I’ve lived in Salt Lake City for a year! On the evening of August 12, 2013, my loving, selfless parents and I rolled into the area with a moving truck. And now, a year later, my dad is back in town for a couple days following our Idaho vacation. We were supposed to go to Speed Week, which got rained out, so we decided to drive the mountains instead.
For my dad’s last day in town, we started at Banbury Cross Donuts.
They gave us the old fashioned donut for free because it was cracked!
Salt Lake City continues to impress: we wandered to the Gourmandise bakery due to their reputation for good chocolate croissants, but I think I need to go back and try everything else. The display cases look amazing.
Across the top row we have pistachio cannoli; English, croissant, and apple-cinnamon bread puddings; a peach-shaped pastry complete with dough-leaves; and strawberry rings. The next row is custard/mousse cakes: strawberry, chocolate-raspberry, marzipan, passion fruit, chocolate and tiramisu. The next row is fruit tarts: raspberry, mixed fruit, chocolate-strawberry, mango-raspberry, and kiwi-strawberry. The last row is eclairs and pudding cups. (And this is just one of the display cases.)
Our chocolate muffin and chocolate croissant. (We also got a raspberry macaroon.)
Our first activity was to bike the Provo River Parkway for a few miles, starting at Bridal Veil Falls.
My road bike.
We started at the park.
We then followed the trail along the river.
The paved trail is divided into two-lane bike traffic with an additional lane for foot traffic. (We also saw trail-skateboarders.)
The paved bike trail ends at another park with a Heber Valley Railroad car.
After our whopping six-mile bike ride, we piled back into the car and headed up the Alpine Loop Scenic Byway to the Sundance resort.
Sundance flowers.
The Acura fleet.
Yurts!
The Sundance Resort seems to be a collection of buildings spread out over the property. This one had a restaurant on the top floor and an adventure store on the lower level. (I found out later that they have a restaurant built around a tree somewhere at Sundance.)
Stopping for the view at a turnout on the Deer Creek Reservoir.
Stay classy, Utah.
The scenic Midway valley, which is home to …
… the Swiss-themed Zermatt Resort and Spa! A collection of Polaris off-road vehicles lines the square, ready to take a group on adventures.
The stained-glass fountain just inside the resort’s front doors.
The hotel lobby.
The bakery!
The Bavarian hot chocolate menu at the bakery.
The bakery’s rhubarb jam collection: blueberry, cherry, peach, and apple-cinnamon.
The resort’s backyard (the carousel is behind the trees in the background).
California poppies on the hillside behind the pond.
The view up the hill behind the resort.
The 18-hole mini-golf course.
One of the natural springs hot pots. (“Caution! This hot pot contains natural geothermal water: keep water out of your mouth and nose.” “Warning! Pool water does not meet EPA drinking water standards for arsenic. … There may be health risks associated with bathing in this water. Use at your own risk.” Sounds like a challenge, eh?)
More of the Midway valley, looking back up at the Zermatt Resort in the foothills.
And finally, the Deer Valley resort in Park City, home to alpine slalom, freestyle aerials, and freestyle moguls during the 2002 Olympic games.
The lodge, and the base of the ski slope, with the residences in the background.
Start saving your pennies for ski season at Deer Valley.
Deer Valley’s lake. (Which seems to perpetually have folks throwing tennis balls into the water for their chocolate-colored Labradors to fetch.)
The traditional trip to Jans Mountain Outfitters in Park City.
We ended the day at Vertical Diner. (A berry burst smoothie, and our tender tigers appetizer–chicken tenders with carrot sticks and ranch dressing.)
My taco salad.
And a peanut butter brownie for dessert.
Bridal Veil Falls, a Bridal Veil Falls fish, the river along the bike trail, the Zermatt Resort square (they were hosting a communication conference with a superhero theme), a Zermatt Resort goat, a Zermatt Resort marmot (the first marmot I’ve seen in life for sure, perhaps even at all, since I had no idea what that adorable squirrel-beaver-ferret thing was … anyway watch me jump when it squeaks), and a people-mover at the Deer Valley resort, taking people from the lobby up to the residences.