Cabo, Mexico

POST ABOUT CABO, MEXICO

Once the calendar flips to July, it get so hot and humid in New Orleans, I’m looking for any way to escape the heat for a week or two. I had heard good things about Park City, Utah so my sweetie and I planned a 10 day holiday at the end of the summer. Summer sporting activities here are somewhat spread out, so we flew into Salt Lake City and rented a car to drive to the Sunrise Lodge in Park City, which we then used all week.

Tip: If airport car rental prices are high, check out the Turo app as a shared alternate to standard car rental companies. You rent a car from an individual based on the rate agreed via the app. Just be careful to examine the pickup and drop off location as they are often far from the airport. Some offer free delivery but otherwise the fees can make the prices considerably higher than appears in the initial quote. We did better with an upscale car with no delivery fee than a cheap car with an added delivery fee.

The top three excursions we planned were to go tubing at the Olympic Park, take a hot air balloon ride, and go horse back riding.

Olympic Park

Utah Olympic Park was built for the 2002 winter olympics and remains the site of year round olympic trainers. Even in the summer the skiers train using metal and plastic ramps, and you can watch their hour-long performance show the Flying Aces. It’s a moderately priced spectator sport and runs nearly nightly for about $20. This was a good start to the week and got us a preview of the park that we explored more on another day.

They also host a series of interactive sports that adventurous visitors can enjoy. I did online research watching a few home made YouTube videos and also from the olympic park website. We purchased a JumpPass for $65 USD per person, with a 3-hour window of unlimited rides including the Alpine Slide, two levels of tubing, zip line, Discovery course, etc. For these you hop the ski lift to the top then ride down.

I think the Alpine Slide was the most pleasant. Essentially you get in a tiny one person cart and weave your way down a metal track. You control the speed so it’s a bit like driving your own roller coaster. Ours had a covering, perhaps to keep sun or leaves off the track. Greg actually saw a deer or moose walk nearly up to the track on one of his trips down!

CLICK HERE FOR ALPINE SLIDE VIDEO

Believe it or not, the zip line was the next easiest. I had never done zip line before so I had some anxiety. We had to wait a bit but once the gate opened it was a breeze. Honestly this was really easy and fun and I got a few videos.

CLICK HERE FOR ZIPLINE VIDEO

Tubing, well this was actually a bit scarier than I expected. The first time down I caught some air and also the tube spun around a bit, but it was exhilarating! The second time down, my tube was a bit misaligned so I got a couple pinches on the way down. After that, I was pretty much done.

CLICK HERE FOR TUBING VIDEO

Tip: If you like to shoot adventure videos, bring your own personal helmet with a GoPro mount, as they require you to wear a helmet anyway.

You can also pay additional $80 or so and ride the bobsled. This is a whole different experience, and takes a while since they give you training. Honestly I had all the excitement I needed so I passed on the bobsled plus-up. And needless to say the views are beautiful from the mountain.

Hot Air Balloon Ride

When researching Park City, I discovered a couple of companies that do hot air balloon adventures. This was our one pricey excursion but totally worth it and I absolutely loved it. I wore my GoPro / personal helmet on this activity as well, so I could be hands free to really enjoy the ride while also getting footage. I’m going to share the words I put in my online review of the Skywalker Balloon Company on Google as I think this says it all.

“Yesterday I had the most incredible experience flying in a hot air balloon over Park City Utah. We booked with Skywalker and they were professional, courteous and great with communication. We met with the crew an other passengers in a public spot (gas station) then drove together to find the perfect launch site. We watched as they unloaded the basket then balloon from a truck then filled the balloon with air. This was actually lots of fun and everyone was excited and taking photos. Then they added hot air and uprighted the basket. Even hopping in the basket was a wee adventure but then the real adventure started as we lifted off… Simultaneously exciting, peaceful, thrilling and awesome. We floated with ups and downs, speed up and slow down, all with the wind and excellent guidance of our pilot. Easily one of the best experiences I have ever had!! We volunteered to help with rolling up the balloon after which was giddy fun then we all had a champagne toast to celebrate a great ride. I recommend 100% Skywalker was top notch from start to finish. You must do!!!!”

Indeed.

Horse Back Riding

We chose Red Pine Adventures primarily because they were right next to the resort where we were staying, but it was a good decision regardless. Since we booked mid-week in late august/ early sept we were just behind the summer rush so it was just the two of us plus guide. Two weeks earlier on a weekend we would have been in a string of a dozen horses. Our trail ride was lovely and weaved through some wooded trails, past beautiful aspen and pines. It was a very calm experience and helped me to reconnect with natures.

We did spend a bit of time in the downtown area of Park City, mainly for restaurants and one night we went bar hopping. The main strip also has some really nice art galleries. I think if you booked your hotel in this area it might be possible to get by without renting a car, especially if you could arrange some shuttles or ride-shares.

Antelope Island

After a lovely week with mild weather and moderate adventures, on our return to Salt Lake City we added in a slight detour to check out Antelope Island. We had picked up sandwiches on the way and stopped at a picnic table with a view, to eat our lunch and chat with other visitors.

Tip: Instead of driving 3 hours round trip to walk on the Bonneville salt flat, drive to Antelope Island just NNE of Salt Lake City for a similar natural experience, plus see bison in the wild, and spend that extra time exploring the island on foot instead of driving in the car.

It’s primarily a desolate dry island connected by a low bridge but has interesting views and free range buffalo. We stopped to watch as one buffalo seemed to draw a lot of attention to them self, rolling around and kicking about. Can a buffalo be a drama queen? Witness. Then we drove to the highest point on the island and walked to the peak of the pinnacle for a panorama. It was a pleasant 2-3 hour detour.

For slideshow of Bison click HERE and a slideshow of the island scenery click HERE.

Salt Lake City and Restaurants

We actually had another two days in Salt Lake City before returning home. We had two nights at the Hyatt Please SLC Downtown / The Gateway. At first this seemed to not have much around, but then we found an art and music festival in the Gateway (outdoor mall) on our first day, and a farmer’s market in a park on our second day. SLC has a funky little art scene. In fact I think I bought more artwork on this trip than in the last several years. We definitely had some good meals on this trip.

My favorite dinner restaurant in Park City was Blind Dog. Seriously from the ambience to the interesting meal options to the deliciousness and service.
Favorite unusual lunch was Freshie’s for a Lobster roll. Who thinks of getting a lobster roll in Park City, Utah? They sandwich is so big so we split one and doubled down on the corn side dish.
Favorite takeout sandwich at the Chop Shop Park City. We heard about it because they have Detroit style pizza and a friend works nearby. Greg got the Gencarelli sandwhich, and it turned out to be crazy amazing good.
My favorite dinner restaurant in Salt Lake City was at Cucina Toscana. Get the melanin (eggplant) parmesan appetizer, delicate and delicious, and Scallopine di Vitella, it’s served in a divine mushroom truffle cream sauce.

Our favorite unexpected lounge in Salt Lake City was Seabird, a tiny place on second floor overlooking the Gateway mall. Very cool place for custom cocktails with indoor and outdoor seating.

Thanks for reading! Safe travels!