Park City, UT and environs

Jordanelle Reservoir

Sunday, July 14, we arrived at Jordanelle State Park in the afternoon. Just south of Park City, the park is a convenient place to stay while visiting sister Diana and her husband Donald.  We stayed here in 2011 and in 2012, so it's becoming a regular routine for us.

The lake is still really low, but at least it isn't any worse than it was last year. I learned from past mistakes (I'm slow, but I do learn) so unlike the previous visit, Shiner didn't get to go romping in the mud, so no fish aroma to deal with.

Monday Don and Diana took us to lunch at The Homestead, a truly unique resort in the town of Midway. They didn't tell us much about the resort beforehand, so we didn't really have any idea of what the place was like. Consequently, I was rather startled upon our arrival to see a small mountain in the middle of the parking lot.

 This little "mountain" had a musical little waterfall running down the side of it, and an attractive wrought iron bridge over the pool at the bottom of the falls. Intrigued, we asked at the resort desk for information about the history of the resort, and the desk clerk gave me a whole packet of information.

The Homestead Resort, currently owned by Great Inns of the Rockies, has been entertaining visitors since 1886. That was the year land-owner and farmer Simon Schneitter built an enclosed pool to capture the steaming water from the geothermal crater on his property. Farmers and miners in the area came to the pool to soak away their aches and pains in the mineral water.

Simon and Fanny Schneitter

That crater dome, the small mountain in the parking lot, is formed of calcite carried by the water, and is now 55 feet high.

Only a few stairs to the top

An entrance tunnel has been hollowed out on one side of the dome to allow access to the water level and now divers and swimmers can enjoy the warm mineral waters year-round.

A looooong starway leads to the top of the crater. We didn't count steps, but we had to stop to catch our breath, and we're fairly used to stairs. It was worth the hike though.

The crater opening is topped with mesh, to protect those swimming below, and then surmounted by another wrought iron bridge, matching the one over the waterfall below.

There's a marvelous view of the surrounding countryside from the top of the crater. It's surprising how high up 55 feet really is!

We had lunch on the patio of Fanny's Grill, named for Simon's wife Fanny who became quite famous for the chicken dinners she prepared for visitors.

The patio has a nice view of the golf course, and there's a little pond running alongside the patio where geese and ducks paddle by looking for a handout.

Though we didn't have time to tour it all, the resort is really quite extensive, with 19 different buildings included in the rooming accommodations (most are historic buildings) in addition to the golf course and several restaurants.

The grounds of the resort are beautiful, and it's a delightful place to wander and admire the flowers and the historic buildings that have been incorporated.

Many of the small landscaping features are constructed of "pot rock", the calcite material (thermogene travertine) deposited by the mineral water. It looks a bit like stone sponge, and makes for very attractive garden walls and benches. You see a lot of it around town as it's an inexpensive landscaping material, and there's a lot of it available.

The town of Midway,where the Homestead Resort is located, was settled by Mormon Swiss pioneers, sent to this area by Brigham Young in the 1860's and 1870's. Many of the homes and businesses are still ornamented with delightful murals in the Swiss style. The community's Swiss Days celebrates their each year on Labor Day weekend. This Swiss heritage has led to the area being dubbed the "Utah Alps."

We fished out the day relaxing in Don and Diana's back yard, admiring their flower boxes and watching Shiner play with the neighbor's golden lab, Boomer. 

Fortunately the impending thunderstorm held off until we were in the process of saying good-bye for evening, so it didn't hinder the afternoon at all.

See more of The Homestead Resort in the photo album.