Salt Lake City and Park City Wonderland!






Gateway Center Olympic Plaque

We decided to bypass Moab this trip as it would have been out of our way and we would have only gotten to spend a day there. We really needed a week, so we would have to catch it on another trip. Onward to Salt Lake City where we had lived for thirteen years before we moved to Florida in 1997. We were anxious to see how much it had changed and how the Olympics of 2002 made a permanent impression.
It felt good to be in Salt Lake City again. The mountains were as majestic as we remembered them still with some snow left from the heavy winter show blast. What we found extremely different was the growth depicted by the freeway traffic. We found this when we had to go to City Center Gateway Mall where all the main stores are found. We were looking for the mother of all Apple stores in hope that they would have a Shuffle charger so that John would be able to enjoy some tunes when he ran. We thought it was going to be a simple trek down the freeway. What we did not anticipate was an accident on the six lane freeway that would have us in a car log jam for an hour and half. Also our poor planning didn't help with us going at five during the rush hour. We didn't get a whole lot of cooperation from other drivers who saw our windsurfers and bikes and our Florida license plate. Somehow we managed to get down town.

We drove by the Salt Palace where the Jazz basketball games used to be played. There were two bronze statues of two basketball players and we could only surmise that they were Carl Malone and John Stockton who were at their height when we were here before. To our surprise they even named one of the streets, Carl Malone Blvd. Rounding the corner we found parking and strolled to the waterpark. Kids were all around getting splashed by the sudden sprinkler jets that would pop up at different moments all around the plaza. The surprise splashes sent squeals of laughter among the groups of kids as they danced about while parents took pictures and a jazz band played nearby. We found the plaque commemorating the organizers of the 2002 Olympics and had John pose next to it.

We found the Apple store right across the street, and as we walked in we found it full of people looking at the latest innovations put out by Apple. The most interest was IPAD. The clerk demonstrated all the aps for an eager crowd ready to shell out $500 for one. We found a clerk and asked if he could find a charger for the latest Shuffle. We led us to the back where we looked for the tiny Shuffle adjustment and could not find one. He then looked in the back room for about 15 minutes. We thought he was taking his dinner break until he came back and told us that there were none there and he would have to order some. He said they would be there next week. We said thanks but we were leaving tomorrow. So John would ha to do without his music for this trip.

We decided to avoid the freeway and go via the high road in hopes of having time to take a ride to the canyons. Since Lynda family lives near the canyon road, we planned to stop by and pay a visit. John miraculously found exactly where they lived and drove up to their home at the end of the col-de-sac. We found Dad at home just ready to mow the lawn and Mom was about doing errands. He called and left a message in hoped she had taken her phone with her. Suddenly we heard the "Charge of the Light Brigade" and Dad said, "Nope, she must have left her phone at home". So we said that we could visit another friend and be back in an hour when she would most likely be back. We then drove to Sandy a community in the South part of the valley where I once taught Middle school. We gave the Garmin girl the address and let her lead us to Henry Vogel's house. He lived in a stylish mobile home community near Draper. Henry met John when they worked at East High School in 1987. He taught ROTC as he was a Sargent Major in the Army. Henry was from Germany and still has a slight accent from his youth. We became friends through skiing and windsurfing as he was very active and always eager to live on the edge. We talked about old times and how we plan to try new ventures in the future. He always told such funny stories that would make us laugh and have a good time.



Ron, Mary, and Julie



Ron, John, and Julie

We left Henry and rode up toward the canyon to meet with Lynda's parents. We remembered an easier way to get there than the route given us by the Garmin Girl, and we arrived at the Johnson's home in half the time. Ron and Julie greeted us at the door and invited us in. We sat and discussed our trip so far and were happy that they had followed the blog and were up to date on all our adventures. We got on the subject of Kentucky Fried Chicken and told them how we had looked for the first one that opened in Salt Lake City. Ron then told us how he had been one of the first workers back in his college years and when he had to measure out the secret formula to mix with the batter. This formula is closely guarded to this day and present day franchises are given the mixture already mixed. So Ron may hold that secret to this day though with the large portions thrown in at a rapid pace, the exact measurements would be hard to reproduce. Ron did add that in his recent trip to China, he observed that there was a KFC on every corner and it is very popular with the Chinese. So it is safe to say that KFC will be around for a while. We spent another enjoyable session with the Johnson's chatting about Lynda and our grandchildren and other pleasantries. We then said our good-bye as we left Salt Lake and rode to Park City.



I need a drink!

The drive to Park City showed all the improvements made for the Winter Olympics in 2002. The first ski area as you drive toward Park City was Wolf Mountain. Now there is the ski jump clearly visible from the road. Near this area was where our Best Western Landmark Inn hotel was situated near a new commercial development anchored by MacDonald's, Wal-Mart and Home Depot. Across the street another commercial development with Target and other like department stores. Just like home!

We made it to our 48th Wedding Anniversary!

 We checked in to our hotel and got ready to go to a night on the town to celebrate our 48^th wedding anniversary. When I mentioned this event to friends before leaving on this ventured, some said that it should be pending if we were still talking to each other by then. Well we are and having a great time to boot! It was early evening when we drove into the festive town of Park City. We drove up Main Street with restaurants doing great business, lots of people walking all around enjoying the hanging blooms all up and down the streets. We parked and joined the strollers checking out restaurants and quaint, trendy shops. We passed by the Egyptian Theater where the Sundance Film Festival is held every year in late January. Down the street an open stage exhibited a group of musicians playing blue grass mountain music. A crowd gathered and gave an appreciative response when they finished a set. The open air restaurant across the street seemed like a great place to dine and listen to live music, so we settled in and checked the menu. The Bistro had unusual entrees. We ordered a salad with five varieties of greens, nuts, and berries. For the entrée we went with the pork tenderloin, asparagus and sweet potatoes. To celebrate, John ordered a bottle of white, Washington wine. Perfect: Good music, good food, good wine, and good company. What could be better! 

