Plans are coming together for this fun-filled event that will raise money for the Great Basin Water Network to help protect the water and water-dependent resources in Snake Valley.
The festival kicks off Friday, July 24 with a potluck dinner at the Garrison LDS Church. They provide their awesome Dutch-oven fried chicken and potatoes, and everyone is asked to bring a side dish or dessert. This is a laid-back, relaxed event. Often a volleyball game begins after dinner and kids race around the building. There is always so much food to choose from that it's hard to decide what to eat!
Later in the evening you might like to catch a campfire program at Great Basin National Park. These are held nightly at the Upper Lehman Creek Campground. A park ranger gives a presentation about some aspect of the park near the campfire, while Lehman Creek flows nearby under the ponderosa pines.
On Saturday, July 25, wake up and head to the pancake breakfast. This breakfast will be much more than pancakes, and it will be delicious, because Reita is heading it up, and she was the owner of The Outlaw in Baker for many years. She knows how to serve up a good meal. It will be held on the main street in Baker.
At 10 a.m., a Pioneer Parade will run down the main street in Baker. This is small town living at its best. There will be a unique assortment of parade entries. When the parade reaches the end of the parade route, it will just turn around and go back through town so you will get a good view no matter where you are!
After the parade it's time to check out the booths. Currently we have 14 booths registered, ranging from a yard sale, book sale, dunk tank, arts and crafts, and more. Entertainment, such as cowboy poetry and music, will be held at the Baker Hall, just a block off main street in the big pink building. This is also the site for the silent auction, which will run from 11-4. Kids games will be held outside during the afternoon.
Hungry? Food booths will provide a variety of choices like pizza, hot dogs, sodas, and beer.
It's hard to predict what the weather will be like in late July, but if the clouds don't come in to shade us in the afternoon, and you need a break from the heat, one option is to head about 30 miles north to Crystal Ball Cave near Gandy. This is a fantastic cave--it feels like you're walking inside a huge geode because the walls are covered with crystals.
Another option is to head out to the Border Inn for the SnakeDance Film Festival. This program will feature a number of water-related videos that feature Snake Valley. It's impressive the number of news stories and documentaries that have been filmed out here over the past few years as the media make sure they get an accurate portrayal of what life in Snake Valley is really like. (It's not a vast wasteland as some in Las Vegas like to say.)
At six p.m., if you're not already at the Border Inn, it's time to go there for a scrumptious all-you-can-eat barbeque. There are several meat and salad choices available, and the smells from the barbeque make you want to lick your lips just anticipating the yummy food.
At eight p.m. the dance starts, with the live band Most Wanted. This is a time-tested band and one of our favorites out here in Snake Valley. They play some really good dancing music. During breaks, a live auction will be held to help raise additional money.
If your feet get tired from pounding the dance floor, you can take the opportunity to look up at the gorgeous night skies of Snake Valley. A night sky program will begin at Great Basin National Park at 8 p.m., but you can come anytime to look through the telescopes to see some distant objects in the immense universe. Generally the telescopes are left up until very late--sometimes all night long.
The fun doesn't end on Saturday. Sunday morning there is a mountain bike ride at 7 a.m. Need to bike off some of those extra calories from the day before? Here's your chance. The ride starts in downtown Baker, goes up towards the mountain, and then circles back for a total of about ten miles. If you're not sure you want to ride uphill much, there will be an option to get dropped off near the top of the ride. How can you beat that?!
The pancake breakfast will be held again, from 8 to 10 a.m. Make sure you fill up before you head off on the day's activities.
Church services will be held at the LDS Church in Garrison at 9 a.m. and at the Baker Community Church at 10 a.m.
During the day, if you haven't already had the time to do so, visit some of the sights at Great Basin National Park like the bristlecone pines, rock glacier, subalpine lakes, Lehman Caves, and wonderful backcountry trails. In the evening there's another night sky program.
Mark your calendars and plan on a great weekend, July 24-26!
We hope to see you at the Snake Valley Festival.
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I wish I could come. Alas, I am stuck living in Los Angeles. But my heart belongs to Baker.
ReplyDeleteMy great-grandfather homesteaded near the "Y" north of Baker in about 1880, and my grandfather and his brothers and sister (all Robisons) had all the ranches on Weaver Creek. My grandfather's was the last ranch on Weaver Creek where it peters out on the flat, and that's where my dad and his brothers were raised.
Since my Uncle Shirley (of the Mill Creek ranch) passed away several years ago, I haven't been back, but I visit via the internet whenever I can.
The Labor Day picnic/reunion is an old tradition, and I got to attend several times on vacation as a child. We used to have the picnic up at Lower Lehman Campground, and the dance was down at Baker School. I am happy to see the tradition carried on, and expanded to include not one but TWO pancake breakfasts!
Keep up the good work fighting the Las Vegas water hogs!