Warning: This is a long read! The blog is divided into 3 parts- feel free to pause at each part and continue as you enjoy reading this entry. :-)
Part One.
I have never gone on a trip with friends alone for so long. The last I recall was a decade ago in Shenandoah Valley in Virginia; a few weeks after my mom’s passing. But earlier this year, an unexpected friendship was formed between myself, James and Buddy and an impromptu trip to visit Buddy in Utah happened two weeks ago.
James, Buddy and I checking out Park City Mountain Resort for the first time.
A little Background of our friendship: James and I are workmates and became friends. We both first met Buddy when our common friend invited us to play volley ball with them. The friendship didn’t develop instantaneously; but over time we formed a common bond. When Buddy left sometime in January in pursuit of his own purpose, James and I told him that we will see him wherever he maybe. And so not long enough, we found ourselves on the plane to Utah.
I’ve only been to Utah briefly once- in Kanab in 2010; but neither in Salt Lake or Park City let alone Moab. As our plane landed in Salt Lake City, I can’t help but just simply admire its landscape: the snow-capped mountains are everywhere! Buddy met us at the conveyor as James picked his checked in luggage. Then all three of us headed to our first destination, the first part of our trip.
Park City and the many firsts. Park City, UT (Park City Mountain Resort) is known for its famous ski slopes; after all, it was the site of two 2002 winter Olympic events. And for the three of us, it was our first time to be here. After we checked in our hotel, we headed to the ski resort to confirm our reservations for our ski and snow boarding activities the following day. On the way I was still admiring the landscapes and still can’t believe that this trip was actually happening. After hours of checking out the area, dinner and trips to the stores, we ended the night with a toast of wines and beers at the hotel’s bar.
Early birds at the trail. All three of us prepping for our ski and snow boarding adventure!
We woke up early the following day and get started. James and Buddy are going to snow board, while I stuck myself to a ski lesson as this was my first. My class didn’t start until 9 that morning and Buddy and James already scouted and tried the slope as soon as we got there at almost 8am. By mid-day, I realized I wasn’t the only one busting my ass off learning this new sport, but Buddy as well. James perhaps, was the only one enjoying all these shenanigans. Around 1PM we all got back together, and drove to the hotel and enjoyed the hot tub while exchanging our ski and snowboarding adventures mishafts. I told them that I may have fallen more than twenty-five times and my butt was literally sore! (and the hot tub has been the best part of the day so far). We all just laugh. After a quick relaxation, we headed back for the afternoon session. I have made up my mind that I am done for the day as my butt was sore, my legs were still wobbly, and my feet were no longer happy. As for the two, they continued their adventure. But shortly after, Buddy joined me as he felt he had injured his leg. We ended up waiting for James for two hours; and as we checked out, guess who forgot his shoes at the hotel room and walked with just his socks on?
Park City Main Street on a Friday night.
We headed back to our hotel room and changed; and once again enjoyed the hot tub. After some relaxing hour at the tub, we opened a bottle of wine as we chill some more and retold our day’s adventure. By evening, we decided to explore Park City’s Main Street. It was beautiful at night too. I wasn’t sure if it was just because its Friday, but the town was packed. We couldn’t tell who’s local and who’s visitors like us. And with multiple attempts to land a decent dinner, we realized fast that we need reservations in order to get a dinner table. We ended up in mom & pop’s pizza place; and at that point we couldn’t care less as we were all starving. WE continued the rest of our night in our hotel room, with more wine and CupcakKes (not the food)- also another first to hear her music. That night, once again I felt like I was back in college.
Summit Meadows Adventure at Park City where we had our first snow mobile experience.
The following day we woke up later than we did the previous day. Surprisingly with no hangover. Since we have no other plans until the afternoon, we spent most of the day in the hotel relaxing after a nice local artisan breakfast at Bartolo’s. By two o’clock, we headed out for our next adventure of the day- snowmobiling. This is Buddy and I’s first ride with a snowmobile and I am glad that I didn’t rent the mobile on my own and I will explain why. As soon as we get to Summit Meadows Adventure, we checked in and waited briefly and was brought to choose our snow mobiles along with other adventure-seekers. Then I said to myself, “there is no way I will be able to handle a 2,000lbs machine by my feather weight!”
All three of us at the meadows.. before all the fun started!
Buddy and I decided to just rent one snow mobile and I will just be his passenger prior driving to the summit. I am glad we decided that way because as soon as Buddy started the engine, he was in full throttle. With my butt still sore from all the falls I endured from skiing, here comes another challenge for it- the million bumps during the ride! While Buddy felt like he was James Bond driving the snowmobile in full speed, I felt like Victor Espinoza riding his horse as fast as he can to win the Kentucky Derby. Only thing was, I was just a rider and not a jockey. Meanwhile, James was having the time of his life. He was actually riding behind us to make sure we were doing ok until he met an uneven area and he was thrown out of his snow mobile. That split-second made us worried, until he got up, walked and jumped back into his mobile. He said he was OK and then we were all back to driving. The trail we trudged was winding, steep and quite frankly, beautiful but so dangerous. Mid way to our trip we had to briefly stop because of the snow storm too but that passed quickly. Over all, it was a fun-filled ride. Thanks to my James “Buddy” Bond!