Main Street Park City



A couple next to us had their Labrador Retriever named Sandy tied to the fence post gathering lots of praise from people passing by. We got to talking to them and found that they lived in Sausalito and he commuted to Palo Alto to work in the computer business, and recently had relocated to Park City. He commuted to Draper to do a computer project. They could have found a place in Salt Lake but they wanted to say they lived in Park City in spite of the huge commute. They were on their third martini and enjoying life with Sandy helping them to make new friends. We left them when their entrée arrived and walked to a pub getting ready to the evening's entertainment at ten in the evening. John ordered a stinger and got into a conversation cute girl with tattoos and body piercings as I watched the band called the Irish Brogue get their gear wired up for the performance. The tattoo girl was a ski racer and knew the ski racing group of the 2002 Olympics. She talked a lot about Body Miller. John commented that he had read Body Miller's autobiography. So they got into talking about Body the ski racer, tennis player, and how he grew up in the woods. Meanwhile, the band was still getting their act together not yet tuning up. It would have taken at least five stingers before they hit their first song. I decided it was time to go so I gave John the GO sign and we departed to our hotel after a lovely evening smelling the pine in the air and the fragrance of blossoms everywhere.



Riding the Bike Trail in Park City



The next morning we wanted to get an early start and do some of the bike trails in town. We were surprised by a full complimentary buffet breakfast. We were also surprised by the number of kids in the breakfast area. Each family had at least five or more children and they were everywhere. We should have expected this as we were in Utah a state with the lowest average population. We had a satisfying meal and set off to find some trails. We went to the local bike shop in town to get some maps and found some trails that were good for road bikes but the most interesting ones were for mountain bikes. It was explained to us that most road bikes go on the street and share the road with the cars. That was great for locals but not for visitors. So we did a short bike hike and finished it with a run through some stylish neighborhoods.



Mary and Jenny



When we returned to the bike shop, White Pines Touring, we asked them for advice regarding our Yakima Rocket Box. They carried Yakima products and maybe they could shed light into what had happened to our lock. Jenny took us under her wing and followed us to our car to see if she could fix the lock. She was persistent but alas after a half hour, she came to the conclusion that we had gotten a lemon and that the best she could to was to sell us a new lock for thirty-five dollars. John said no thanks that the straps would work for the rest of the trip, and we would demand a new lock at the end of our travels when we got back to Tampa. For her trouble though, we wanted to take her picture for our blog and advertise her shop, White Pines Touring as they supply skis in the winter and bikes in the summer.

Alpine Slide



Riding up the chair lift is such a treat!

 After lunch we were ready to do some gravity games. We went up to the Park City Ski Plaza where the ski chairs were being used for the Alpine Slide, Roller Coaster, and Zip Line. We had time to do two and chose The Alpine Slide and the Zip Line. We got in line for the Alpine Slide and it did not take long as they were using the large six person chair lifts. The ride up the mountain was a thrill enough as we slowly ascended almost to the top of the Pay Day lift. The view was spectacular on such a clear, beautiful day. At the top we were told to step off the chair and quickly round the corner so as not to be hit by the chair as it made its way around to descend on its way back. Having skied for many years this was not a problem but some people had to be helped to get out of the way. We then took our sleds to the starting position and waited for instructions. First we had to turn our hats backwards like the boys in the hood so as not to let them fly during the slide. Then we were told to not race and to use the break on rounding corners, finally to lay off the break at the end which would stop the sled before the end causing anyone behind you to crash into you. So we were off! John left like a bat out of hell and disappeared around the bend. I was on another track and was concentrating on braking around the corners and just making it down in one piece. When we finally met at the end, John said he had lost his hat in spite of turning it around. Then we heard a voice from the cart behind John's, "Did anyone lose a hat? This got caught under my sled." And the lady produced John's mangled, dirty, grimy Titleist hat that had seen better times on the golf course. "Oh my hat!" exclaimed John as he hit it against the fence post a few times and put it on his head with a grin.

After that experience we treated ourselves to an ice cream cone and went into the lounge to relax. We were told that we would have to wait an hour for the zip line as they only let two people go at a time so we headed for the lounge. The lounge chairs were so comfortable that it didn't take long for us to take a power nap after eating our fill. We slowly got up an hour after our nap and joined the long line for the chair lift. As we were waiting in line it didn't take long for John to spot an interesting group of girls up ahead all wearing blue-aqua bandanas on their heads. I could see he was having a great time with this group laughing; they pointing at his hat and he pointing at their bandanas. So I asked the people behind me to hold my place in line and went up to the group. John introduced me and said that the group of girls came from the Czech Republic and were sponsored by NuSkin, a facial cream conglomerate from Salt Lake City. Apparently, NuSkin was going to introduce their products in Europe and these young girls were to be trained to do so. Today, however, was their day of fun and they were sure enjoying themselves.

John talking to the Czeck Girls



Ski runs - a view from the chair lift

We finally made it to the top of the hill but noticed the long queue at the Zip line. We made many friends in the next hour of waiting. The group in front of us was a church group from northern Idaho. They entertained us by playing Simon Says, and people behind us sang risqué songs with everyone joining in. By the time we were near the front, we joined in the hoopla when the next two victims were pushed off the edge and disappeared down the mountain screaming or yelling. By the time it was our turn, we were ready for the plunge. Safe in the harness, we dropped approximately thirty yards then ascended peacefully until snagged at the end. It was a nice little thrill and worth the long wait. All in all, we had packed everything we wanted into this day and returned to our hotel tired but well satisfied and pleased with ourselves.

Launching the Zip Line!