A 3 year old in cowgirl boots scrambled excitedly back up the ladder to a slide emanating from an antique multi-colored box truck, a big smile of discovery crossing her face. Nearby, Dad pumped the pedals of the parent-powered roller coaster, glancing over to see the joy on his son’s face as the coaster car reached the top and then went whirling around the tiny track alongside a cornfield.Welcome to Gordo’s Fun Farm!Every autumn, the greater Salt Lake Valley is filled with pumpkin patches and corn mazes, entertaining kids of all ages. They provide families and children with an opportunity to get out into the country, run around farm fields, climb into corn-filled pits, and propel themselves down makeshift slides. They also create a date-night opportunity for young couples to wander aimlessly through a GPS-generated corn maze under a harvest moon.Our drive this fall took us down what seemed like the flattest road along the Wasatch Front, passing farm fields as we headed west from Spanish Fork towards Lake Shore on the eastern edge of Utah Lake. We sped quickly past a billboard for Cornbelly’s with its Luke Bryan corn maze. No, we were looking for something a bit more homespun.Soon, the golden hour sun painted a yellow-orange glow on an antique water tower with Gordon Family Farm emblazoned on the tank. We had arrived!From the minute you approach the ticket trailer, you are transformed into the lively atmosphere that celebrates autumn, with a heavy emphasis on family. The George Strait playlist reminded us we were, indeed, out in the country, as did the acre after acre of cornfields aglow in the setting sun.Among the dozen or more pumpkin patches we Googled, what attracted us this year to Gordo’s Fun Farm was the very personal engagement of the Gordon family. The farm dates back to 1945 when Keith Whitley Gordon returned from World War II to work the land along the Lake Shore region of Utah Lake. A few generations later, the farm has grown, and today’s version of the Gordon family gives back with seasonal activities like the annual pumpkin patch each fall.Carole quickly gravitated to the bins of miniature gourds and pumpkins, making a hasty trip back to the car to store her new collection. Meanwhile, I wandered over to have a conversation with ostriches Amy and Archibald, while miniature horse Nellie paced in her stall, not far from her friends George and Chunk. They’re pigs.The Gordon family has taken the sustainable approach to its farm-based pumpkin patch — taking an acre so out of their farmland and cleverly placing antique farm implements like an old Case 1060 combine, a 1948 Ford F-6 COE  and a few tractors. And there are plenty of games from cornhole to the hopscotch challenge.As the sun sank lower on the western horizon, we meandered into the corn maze. Remember the rules — no sneaking through the corn rows! Of course, we repeatedly got lost. But we eventually found our way to the exit.After navigating the maze, we took a break on a picnic table watching kids young and old having endless fun, leaving parents gratified.There was a sign at the gate that really summed up our evening at Gordo’s Fun Farm. “The most memorable days always end with the dirtiest clothes” — as spoken by “every kid that ever lived.”DETAILSGetting There: Head down to Spanish Fork via Provo Canyon, then west on state route 147, turning right on S. 6400 East. It’s about an hour, 15 minutes from Park City.Hours: Open Noon-9 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. on Saturday; closed Sundays.Tickets: It’s just $8.95 per person with tickets at the gate. Kids two and under are free.The post Sunday Drive: An evening in a cornfield appeared first on Park Record.