farmington Utah. Lagoon has been around for a long time. The original park was opened in 1886 and was moved in 1896 to its present location.

Just about every year a new ride is introduced in the park. For example, Lagoon has nine roller coasters.  

The oldest attraction in the park is the original carousel that was purchased and installed in 1906. But it was built in 1893.

You’ll find all kinds of rides at Lagoon.  There is an entire section of rides just for little children.

The water park, Lagoon-a-beach is large, and crowded. But there are lots of good water slides.

In the 50’s and 60’s all the big name singers and bands came to Lagoon.  The Beach Boys performed here many times when they were just starting out. Jimi Hendrix performed here. The Rolling Stones performed here.

I personally love the atmosphere at Lagoon. The food concessions and carnival games on the midway make just walking through Lagoon fun. They try to keep it the same year to year, only adding to the attractions while trying to preserve the traditions.

We went with our family in July this year, and we all had our “bounce back” passes validated, and so we’ll be able to go back for $11.00.

My wife and I will go there on a date.

The Oaks

There was never a more beautiful setting for a restaurant. The menu isn’t the most exciting you’ve ever seen, but a visit to The Oaks is an experience you’ll talk about for years.

Ogden is about half hour’s drive north from Salt Lake City, and Ogden Canyon can be accessed by taking the 12^th Street exit. 12^th Street goes right up Ogden Canyon.

The Oaks is set on the Ogden River there is lots of outside dining. The tables are set into cozy nooks with wonderful string lighting. The sound of the water rushing by is very soothing. The hummingbirds flit around from table to table. Because of the canyon setting, the temperatures are always cool and refreshing in the summer time. In the Autumn the Fall colors are spectacular.  

The Oaks is open year round and the inside dining is very lovely.

The menu is great. This isn’t fast food. There are sandwiches and soups and salads and burgers. Everything is great.

Farther up the canyon is Pineview Reservoir and two great ski resorts, Powder Mountain and Snow Basin. The towns of Huntsville and Eden offer other fun dining choices that will be discussed here later.

Don’t miss dining at The Oaks. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience.

Fishing Strawberry Reservoir

In June I had a few days off, so I took my family to Strawberry Reservoir for some fishing. Strawberry Reservoir is about half an hour’s drive south east of Heber City. It’s in a beautiful high mountain valley. Strawberry is famous for great fishing in Utah, but it’s also a place for people who really know their fishing, as we learned in June.

We’re definitely amateurs at fishing. But we’re trying to learn. We decided to try our luck with power bait at Strawberry. We were fishing near the lodge and boat ramp. There were fish jumping all over the place. Apparently they weren’t impressed with our power bait.

But it was a beautiful day of fishing. A forest fire was burning south of the reservoir, and that gave an eerie smokiness to the atmosphere. Ironically it was kind of beautiful. I know that the forest fire was a tragedy, but the sun shining through the smoke gave a red glow to the day.

So, we didn’t catch anything.

But we left with more resolve to learn more about fishing and to try it all again as soon as possible. As darkness fell my son and son-in-law went hunting for crawdads. They were able to fill a bucket with the little critters, and we boiled them and ate them, mostly to say that we ate something we caught at Strawberry.

We ended the day with a night around the campfire, quietly chatting and planning more fishing trips, and eating hot dogs and crawdads.

Salt Lake Archery Company

Archery and the archery deer hunt were like religion to my family. My father and grandfather bow hunted together, and my great-grandfather bow hunted before them.  I ended that tradition because I didn’t want to hunt. But in our family we love archery just the same.

Salt Lake Archery is located on 2200 South just above Highland Drive in Sugarhouse.  We go frequently to the range to shoot. My daughter especially loves archery and even talks of trying to hunt one day.

At Salt Lake Archery they have compound bows and traditional recurve and long bows. The pro shop is well stocked with supplies and accessories for both.

Expert advice and instruction is always available and there are leagues and clubs to join.

The range is affordable and there is always room to shoot.

Archery is growing in popularity due to movies like The Hunger Games and Brave. We see lots of teenage girls out learning to shoot, and that’s great! Archery is good for anyone, at any age. It’s a sport that is relaxing, quiet, and challenging at the same time. Progress is immediately measurable. It’s not difficult to learn, or expensive to set up. Compound bows are more expensive, and arrows can get pricey depending upon the materials involved.

But you could get set up with a recurve bow, arrows, and other accessories you might need for less than $200.00.