The Explore All 50 States Project
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What could be better than dinner at a cozy fireside lodge on the snowy slopes of Park City? Not much except maybe a sleigh ride to get there. There are a few places in Park City to have that kind of experience but our friends highly recommended the Fireside Dining at Empire Canyon Lodge and it definitely did not disappoint. We arrived at the lodge with fireplaces aglow and were told to meet our sleigh driver … [Read more...]
As you probably know by now, ice cream is one of our family's favorite treats and we seek it out wherever we go. Park City, Utah was no exception and so we were really excited when our friends the Sobel family and the Richmond family told us we just HAD to try their favorite ice cream place The Java Cow. What makes the Java Cow unique is that the store has two distinct sides-on one side you have the coffee … [Read more...]
Have you ever heard of the sport "Curling"? It's kind of like shuffleboard on ice and it's an actual Olympic sport. When I mentioned to my crew that I'd signed us up to take a "Learning to Curl" class at the Park City Ice Arena they all groaned-"Boring!!!". Well let me tell you, after it was all said and done, everyone said it was one of the highlights of the trip...why? Because it was fun, … [Read more...]
Every little town seems to have a Main Street and Park City is no exception. Charming little shops and restaurants line the streets are housed in adorable little storefronts that hearken back to this towns silver mining days. It's a lively scene any time of the day or night in fact there's even a ski lift that can take you up to the Park City Mountain Resort. There are an amazing variety of restaurants … [Read more...]
Park City Mountain Resort located within a mile of Main Street is a popular resort offering skiing and snowboarding with a great variety in terrain offering something for everyone from beginners to double black diamond runs. Not quite as snooty as Deer Valley, Park City caters to everyone and overall seemed much less pretentious. The powder and the runs are amazing and we just loved watching everyone zip by in … [Read more...]
You cannot visit Park City, Utah without visiting the Utah Olympic Park which is one of the official training facilities where athletes train for the winter Olympics. Besides touring the facility and seeing the ski jump ramps, bobsled runs, and skeleton trails there are lots of activities that you can take part in. Want to feel what it's like to ride in a bobsled or zip line off the ski jump ramp-you can try it … [Read more...]
Temple Square is truly the heart of Salt Lake City which encompasses a collection of buildings whose centerpiece is the Salt Lake Temple. While you can't enter this strikingly beautiful building that is undoubtedly the cornerstone of the city, it is pretty impressive to take in up close. The Salt Lake Temple is the largest temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (also known as the Mormon … [Read more...]
The Utah state capitol building is a majestic structure inside and out and is worth a quick visit to check it out. Sharing the domed architecture typical of most state capitol buildings, my kids couldn't wait to see how it was painted from the inside. Making our way up the steps we were surprised by the absence of metal detectors and security guards that we've found at just about every statehouse we've ever … [Read more...]
Zion National Park is so awe inspiring. This was the first National Park I'd ever been to in my whole life so I wasn't sure what to expect. Thankfully it was super visitor-friendly, with a shuttle bus that picks you up at the visitor’s center and does a big loop stopping at the major focal points in the park. You can hop on and hop off at any of the stops which is what we did and the bus driver gives a kind of … [Read more...]
Driving up from South Dakota up to Fargo, we stopped at Bonanzaville, a pioneer village with 12 acres, 43 historic buildings, 400,000 artifacts, and millions of memories. It is the region’s largest historical attraction. Bonanzaville is kind of a museum whose exhibits are old buildings. We found out that most of these buildings were not here originally but were painstakingly moved here to create this sort of … [Read more...]
