Travel: Park City, Utah

We’re about six years into our adventure out west.  I think I’ve made it abundantly clear how much we like skiing and playing in the fun winter weather. Chris and I had never really experienced it growing up Florida style.  The boys have grown up with it and can’t imagine not having it.  We’ve been consistent Epic pass holders, but haven’t ventured to far past the Colorado resorts like Vail and Crested Butte.  This year, we changed that and headed even more west. We traveled to Park City, Utah with some of our Florida friends, the Hochet’s, for a week of skiing, snowmobiling and fishing.  We finished it off with a healthy dose of Wyoming blizzard down I-80. I’m writing this on our drive back home to avoid eye contact after my Google maps error took us this way through a white knuckle storm.

(I’ve mentioned the Hochet’s before when we made Lina’s favorite Colombian dish – Cazuelas de Mariscos!  No fish stew this trip, but we still had a great week of cozy meals!)

Snowmobiling with Wasatch Excursions

In the spirit of seeing new places, we also tried some new adventures. I can’t believe we hadn’t tried before because snowmobiling was awesome.  Whoa.  We don’ have a boat anymore, but I think Chris has found a new toy that he’s set eyes on.  And unlike the boat, it doesn’t require us to buy a new car to pull it!

Having thought we were well prepared because we had ski gear, we were actually not.  We brought the wrong shoes, and gloves and actually thought we could use our ski helmets and goggles.  Thank goodness, the tour group had everything we needed in order to stay warm for the excursion! 

We started the tour with a different ride in a snow buggy to the Wasatch Mountain State Park where the (brand new) snowmobiles were kept. I really liked that part. I had a low stress seat in the back watching the pretty scenery and the twinkling snow come in. But alas, we arrived at the snowmobiles and started the real adventure!

We spent a few hours with our guide Lauren from Wasatch Excursions on the snowmobiles.  She was so informative and fun. She detailed where we were in nature, the terrain and noting all the animals to look for along the way.  And, she knew all the best spots to stop for pictures. I would say that she probably did 95% of our photography. It let some nervous parents keep our hands attentive to the throttle (…and more so, the brakes…).  We went through the most amazing and giant aspen groves, raced through wide open snow covered fields and traversed trails all over the mountain.  No one in our group had ever been on a snowmobile so there was definitely nerves to start, quickly replaced by excitement.    

Skiing Park City

We hadn’t seen much snow yet this winter and were a little nervous what the conditions would be like when we got to the ski hill.  But then a snow dance and some other superstitious, snow making maneuvers later the snow gods gave us everything we asked for on this trip and then some.  It snowed just about every day – inches on inches per day of the good stuff.  Skiing was fluffy and new trails were opening each day. It couldn’t have been more perfect. 

We had been pretty avid ski renters up until this trip. ‘Date the ski, marry the boot’ has been our motto up to this point. But a few days before the trip, and still in jolly Christmas spirits, Chris and I finally decided to take the plunge and bought our own skis. We’ll forever remember that Park City is where we would break them in. That and the nerve wrecking journey through Wyoming with them mounted on top of our car and 70+ mph wind gusts.

We had also managed to ski five days in a row – something we’ve dreamed of doing, but never quite got there. Some full days, some half days – but every day we booted up to hit the slopes. My legs have never been more sore. I even went to the gym exactly one time to get my legs in shape. My New Year’s resolution was to go to the gym two times per week – this trip counted for the whole month of January.

Other Things to Do:

I know by now, that there is not rest for the Thomas’s when on vacation. While snowmobiling and skiing were the major adventures of the trip, we we able to sneak in some time for some other great activities:

River Fishing near Jordanelle State Park

For four boys who all met playing city league soccer, I would never have thought that a love of fishing is one of the things that they had most in common. Cold as it may have been, they all took turns changing into some waders and casting a line. We definitely came home with wet gloves and no fish. I don’t why, but I think the waders are just so cute.

Horse and Sleigh Ride under the Stars

This was another one of those activities that we had contemplated doing a thousand times but never have. The boys had snuck on to the ski hill to go sledding the first few nights until they were startled by the horses pulling sleighs right down their makeshift track. The laughs we got watching them scurry back to the hotel, made it only natural that we would have to finally book the tour.

Homestead Crater

Let me tell you what. I have a very sedentary desk job and do not do nearly enough exercising. Five straight days of skiing led to some very tired and sore legs. And this literal hole in the ground (and cave), was sublime for my ski legs. This crater pumped out hot, minerally water and was so clear, all you could do was float and relax.

Alpenglobe Dinner

This was quite the pleasant surprise! To be upfront, the parents were not to thrilled about the extra cost to sit in the bubble. But we were there on a quiet night, while the kitchen prepped for the upcoming Sundance Festival and they let us enjoy the eating in the outside, under the stars in the Alpenglobe. It was so cozy, with heaters,blankets and pillows on such a cold and snowy night. Only in this moment did I realize that starry nights were a theme for this trip. Dinner was tasty and made for a great birthday dinner!

Farewell to Park City

A week of travel to Park City made for a perfect winter trip. I think since we live in an epicenter of winter wonderland, it’s hard to imagine needing to go much further. But this trip was filled with the best of company and doing some new things that took us each of us out of our current routines. We had been planning this trip with the Hochet’s for almost a year before we went. It had been a destination we’ve talked about visiting for some time and I am so thankful we were able to make it happen! And for everyone else’s enjoyment, becuase it was definitely not enjoyable for us, here’s the long awaited picture of the view from the car traversing home through that Wyoming blizzard. (Only to get home and it be under zero degrees the next days!)

File: Travel, Park City