Only a 6-hour drive south was our next destination of Salt Lake City/Park City, Utah. Sean, Cory and I all know a girl named Heather Thomas that we went to school with in both middle and high school. Heather moved out to Utah after high school to pursue her dreams of becoming a professional skier. Keep an eye out for her and all of her edits as she climbs the rankings to get professional! Heather was nice enough to let us stay there for a couple nights on some air mattresses which was a luxury after sleeping on gravel in Yellowstone. Heather lived in a great little community in Park City which was about 10 minutes from the mountains, 30 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City, and 5 minutes from some major outlet stores. She lives in a townhouse-like setup with her girlfriend Tay who is also on the verge of becoming a professional skier, Stoops who moved to Utah from Juneau, Alaska, and finally Mike who moved from St. Louis, Missouri. It was great getting to know all of them, hear their stories of what brought them to Park City and share some laughs as well.
When we first got to Heather’s, we hung out for a little bit, told stories and tried to start filling in the four-year gap that was there after not seeing her throughout all of college. She informed us of some awesome places in or near Park City like the Olympic training grounds, Jupiter Bowl and some indoor trampoline gyms. We went to the Olympic training grounds in Park City first. We pulled up and it was amazing to see all of the events that you seen on TV in front of you. They also had more general activities like the alpine slide and ziplining of the premises. We encountered some young skiers working on their technique while hitting some jumps into a giant pool. It was very interesting to watch because the ramps and jumps were made of wet turf like the kind you would find on an artificial field. Also, the pool had piping that went all across the bottom that caused bubbled to come up right as the skier went off the jump to break the flatness of the water for a smoother landing. It was definitely cool to see in person all of the history that was made there throughout the Olympics and the training that goes on there. Jupiter Bowl was next and it was by far the nicest bowling alley that I have ever been to. First off, it was big ball bowling which is something that we do not have very many of around us back home. Also, they had a full bar for those who are of age. You can order full meals of just as appetizer while you are bowling as well. Within Jupiter Bowl, there was also a sit-down, upscale grille restaurant which I was very impressed with. Overall, this place was awesome! I highly recommend it to anyone who is going through Park City.
The next day, we went to the wAIRhouse which is an indoor trampoline gym where you can play in a trampoline dodgeball arena, jump into a foam pit, do acrobatics, and if anyone remembers what “SlamBall” was, you can do that too! For those who don’t remember SlamBall, it was an old basketball league that was on TV where they would wear full pads and play basketball on trampolines and slam dunk almost every time they got the ball. Although the wAIRhouse was a bit more of a younger demographic, I had more fun than any other time on the trip I think! Heather brought her GoPro camera and we had a blast using that, doing flips, doing crazy slam dunks, playing dodgeball, and acting like 10-year-olds. If you are ever staying in Park City, I would highly recommend going to any trampoline gym if you haven’t been to one already.
After a long day on the trampolines, we got back to Heather’s and she informed us of some super cheap retail outlets that were less than 5 minutes from her townhouse. She didn’t want to accompany us due to the amount of money she had already spent there, but we were ready! I went straight to the Vans outlet and got 2 pairs of shoes for $30 which is an absolute steal! Also, I picked up an $8 fedora from Old Navy because I was feeling like adding a little pizzazz to my wardrobe. I could definitely get used to this place!
We stayed at Heather’s for another night to watch the Bruins game as they look to win the Stanley Cup. After a disappointing triple-overtime defeat, we hit the hay to get ready for the next stop on the trip: Arches National Park in Moab, Utah!
Check out the rest of the pictures from Salt Lake City/Park City, Utah on the Ultimate Road Trip Facebook page!
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