Camping at Starvation Reservoir

Along Highway 40, on the way to Vernal, Dinosaur National Monument, and all points Colorado, there is a little reservoir called Starvation.  It is just outside the town of Duchesne (pronounced Doo-Shane).  Between the two of us, Daddy-J and I must have driven past it (and over it... there's a bridge) 100 times at least.  We have always said "that looks like a cool place to explore."  But since we're always on the way to somewhere or home from somewhere, we've never stopped to explore it.

So a few weeks ago, we decided that we'd go camping there this weekend.  And guess what?  We actually did!

We took my new Yukon (love it!), pulled the camper we bought last year (love it!), and G'Pa Larry joined us in his "big rig" pulling our boat.  We took a few moments to explore the brand new full-hookup RV park that is right on the beach (seriously, walk out the back steps of the camper and you are on the beach!) which has been under renovation since last spring and just opened this weekend.  But since we had the dogs with us, we decided to skip that this time and we went to one of the primitive camping areas, called Indian Bay.  It has 75 "sites" (in quotes because really it's just a bunch of dirt road with randomly placed fire rings that sort of indicate a spot to camp!).

We got there late, about 8 p.m., and still found a fantastic spot right by the water.  We were perched up on a cliff above the water and saw a beautiful sunset that first night.  The weather was less than perfect, but it was still a lot of fun.

On Saturday morning, we explored the lake in our boat.  Larry and Daddy-J took their fishing gear.  At one end of the lake, we spotted a whole mess of carp in the shallows, apparently mating.  The boys helped the girls cast some lines out with lures on them, and each girl got to hook a nasty, ugly carp!  Seriously, that is ONE UGLY FISH!  But the girls loved it, and Mama-V took a nap in the boat!

We took another cruise in the late afternoon, which all the girls slept through!  And we saw the weather on Sunday was not going to be good, so we packed up the boat Saturday night and took off Sunday about noon.

The best part is that this place is only about 90 miles from home, so we left the campground at noon, stopped at Daniels Summit for lunch, and still made it home by 4:00!

Following are just some random pictures from the trip!

 Needless to say, we will be going back to Starvation Reservoir.  The gal at the gate said the water should get up into the 70s once the weather warms up.  That's a lot warmer than Jordanelle ever gets!