Weekend at Bear Lake 2024

Last weekend featured the annual family trip up to beautiful Bear Lake, along the Utah/Idaho border. It was good to get away for a few days and to enjoy some 15-to-20-degree cooler temperatures to escape another long, hot summer, to boot.

A house filled with 26 of us running around was sometimes-chaotic, but it was  never boring. We had the Summer Olympic Games from Paris keeping us glued to the TV much of the time. There were card and board games frequently taking place. Some of us also spent some time at the beach ... go figure. (When in Garden City. ...)

Like last year's trip, "Jack Box" games kept us entertained on more than one night. (I'm not sure who drew the cartoon of Donald Trump on this T-shirt during "Tee K-O," but it amazed us all.)

Vacation time always means more time with the nieces and nephews, and Fun Aunt and Uncle were there for it. The nieces especially love JB.

I need to brag a bit more here about JB, because she captured this phenomenal sunset on one of our nights up at the lake:

My siblings and I took turns providing the meals for everyone. JB and I (let's be honest, she does most of the work, like always; my job is standing in front of whichever cabinet or drawer she currently needs access to) provided the ingredients for tacos and taco salads. We also had pizza, sandwiches, pasta, and assorted breakfast items.

This was our first annual trip without Mom. We felt her absence. But we also know she was with us in spirit and would've wanted the family fun times to continue.

Weekend at Bear Lake 2023

Last week, the Plowbuckles joined our family's annual summer trip up to beautiful Bear Lake. We (collectively) shook things up this year by doing a couple of things differently: (1) traveling in June rather than August and (2) renting an Airbnb on the north/Fish Haven, Idaho, side of the lake. These choices paid off tremendously because we had beautiful, spring-like weather throughout, and also the "Pirate Ship Chalet" was a good fit for our large group of hooligans.

What is a Pirate Ship Chalet? you ask? I didn't know, either, but I do now. It looks a lot like this, an actual pirate ship playground attached to the side of the building:

This was a fun little playground for kids of all ages. While many of those in our fun house went out on the water or over to the pickleball courts to play, Aunt JB and I were fuddy-duddy homebodies and hung around the house most of the time. But fortunately that meant we also got to spend a great deal of time with the littlest niblings, because after all we are the Fun Aunt and Uncle.

Tanner and Sadie picked The Empire Strikes Back to watch with JB when offered their choice of movie! The Force remains strong in our family.

Other enjoyable activities at the Pirate Ship Chalet included playing Jackbox games like Tee K.O. together, foosball, pool (billiards), watching movies, and streaming the final game of the NBA Finals after a lightning storm knocked out the satellite dish. (The Denver Nuggets won their first-ever championship!)

Of course, a visit to Bear Lake can't be complete without at lest one visit to either LaBeau's or Zipz in downtown Garden City (on the Utah side of the lake) for Dole whips and/or raspberry shakes.

All told, 10 out of 10 stars, we would definitely recommend the place where we stayed and our overall vacation experience. 

On our way home, we remained in Idaho and took the long route through St. Charles and Paris and then into lovely Preston, setting for the cult hit movie Napoleon Dynamite. Heading south, we then passed through Franklin, just a stone's throw across the Utah/Idaho border, to visit the graves of JB's great grandparents. So that was an added bonus.

Memorial Day Weekend 2023

Over Memorial Day weekend, we trekked up to Cache Valley to join with the family in some of the usual holiday shenanigans. First and foremost was a visit to the Smithfield City Cemetery and Dad's headstone and grave, along with the final resting places of my grandparents, great-grandparents, and numerous other ancestors.

In addition, we visited Gossner's dairy (always a must when in Logan) and grabbed lunch at Center Street Grill, which we ate across the street in the shade at the city park downtown.

Following that, JB and I stayed in Logan overnight this time. It was sort of a makeup of the anniversary trip we meant to take in April before one of us got sick. Among the additional activities we included in our itinerary were a visit to the Pepperidge Farm factory in Richmond for factory seconds (on future visits, this will have to be included), stopping in west Smithfield to see the progress of the Church's new Smithfield temple:

... and of course Aggie Ice Cream on the Utah State University campus:

JB and I would rate it a solid w00t!

And so ends another glimpse into the nonstop party life we lead on a 24/7 basis. If you're in the Cache Valley, you should definitely visit some of these same places.

Weekend at Bear Lake 2021

Last week, we embarked on our fourth consecutive annual family trip up to beautiful Bear Lake. That is to say, the majority of the family but me embarked, since I was unluckily home all sick and yucky for the first two days while everybody else went out and partied. But, fortunately, after a covid test and a couple of days' rest, I felt well enough to join the gang on the third and final day of our stay in Garden City.

On the way up, I stopped at Paco's Tacos in Logan. Like you do. I don't know if they really have San Diego's best burritos or not (see the sign), but they do have some of the best in Logan.

