We decided last minute to go camping up to Payson Lakes; down by the Nebo Scenic Loop. Stoney had been fishing there and we had several friends who commented highly on it. So we figured we’d try it out.
We got there Friday afternoon and the campground was full and had been all week. So we went up a dirt road that led to a reservoir and camped out there. The boys loved it as soon as they set foot on the ground. “Can we go hiking?, Are we in the mountains, can we go fishing?” Within minutes of setting Jackson loose we was covered in dirt. But they had a great time running, hiking, yelling, and getting dirty.
Animal Encounters
As I was putting the boys to bed, Stoney tells me to come out of the tent, now and hurry! I come out and low and behold there is a deer eight feet from our tent! Stoney was shinning the flashlight at it, so it could not see us. It hung around for a couple of minutes and got pretty close. It left and came back 20 minutes later!
When we were sleeping something woke us up by sniffing at Stoney’s head. It walked around the tent, stepped on the tarp and walked over to the table where you could hear it bumping into a lantern. Minutes later we hear LARGE footsteps crashing through the woods. It got closer and louder. We couldn’t hear deer walking, but this we could. It would take a few steps and let out a cough/snuff/heavy breathing sound! This animal was making its presence known!
After the animal had left, Stoney and I said a prayer and decided the safest place to sleep would be in the truck. Jackson slept on me (front passenger seat) , Stoney in the driver’s seat, and Ethan sprawled out on blankets and pillows in the middle of us. It was very uncomfortable, but we were safe.
We came to the conclusion that the loud animal was probably an Elk. And it was either one, scaring off a bear. Or two, claiming its territory with some female deer. But we don’t know why a deer would be so close to the tent. There wasn’t any grass around and it was sniffing LOUD.
Non-the-less it was a story telling trip. And it just proves, that we need a trailer:)!