Our last night at Park City was spent with fine Thai cuisine dinner and another college-like session of drinking and CuppcakKes. The next day, we headed to the next leg of this journey with a side trip to Spanish Fork, UT where Buddy showed us the farm he volunteered.
The AC Hotel in Park City. Our home for 4 days and 3 nights. The hot tub is the best part of this trip!
James and Buddy being playful at this vandalized and abandoned building.
Part Two.
Moab: An enchanting place.
We travelled in a winding but beautiful mountain roads for almost four hours to be in Moab. We made a quick stop to Elmo, UT and took an unnamed road that brought us to a scenic and what we presumed an abandoned school in an old mining site. A bit eerie, but we investigated the place anyway then decided to head back to the main road and continued driving to where we going.
It was mid-afternoon when we got to Moab town line and we decided to just hit the Arches National Park before heading to our Air BnB to check in. As we slowed down the park’s entrance to get our ticket, I was astonished by the formation of the red rocks presented right before my eyes. Speechless. The last I saw red rocks was back in 2015 when I first visited Sedona with Bob. I was in awe that time and still, is in awe seeing these once again. The only difference now is that, the sun was making the colors pop.
Slowly we drove and our eyes could not stop admiring the beauty of what nature was offering us. We stopped to see first the Park Avenue Arch, then the Courthouse Tower’s view point (took some photos with my models), and to Balance Rock. It was getting late and we are getting tired, so we decided to end our first Arches adventure after we hiked the North and South Window Arches and the Turett Arch.
The scenic Park Avenue. Our first stop.
Hot tub was the next best thing ever happened and all three of us agreed!
Finally, we got to our AirBnB. This place did not disappoint. As we unpacked our overnight bags, we also started drinking wine and hit the hot tub. The hot tub has been our best friend since Park City; nothing eases the exhaustion brought by the activities we had and Buddy’s long drive than the hot tub (and the many glasses of wine). Then we took a break from that to grab a quick dinner downtown. Then back again to the hot tub. I don’t exactly remember how the night ended, but when we woke up it was another day.
Aerial shot of the Mill Creek. Makes the three of us feel like we landed In Mars.
We finally got to see what Moab downtown looked on a daylight as we started the second day of our adventure. It is a quaint town, but also looks isolated. We decided to check the Mill Creek Waterfall before heading to the Arches again, but it was an epic fail. In the beginning of the trail we followed the path, but somehow we lost it. We ended up a valley on a hill admiring the panoramic Mill Creek view instead. I flew my drone and shot a quick video of the three of us- in my mind I was singing Waterfalls by TLC.; the closest we got to the elusive waterfall.
Skyline Arch.
The hikes at the Arches National Park continued after our waterfall snafu. For another three hours we hiked the Sand Dune, Skyline, Devil’s Garden and Landscape Arches (unfortunately, we didn’t make it to the Delicate Arches as it requires 2 more hours of hike). After moments of admiring the natural beauty of these arches, we decided it was time to head back to the car. There are so much more to see but not enough time. At some point we will be back here for sure. And just like that, we were on our way to our last and final destination.
Part Three.
Salt Lake City.
After almost four hours of driving from Moab (including stops) we arrived to Salt Lake City.
It was almost sunset after we checked in the hotel, James and I decided to head out and see the city while we gave Buddy a time to rest. As we walked towards the temple of the Church of the Latter-day Saints, I noticed that there weren’t so many people hustling and bustling the streets. It’s a bit odd that a big city like Salt Lake is pretty laid back. It isn’t like the big cities I’ve been to that you’ll bump elbow to elbow; but it’s also still pandemic- and admire Utah for being so obedient of the mask mandate.
Two things we checked out: the temple of the Church of the Latter-Day Saints and the State Capitol. The church is under major renovation and is not open for public. Though you can roam around the perimeter, we didn’t see much as I hoped for. I flew the drone near the temple, and at one point a couple of the Mormons approached us and speak to us briefly. We thought they’d start talking about their religion, so I ended up landing my drone. But, in fact, they were just trying to be curious about what we’re doing and were actually friendly and left us alone after few moments.
A long exposure shot during sunset of Utah’s State Capitol.
James and I continued walking the hilly streets to Utah’s State Capitol. The neighborhood reminds me of Worcester, MA- also hilly and pretty. We saw a rainbow flag hanging on one of the porches- it brought a smile to my face. When we finally reached a perfect corner with the perfect view of the capitol, I took a perfect photo of the building. Thanks to James for patiently waiting. We took an uber ride to go back to the hotel and the driver confirmed that Salt Lake is pretty much laid-back and nothing really much is happening.
We rested for a bit and started heading out. We walked around and once again, we all noticed that most of the establishments were closed even before 7PM. We ended up at the City Creek Center and finally decided to have an ultra boujee Italian dinner (and more cocktails and wine) at Brio. Best way to end this trip. We decided to end the night at the hotel and the next day Buddy brought us to the airport and once more had a last glimpse of the snow-capped landscape. We said adieux but already planning another getaway like this with my new found friends.
Our ultra boujee dinner at Brio Italian Grille.
What a night! still stoked of how beautiful The Arches National Park.