# Better late than never.... Paradise Park Res



## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

I had left work early on Wed and the plan was to drive down to Roosevelt UT to meet some relatives we had been talking about camping for a while. His health has not been the best lately so we wanted to make sure we had a chance to get down and spend some time with them. The plan was to drive down spend the night at their home and the girls could ride some horses before we left the next morning.

Camping at the house:









Happy riders:





































But as luck would have it while they were gathering up the last few items to take up my wife and I had our first real medical scare with my daughter. It seems she had fallen off the trampoline she was jumping on and hurt her wrist. She was crying badly and we debated if we should go to the hospital, I figured better safe than sorry and we went down to the ER. I am sure glad we did her wrist was broken and in a bad place to break it.

Bella waiting for the DR










Coming back from the drugs that put her under:










Just to be safe she was a little wobbly:










Well it looks like it is now going to be a 3-day trip instead so lets make the best of it. My relative's truck broke down ½ way up the mountain so I had to pull two 5th wheels up the mountain I began to wonder what else was going to go wrong this trip. The drive in had a lot of overhanging pine trees so we have some new ******* pinstripe to try and buff out of the trailer. Finally got camp set up:










The dog whisperer:










Bella and cousins:










Resting the wrist watching a movie:










The ladies taking the afternoon to knit:










One night around the campfire:










Sorry about the lack of food pics as you can imagine I was not thinking about how the post would look at this point. It finally was my day to go on the long ride to the "secret" alpine lake where all the fish are 20" plus it is only a 2 hour rock fest ride going 6 mph ending up riding down a stream for 30 minutes piece of cake. The ATV rules up there are so screwy one place you can ride then ½ mile down you can't ride then in a mile you can. Because part of it is Indian land we chose to trailer up and not take a chance.










We finally made it to the lake:



















There was no luck for any of us that evening even with me doing my best boulder hopping routine to get to the other side of the lake. I missed the highlight of the ride the lone white wolf they saw come down to the lake to get a drink. The next morning I was determined to catch something for my 9 hours worth of driving to get here. I managed to find a place to get my boat to the waters edge and me and the wife snuck away for a couple of hours. Pay dirt even if nothing was over 11" but nice alpine brookies that loved the blue fox and the pop/gear worm combo:














































There was plenty of four-wheeler riding but sadly only my family elected to wear helmets. The fun part was that I got my mother in law on a wheeler for the first time and she loved it!





































One of the really cool things they wanted me to see was something called the ice cave that was no further than 100 yards from our camp. It is said that the Indians used the cave to store meat in the summer to keep it cold. It was the strangest thing I have seen when you got about six feet out of the cave's opening you could feel the rocks getting cold. When you entered the cave it was like winter temps and there was even ice in the cave. My daughter was scared at first but then though it was pretty cool.





































That was the last major outing for our family for the year. This weekend we are staying closer to home going fishing for a day, riding wheelers for a day, going to lagoon, and finally using that free golf pass I have had for a year.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

That's terrible that Bella broke her wrist. Sorry to hear that.

That lake looked pretty high up. Any idea what elevation that is?


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## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

LOAH said:


> That's terrible that Bella broke her wrist. Sorry to hear that.
> 
> That lake looked pretty high up. Any idea what elevation that is?


Not so sure... The one lake was right up near the tree line. The max depth at paradise park was 17" deep. Bolth high uinta alpine lakes, something tells me you would like it there. I am guessing any brookie that will eat a blue fox is all right in LOAH's book!


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## Greenguy88 (Sep 7, 2007)

Sorry about your girl man, that freakin sucks. Looks like you guys had a real fun time tho, too bad the fish werent big but at least you caught em! That ice cave looks pretty cool, nature is crazy!


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## RnF (Sep 25, 2007)

Looks like a fun trip, other than the little accident  Glad she is ok. Thanks for sharing.


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## cheech (Sep 25, 2007)

You were very close to my holy water! I love that area of the state. You get up there far enough and you wonder how many people have fished there in the last year. The Basin has bad mojo for broken bones! My son broke his foot last summer, and of course I was in the Vernal ER many o time. So much so that the nurse (Virginia Ewell) knew me very well, and just told me to "go on back to the cast room." (Broke: both ankles, arm, foot etc etc.)


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## FROGGER (Oct 1, 2007)

First, sorry to hear about your daughters wrist... No fun. Second thanks for the post, looks like a great area.. Thanks for sharing...


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## FlyRx (Jun 10, 2008)

I was up over the other side of the hill (just to the east) a couple of weeks ago. It poured on us. Not just a little bit, but a whole lot. We still hiked up to the lakes nearby and managed to catch fish on everything we threw. Hoppers, woolley booggers, castmasters, spinners, whatever was on the end of the line. My only regret was that I didn't pack any bass poppers with me. Those may have worked too. It was great. We didn't fish too long. The rain, hail, and wind just got to be too much. But it was still worth it to see fish smack hoppers on top in a rain storm. 

If I recognize the pictures, the 2nd photo of the "high alpine lake", (I'm trying not to use the name) has those trees that meet the rock. In that area I've heard water running under those rocks. There tends to be a deeper spot on that bank, followed by a shallow sand bar. Lots o fishies tend to stack up there. I was there a few years ago in a float tube and I didn't go 3 casts without catching a fish in that area. Ahh I need to get back. Thanks for the photos - thanks for bringing back the memories.

FlyRx


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## REPETER (Oct 3, 2007)

Thanks for the report Orvis, that cave must've been a real sight to see. Glad that you were able to get into the fish even if they weren't all 20+" Your girl looks real brave with her iv and cast and still smiling. You did the right thing erring on the side of caution. What a trooper she was to stick out the rest of the weekend with the broken wrist and all-good thing you've got a comfy set up for her to chill in. Great report.


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## STEVO (Sep 13, 2007)

Wow, awesome report man, thats too bad about your daughter. I hope she has a easy & speedy recovery. I had a little brother break his wrist in a spot too & they ended up having to do surgery because it did something to a growth plate where one arm would have grown longer than the other, Its all good now tho. Looks like a fun time, Good fish, good riding , good company & if I know you there was good food too  .


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## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

STEVO said:


> Wow, awesome report man, thats too bad about your daughter. I hope she has a easy & speedy recovery. I had a little brother break his wrist in a spot too & they ended up having to do surgery because it did something to a growth plate where one arm would have grown longer than the other, Its all good now tho. Looks like a fun time, Good fish, good riding , good company & if I know you there was good food too  .


Well it turns out that is the case with bella we are going in for surgery at 1:30 because the ER doc did not get it set right and the ortho doc needs to put some screws in her wrist. Otherwise she could have a deformity and we don't want that.


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## bigboat69 (May 8, 2008)

Paradise Reservoir is at 10,000 elevation. The secret lake is right around 10,400 Elev.
At paradise last year someone left the flood gate open, and the reservoir drained completely down. The lake has been replanted, so the fishing may get awesome again soon. The secret lake can be spotty, but used to produce some whoppers. The lake just above the secret lake does still produce some whoppers. Nice story, and awesome pics too.


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## Nueces (Jul 22, 2008)

I hope for a speedy recovery on the wrist. Now that is really "cool", an ice cave! Thanks for posting. That would be a good place to store ice chest to keep them from melting in the warmer air.


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