Utah & Idaho

Greetings from the Mountain West! The Metz Girls have once again hit the road to discover all the beauty and diversity of the United States, with this being our most ambitious itinerary yet — Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Arizona — but, hey, the girls are a year older and my wanderlust grows stronger with each successful journey. I had the better part of a year to come up with a more witty title for my “blog", but it seems as if the girls have nixed all of my suggestions — “One Mom, Two Girls & GPS”, “Have Tabasco, Will Travel” (this was a no-brainer for me, as I never leave home without a bottle of Tabasco sauce!), “Brooklyn Girls Who Travel”, etc. So, the original name sticks and at least you won’t think it’s spam! Herewith is the first installment of my “blog” which, as you can see, is not an actual blog — the additional step of requiring everyone to log into a website may cause me to lose “subscribers” and at this still early stage in my blogging career, I cannot afford to lose any eyeballs! For ease of reading, as well as simplifying the editing process, I have organized things by subject matter. Happy reading and I hope summer is off to a great start for each of you!

UTAH

Park City

This city may be a popular winter destination but, if you love the outdoors, you must visit in the summer! Although, I am not certain when summer actually begins as it snowed (yes, snowed!) on our second day! Makes for great pictures, but certainly brings outdoor activities to a halt. The good news is that I had a little flexibility in the schedule and so we extended our stay by a day and revised the hotel reservations at our next two stops. Luckily, the snow and weather cleared overnight and so we were able to take in some amazing sights and enjoy a lively downtown scene. Oh, and it never hurts to discover an outlet mall and movie theater, both of which came in handy on that snow day.

Here are a few highlights:

Snowfall in June!

Our hotel was located alongside a golf course and this is a view of the course — a veritable winter wonderland!

Mirror Lake Scenic Byway

The Mirror Lake Scenic Byway has to be Utah’s premier high-altitude wilderness drive — cutting through Utah’s highest mountain range and reaching an elevation of 10,678 feet above sea level before descending to Mirror Lake. The lake’s name comes from the near-perfect reflection of the surrounding mountains and trees from the shore, but it was 20 degrees colder and overcast during our visit, so the “perfect” photo was not to be. That said, I love this image of the lake, as it’s a perfect reflection of the way we experienced it — 38 degrees and drizzly!

Ski Resorts are for More Than Skiing

We visited Olympic Park, a winter sports park built for the 2002 Winter Olympics, and Park City Resort, a popular ski resort, and tried everything from the alpine coaster (awesome!), alpine slide (fun, but a little scary as there was the potential to fly off the tracks), an elevated obstacle course, scenic chairlift and ziplines. Along the way, we had fun watching athletes freestyle jumping into the aerials training pool on skis!

Alpine Scenic Byway

The Alpine Scenic Byway is a serpentine and spectacular 27-mile drive through American Fork Canyon and the heart of the Uinta National Forest, with fantastic mountain landscapes around every corner. Here are a few of the sites we saw and experienced along the way.

Cascade Springs

Located a short detour off the paved road is Cascade Springs, a refreshing oasis of fresh vegetation, inviting pools, and cascading waterfalls. Water from the springs flows over a series of travertine terraces and pools and eventually continues on its way to nearby Provo Deer Creek.

Bridal Veil Falls

Bridal Veil Falls is a double cataract waterfall which drops 607 feet to the Provo River. And, if you’re like me and wondering why there are so many waterfalls bearing the same name — we have visited two others, Bridalveil Fall, one of the most prominent waterfalls in Yosemite National Park and Bridal Veil Falls, a waterfall on Bridal Veil Creek in the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon — you will be happy to know that it is a frequently-used name for waterfalls that resemble a bride’s wedding veil. You be the judge!

Timpanogos Cave National Monument

The highlight of our drive was a Ranger-led tour that took us on an exploration of three natural limestone caves on the north slope of Mt. Timpanogos. The cave is well known for its colorful formations, unique helictites, fault-controlled passages, alpine surroundings, and rich history. It was amazing to see the haunting beauty of these caves up close and to learn more about the caves’ formation and discovery. Of course, in order to enjoy this wonderful excursion, you had to hike a 1.5 mile winding trail, with an 1,160 feet elevation gain. The trail is considered strenuous and difficult but, as always, the girls were real troopers and we have some beautiful pictures (and memories) to show for our efforts! A special shout-out to Peytin, the bravest six-year-old I know!

Oh, and in keeping with our love of national parks, national monuments, and national historical parks, the girls once again immersed themselves in the Junior Ranger program and were sworn in as Junior Rangers!

IDAHO

Idaho Falls

We bid a fond farewell to the Beehive State and headed north to Idaho Falls. Along the way, I was pleased to learn that I-15 has a speed limit of 80 mph in Utah and 75 mph once you cross into Idaho, which made the 254 mile trek a relative breeze. Idaho Falls is the largest city in eastern Idaho (by east coast standards, it’s quite small) and, although our stay was brief, we still managed to enjoy the Snake River, great Mexican food, the Idaho Falls Farmers Market (which Sydney described as being better than the market at Grand Army Plaza, as there were many more wares for sale, including jewelry and clothes), and a surprising conversation with two locals.

Idaho Falls Greenbelt

Located along the Snake River, it’s a very scenic, 6-mile paved trail enjoyed by bicyclists, joggers and pedestrians with lovely views of the local wildlife, a Japanese garden, and the centerpiece — a 20-foot waterfall.

Other Highlights

Traveling on a funicular that transports guests from the base at Deer Valley Resort — 230 vertical feet — up to The St. Regis Hotel to enjoy lunch at J&G Grill, where floor-to-ceiling windows afford views of the slopes. Beautiful!
A visit to the Sundance Mountain Resort, owned by Robert Redford and named after the role he played in the 1969 film, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Having a washer / dryer in your hotel room, and Target stores in each city!

Okay, that's all for now. We are currently enjoying an active stop in Big Sky, Montana, and heading out tomorrow afternoon for Yellowstone National Park — super excited! Love each of you and thanks for taking this journey with me!