Ever heard of Grouse Creek, UT?

Probably not. The once-was town (if you can even call it a town) probably doesn’t even reach 100 in population and requires travel on miles of dirt roads to get to it. First settled by five families from Henefer, UT in the late 1800s, it seemed an oasis in the sage brush where kids grew up on farms and were raised on traditional values. Chad’s grandpa was born there and talks about how Grouse was a green valley where water flowed and berries grew wild.

Now, it is almost forsaken and in a few more generations may not exist. Even today you drive along and see two-story abandoned homes that once were beautiful and family-filled and now they sit broken and mice-ridden.

The people who remain are everything but faint-hearted. The nearest city is Tremonton, UT—at least an hour and a half drive. That is where Grouse Creekers have to go often to visit the dentist and shop for groceries. They literally live in the middle of nowhere—and they love it. Where else can you go to church and find the ward directory attached to the building’s telephone? Everyone who lives there is included—and all names and phone numbers fit on one page. It’s a place where you can still leave your cars and doors unlocked and people still check on their neighbors just to make sure everything is okay.

And that is where we go at least twice a year so my husband can round up these:  
                                     

And do this:

(And he LOVES it) While the kids and I do this:

And we get pictures like this:

So though most of you have never heard of Grouse Creek and will never get the pleasure or “working the cows” there, I’m glad it is part of us and our family.