Salt Lake City

Day 14 – July 12 2016

Park City, UT – Salt Lake City, UT – Provo, UT

117 miles – 2 hours

Temp – 93!

I was sad to bid adieu to Park City – as was Camden. At breakfast he asked me if we could come back and stay for more than one night. I said, “Of course.” His reply, “I’m so glad, because they have Lucky Charms here!” It’s the little things…

We headed into Salt Lake City to see the Mormon Tabernacle, the capitol building, and the Family Heritage Center. The Tabernacle was out of town, so it was just some dude playing the organ. I had to watch from an observation room, because you’re not allowed in the church if you’re not Mormon. Talk about exclusionary. The Capitol is gorgeous, inside and out. We did the self-guided tour and ran into a group of Chinese tourists who were on a guided tour – and they were ra-hude! And people say Americans are rude. One woman elbowed Audrey and nearly knocked her over to get her picture of the Utah’s House of Representatives. Good Golly – it’s not Independence Hall!

I wanted to get to the Family History Center and look up a few ancestors, but it’s located in Temple Square. Parking in downtown Salt Lake City is a problem and eventually, I just gave up.

Next we headed northwest to The Great Salt Lake. This is where the day took a weird turn.

I always imagined the Great Salt Lake as being in Salt Lake City and a center of recreational activity – ala Lake Michigan for Chicago. The lake, however, is located 20 miles northwest of the capitol city. Still, being the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere, I was curious. We made the drive. From the highway I could see the lake and it’s a beautiful bright shade of blue. It also appeared that there was a huge beach, yet very few people where on the shore. This should have been a warning, like in the horror films - TURN BACK! It was hot, and I actually said out loud, “I wonder why no one is at the beach?” We parked at the Great Saltair (a creepy looking building that is billed as a concert venue), and headed to the beach.

The smell was weird and the sand was not sand. It was hard and crusty and we surmised that it must have once been the bottom of the lake and the water had receded and the sun dried it up. The closer we got to the water (about a mile away), the muddier (& yuckier) it got. Audrey was barefoot (?!?!?!?!?), so you can imagine her commentary. We also discovered that about every ten feet, there was a bird carcass encrusted in the mud. Disgusting. Barrett and Audrey made it to the lake first, and of course, Barrett took his shoes off and headed in. I had to yell for him to stop – I was afraid he’d jump in. Not to be out-done, Audrey headed in. By the time I reached the shore, there was a scream. All of us were under attack by these strange bugs. They were like locusts – it was so gross. Hunter never even made it to the shore, he saw the chaos and turned around. I grabbed Camden and yelled, “Let’s go!” The bugs followed us for about half a mile, before we got some relief. I have no idea what they were and I don’t care. We escaped relatively unscathed (they didn’t bite, thank God).

We spent the night in Provo, Utah. We once again ended up eating in the hotel, because there were very few options for dinner.

Quote of the day:

Cammy:

“These bugs are really attracted to me.” Then he groaned and continued, “I just want it all to end!”

The SLC Church of Latter Day Saints

Inside the capitol.

View of SLC, from the steps of the capitol.

The kids heading to the Great Salt Lake.

Aud & Bear - brave...

The creepy Great Saltair building.

Zip Lining!

Day 13 – July 11, 2016

Moab, Ut – Park City, UT

247 miles – four hours.

Temperature in Park City – 67!

We had a slow morning due to the fact I had some work to do and some bills to pay. I kind of lost track of time, which was unfortunate for the day’s plans. We drove north from Moab to Park City and much of the drive was through very barren countryside. Lots of cars – but not buildings and no trees. About 45 minutes outside of Park City things started to turn green, and I relaxed a little.

Park City is adorable, as I knew it would be. I love these cute little ski villages we’ve been visiting – and I don’t ski. Go figure! Because of our late arrival, we only had a few ours to spend at the Utah Olympic Center. Hunter decided to hang back at the hotel with Barrett. He said he had to run. He’s been very diligent about sticking to his training schedule. I’m proud of him.

