Raspberry Shake Research

Everyone knows that when you’re at Bear Lake, you have to get the raspberry shakes. We’ve had our favorite spot over the years, but I’ve recently heard other people (and a local TV show) saying that others are better. So, we decided to conduct our own “shake study” this year. Here are our thoughts. If you feel differently, I’d love to hear!

Merlin’s: We were disappointed to find out that Merlin’s, although right in Garden City at Bear Lake, does not use fresh Bear Lake raspberries in their shakes. They use syrup. We asked. We automatically disqualified them from the study. In fact, we didn’t even stop at Merlin’s this year. We found out last year that they didn’t use fresh local berries, so we didn’t even bother this year!

Hometown Drive-In: There are always long lines here, often out into the street and winding around. Although they were made with fresh local raspberries, we didn’t feel that there were quite enough raspberries. The shakes are good, just not our absolute favorite.

Chevron (yes, Chevron): It had never occurred to us to stop at the Chevron for shakes. But a couple of weeks ago, Studio 5 on KSL had guests talking about some of the little-known places around Bear Lake. These particular guests said that their favorite shakes were at the Chevron! We went in and sat at a counter (like in an old diner) while the workers individually whipped up our shakes. We thought that they had that homemade ice cream taste – you really could taste the cream. Again, very good and very sweet with lots of local berries. However, we felt that the cream taste was more prominent than the raspberry taste.

LaBeau’s: Formerly our favorite. Still a very, very close second. Lots of local berries with a flavor more of raspberries than cream.


Quick & Tasty: Our new favorite. The only thing that set it apart from LaBeau’s is that it had more berries. And that’s the main reason we get Bear Lake raspberry shakes, after all! The Quick & Tasty also has a large covered area with picnic tables, and a fun tire swing!




What’s your favorite raspberry shake at Bear Lake and why?

Bear Lake – Saturday, August 13

We had two more punches left on our mini golf card, so Ryan and I packed our stuff and then went to play a round. On the very last hole, if you get a hole in one, you get a free game. RYAN GOT A HOLE IN ONE! We got the ticket to return for a free game, but we’ll have to use it next year. We were literally on our way out.

While we were golfing, Rara finished the puzzle! Since Rara & Ryan did most of the work, we wanted a picture to commemorate it. It took us a few tries to get an acceptable picture. That’s fairly common with the family clown.






Just like we have traditional stops on our way TO Bear Lake, we have traditional stops on the way home. We stopped at the Pickleville store for a case of raspberries, and we stopped at the Chocolate Bear for our going-home bags of chocolate covered raspberries. We stopped at the Hometown Drive-In for lunch (and our final raspberry shake for the “study”).
When we got into Logan, we stopped at Gossner Foods. I love their mango milk and their dill Havarti cheese, and Ryan loves the rootbeer milk and cookies & cream milk. We always stock up on milk & cheese there, and always pick up a few cases for Marc & Frances & Alice & Claire, too.
As we got to Bountiful, we drove to Ryan’s elementary school (yes, before we even went home). The class lists were posted that morning, and he couldn’t wait another minute to see who was in his class. Four of his very best friends are in his class, so he was thrilled!

After we unpacked, we picked Copper up from the Utah Dog Park. He seemed to love it, and we enjoyed being able to watch him on the webcam throughout the week!

Bear Lake is always a fun way to end the summer. One more week, and then Ryan goes back to school!

Bear Lake – Friday, August 12

As we were going up and down Logan Canyon Road through the week, Ryan spotted a Go-Cart track and wanted to try it. Papa was the only one brave enough to race with Ryan. Rara & I enjoyed cheering them on and taking pictures.


The workers got Papa out on the track first. Ryan, competitive little dude that he is, wasn’t going to let Papa stay ahead of him for long. See it on his face?
Papa is ahead…
Ry is closing in…
Ry passed Papa!
Victory!
The “winner” at the end…
That afternoon, we enjoyed some shopping and exploring…and mini golf. We had dinner at a fun new place – Cooper’s in Fish Haven, Idaho. (I got a coupon online a couple of weeks ago.) It was at the golf course clubhouse, and had a beautiful view!


Rara bought a Bear Lake puzzle by Eric Dowdle. We have purchased his puzzles on prior vacations, and have enjoyed putting those together. We worked on it for a couple of days, but weren’t quite done Friday night.
Shake-o-the-day: Quick & Tasty (Review to come)

Bear Lake – Thursday, August 11

We had the waverunner again Thursday morning, so Ryan was in heaven! Ryan chauffeured me around the lake, and we enjoyed watching parasailers and large schools of fish together. Rara & Papa even had a turn!


We spent most of the day on the beach and in the water. Ry & I played Frisbee for a very, very long time. Of course, Ryan swam.





As we were on our surrey ride Wednesday, we found a fun set of shops that we hadn’t ever seen before. We spent some time exploring there Thursday afternoon. We also stopped at a couple of our favorite shops. And we played mini golf.

That evening we enjoyed a BBQ in the shady lawn area at the condo. We roasted Peeps, which I will describe in detail in a separate post.

Shake-o-the-day: LaBeau’s (Review to come)

Bear Lake – Wednesday, August 10

Wednesday began with Ryan’s reason for being…at Bear Lake, that is. We had the waverunner!!! This is now the second year that Ryan has been old enough to drive it, and he loved it! He enjoyed taking Papa and me out on it, but Rara wasn’t brave enough to ride with Ryan. :)



Ryan loves the water…no matter where it is!

Ideal Beach, the condos where Rara & Papa have their timeshare, has a mini golf course. We buy a punch pass every year, and play pretty much every day.


(Ryan helping me by blowing my ball into the hole.)
On KSL’s Studio 5 television show a couple of weeks ago, a couple of guests discussed some of the little-known things around Bear Lake. We have done most of them (Minnetonka Cave, Paris tabernacle and antique shops, bird refuge, and others). But they also talked about Swan Creek Springs, the largest cold springs west of the Mississippi. We had never heard of them! So Wednesday afternoon we went on a quest! We asked about them everywhere we stopped, including the Bear Lake Marina/State Park. No one knew anything about them. Finally with some detective work and piecing things together, plus a lot of driving, walking, and guessing, WE FOUND THEM! However, we were disappointed to see that they had been completely fenced in. We didn’t want to have gone through all of that for nothing, so we walked down the hill at the base of the fenced area, and Ryan dunked his feet.

Over the years, we have spotted the surreys for rent at the KOA campground. We passed the KOA on our way back to the condo and decided to rent a surrey. We had a great time riding it along the bike trail through Garden City and around the lake. We rode about three miles, and we were pooped! Those little things are harder than they look!

Shake-o-the-day: Chevron (Review to come)