As Basque immigrants made their way to Utah and other Western states, a mainstay of local Basque culture was the Basque hotel and boarding house. Among the most well-known Basque boarding houses was the Hogar Hotel, owned by John and Claudia Landa. The Hogar Hotel, built in 1927, became a stopping point and a haven for Basque immigrants making their way to ranches throughout the West. The Hogar Hotel’s closure in the mid 1970s spawned the creation of the Utah Basque Club, which held its first annual picnic at Saratoga in Utah County in 1974. Since the founding of the club the Utah Basque Club has grown in size and now includes about 200 members of Basque descent. Basque club members meet regularly to preserve their culture through traditional Basque dances, music, language, games.