The Olympic Center is cool, especially for the kids. The Salt Lake 2002 Olympics where very spread out, with venues in Salt Lake and Park City and I’m sure other places, as well. The center in Park City is where the ski jumping, luge, and other skiing events took place. Their museum wasn’t as good at the one in Lake Placid. I personally preferred our visit to Lake Placid a few years ago and loved how we could walk down the street in Lake Placid and see where practically every event was held. I know the Olympic Center in New York offers rides for the kids, but we didn’t visit them. I remember offering to take the kids up on the ski lift and they were all too scared. Times have changed! Audrey did the freestyle zip line, and Cammy did the adventure course – which ended with him zip lining. I didn’t think he’d do it, I really didn’t, but he did. This was huge for him! He told me that he was scared before they let him go, and his stomach felt funny, but midway through his flight he said he was fine. It was cool.

Bleak....

Getting better the closer we got to Park City...

Aud on her way up. 

Off she goes...

He did it!

Double National Park Day

Day 12 – July 10, 2016

Grand Junction, CO – Moab, UT

285 miles -  3 1/3 hours

We left Colorado today, which was sad. Now we explore Utah! It’s the #44^th state for my little road warriors. Getting closer to the big 5-0!

Utah, at least the eastern part of the state, is very desolate. The topography is almost scary (see pictures). The further we drove, the hotter it got. At one point it was 101 degrees – although very dry heat. Our first stop was Canyon Lands National Park. The park is massive (over 300,000 acres) and has two entrances. We entered through the Island in the Sky entrance and were able to drive through the whole northern section of the park in a couple of hours. And we did some hiking, too. The canyons are reminiscent of the Grand Canyon, but not as vast or as deep.  Geologists believe that the area was once flat, but due to volcanic activity and the flow of the Colorado and Green Rivers over the soft sedimentary rock, the canyons were formed. It’s a site to be had, for sure. We hiked along the rim rock trail at the Grand View Overlook and had to walk down some stairs to get to the trail. Audrey commented that the stairs had to be manmade, and Cammy countered that, “No God made this park and these stairs.” He really drank the Kool-aide this year at faith formation. Audrey’s snarky reply, “I love God too Camden, but please, look at how perfectly these steps are shaped into a rectangle. That is the work of a stone carver.”

Our second park was Arches National Park, just twenty miles up the road. Where as in Canyon Lands we spent our time looking down, in Arches most of our time was spent looking up. There are over 2000 sandstone arches in the park. The explanation of their creation is long and involved. (Obviously) it happened over millions of years and involved volcanic activity (again!), salt beds, erosion, and some fierce winds. I can attest to the wind. It was really whipping while we were in the park and the sand hits your skin like a hard rain. It stings a little. Because we had sunblock on, the sand stuck to our skin and formed a crust.

We hiked to two of the more famous arches and I have to tell you – it was hot. But I’m very proud of my crew, who for the most part did it without too much whining. Barrett rallied today. I think he wanted to redeem himself for the Sand Dunes hike, because he was hot on my heels for most of the time.

We spent the night in Moab, a little town that obviously exists only to house and entertain visitors to these two park. (I’m in no hurry to go back.)

I’ve been slack on my quotes! Here are some good ones I wrote in my journal:

Cammy:

“This is how you be a pig. Get naked, drink chocolate milk, and watch TV…” And yep, that’s what he did.

His response when I told him to calm down and sit properly in his chair at lunch. “I'm sorry, I'm trying to keep it together. Sometimes when I'm hungry I see things as food that aren't food. It’s a problem.”

“Mom, can I please show Hunter the karaoke machine?” - It was a juke box.

The kids all saw that the hotel snack shop had Pop Tarts and wanted to buy some. I refused – Pop Tarts! But they all have a stash of spending money (thanks to Aunt Kelly) and argued that they would buy it themselves. I told them they could buy something – but not Pop Tarts. Cammy shrugged his shoulders and said, “Well there’s not hurt in looking at them.”