Upon arriving at our Airbnb rental in Garden City, I found this chalk art near the front door:

That's when I knew I had been missing out on a great party! Better late than never, I guess.

When I tried to take her picture, 16-month-old Sadie gave me this scowl:

It turned out that she was just tired and needed a good nap. Aunt JB worked the kind of magic that she works with the kids, and before long, our youngest nibling had dozed off:

Beyond these highlights, there were raspberry shakes, games indoors and in the backyard, hot tubbing, a viewing of That Thing You Do! (one of our family favorites), and a whole lot of other good times.

Thus ended another fantastic weekend up at Bear Lake. Who knows what summer 2022 will bring? I might be able to be there for two or more days next time.

Weekend at Bear Lake 2020

Last week featured the annual family trip up to Bear Lake for a few days' worth of rest and relaxation. Mom again rented out a house for three days and three nights, this time in Garden City (the past two years were spent at a different house in nearby Laketown). It was a great location, featuring a nice breeze coming in from the lake and a good amount of shade in the afternoons and early evenings.

Day 1: We made the drive up through Sardine and Logan canyons just in time for check-in at 4:00 p.m. We had Papa Murphy's pizza for dinner and played a few games of cribbage (something JB and I recently started playing) that evening.

Day 2: Our first full day at the lake included boating for those who went out on the water and kayaking for those staying closer to the shore. I did some reading while watching the Jazz vs. Nuggets playoff game in the main gathering room. JB, Ben, Adi, and I prepared the fixings for tacos/nachos for dinner that evening.

Biz captured this candid shot of me cutting up black olives:

After a run downtown for raspberry shakes (when in Rome and all that), we also provided the ingredients for s'mores around the fire pit.

Four-month-old Sadie (not too surprisingly) was the object of many people's attention throughout our trip.

Day 3: I got outside a little more for some additional reading (Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary marathon---yes, really) to observe more of the fun had by those playing in the water. On this day, we had access to both jetskis and a water trampoline. JB and I made a run to Zipz for Dole whips and raspberry shakes.

Pulled pork sandwiches and corn on the cob were on the menu for dinner. Afterward, we posed for family photos in our matching green shirts Mom had printed up for the occasion.

Steve and Summer prepared a number of "Minute to Win It" challenges for the final group activity of the week. I enjoyed partnering up on a team with Biz, (sister-in-law) Jana, Jake, and Luke; we took second place out of four teams.

One of our favorite events was the sticky note challenge, during which we had a minute to place as many sticky notes as we could onto our faces. JB took first place with 17 sticky notes; I was second and was able to keep 13 on my face.

I had a bit of insomnia later on, but fortunately one of the TV channels was showing a "Parks and Recreation" marathon while I pored over more Beverly Cleary.

Day 4: After a breakfast of yogurt and fruit, we packed up and were on our way home before our 10:00 a.m. checkout time. We headed back through Logan Canyon into Logan, where some jumped up to Smithfield to visit Dad's grave, and others stopped at Gossner's for squeaky cheese and other goodies.

All in all, it was another enjoyable family summer vacation, and we look forward to Bear Lake again in 2021.

Weekend at Bear Lake 2019, Part 2

Over the weekend, we ventured up to Bear Lake for the second time in five weeks for another family vacation, this time with my side of the family. Mom rented out the same spacious house we all shared together last year, and it was wonderful to be back again to create some new family memories.

The weekend included watching a lot of movies together for those gathered indoors. On Sunday, we saw Church-themed movies The Best Two Years and Once I Was a Beehive, The rest of the time, we watched a good number of Pixar/Disney movies. Some of the highlights were family favorites That Thing You Do! and The Dark Crystal, which still creeps me out, from start to finish, to this day.

As you can see, Tanner was transfixed much of the time.

The plethora of activities, beyond playing in the water and in the sand, included t-shirt tye dyeing, rock painting, making bracelets, and Nine Square, which I suppose stands to reason as an updated version of a childhood favorite of mine (Four Square) from elementary school days. This is what it looked like:

When you're spending time at Bear Lake, you have to stop at either LaBeau's and/or Zipz for delicious raspberry shakes. (It's in the contract, among the fine print.)

At our second annual family talent show, many sang or played instruments; Jackson taught us all that cashews come from a fruit; Kira demonstrated her cup-stacking skills; and Biz, Steve, and I played "Spit Take," an improv favorite (JB took a video of it; she'll have to post it somewhere, sometime).

We also posed for some family photos in our matching shirts, featuring Mom with 13 of her 14 grandkids (minus our Elder Plowman, of course, currently serving in New Hampshire):

... and Mom with her six kids:

It was another well-spent weekend at Bear Lake, and we're looking forward to continuing this new tradition and doing it again in 2020.