Heading to Utah.

Scary looking mountains.

I Heart Grand Junction

Day 11 – July 9, 2016

Glenwood Springs, CI – Grand Junction, CO

95 miles/1 ½ hours

Temperature - the high in GJ was 101! But dry.

Today was a day that was full of surprises – good ones. We got an early start this morning, heading west to Grand Junction, CO, which is a city located at the confluence of the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers. Upon first impression, I was very nervous. The eastern end of town is very industrial. I kept wondering what I’d gotten us into, but felt palpable relief upon pulling up at our hotel, which was located downtown on Main Street. Downtown is a very cute area, with shops and restaurants.

Grand Junction made the itinerary because it’s closely located to the Colorado National Monument. Since we’d arrived before check-in time, I decided to head over to the monument. I’m not certain what the distinction is between a National Monument and a National Park (but I definitely need to research it). I thought we were going to see one thing – a “monument.” However, in my opinion the Colorado Monument is more like a park. Visitors pass through an entrance gate and experience more than 20,000 acres of natural wonders. It’s pretty freaking awesome. The monument is part of the Colorado Plateau, which is a high desert land. The valleys of the plateau are populated with juniper tries and the contrast is quite stunning. The winding roads of the park take you to the top of the plateau, where you drive along the rim rocks and are rewarded with some breathtaking views. When you’re driving, if you look down over the edge, you’ll get vertigo. Pretty scary.

The temperatures were hovering at around 100 degrees, and the heights of some of the trails caused me to abort any plans I had for hiking. We did stop at many viewpoints though, and Cammy was quite funny. Hunter had to be dragged out of the car to look, but Cammy was quite enthusiastic about it. He insisted that we all follow him, “Because he was quite good at navigating the trails.” Hmm…I guess he preferred these conditions over the sand dunes!

As we left the park, there were signs for a dinosaur museum along the highway. I held my breath and sped up, but not quick enough. Cammy saw the signs and begged me to stop. We did, and he loved it. The museum was kind of cheesy, but it was worth it to hear Cammy rattle off the names of the various dinosaurs (along with all the boring facts).

We ate dinner at a little downtown Italian café and sat outside. It was utterly charming and I have to admit, I fell a little in love with Grand Junction. And our dinner was fabulous!

Cammy in Dino heaven!

Rocky Mountain High

Day 10 – July 8, 2016

Vail, CO – Aspen, CO – Greenwood, Co

180 miles – 3 hours

Today was a good day! Oh my gosh, we had so much fun!

So we left Vail around 10:00, which had us in Aspen a little after noon, just in time for lunch. The only problem was that we couldn’t find a place to park! We weren’t staying in Aspen (way too expensive), so that left me at the mercy of the metered party and the village was packed. Seriously, it took almost a half an hour of driving around and around until we found a spot.

We had a fabulous, albeit expensive, lunch and then took the gondola up to the top of Aspen Mountain. Oh, what a few! And the weather was perfect. Sunny and in the 80s, yet we were up high (11, 200 feet), so the breeze made it perfect. The mountain top photographer took a liking to us and kind of followed us around taking pictures – Audrey was in heaven. Also, I think he may have smoked a bong before we got there – but hey, it’s Colorado. Right? Its shame you’ll never see the pictures. When I got to the bottom of the mountain to buy them, I experienced MAJOR sticker shock.

We stayed up there for about an hour, just chilling. It was heaven.

It doesn’t sound like much, but everyone was feeling good and there were no major fights and the food and scenery were perfect. We were very happy. And then we were very tired. Dinner at the hotel and then early to bed. Although – I did turn on the TV and was disheartened by all that’s going on in the world.

On our way  gorgeous drive. 

One the way up...

Up higher...

A family selfie at the top.

A kind stranger took our pic and didn't charge us $75!