You’ve made it! The final installment from our Labor Day adventures. And I think this post has the best part of the trip!

Other than the Park City Mountain Resort that we visited on Day Two, the only place we really wanted to see was the Olympic Park.

Though Salt Lake City was the official location of the Olympics That Romney Built, many of the events took place in Park City. It’s now mostly used as a training facility, but they have an awesome (free!) museum and activities you can do across its grounds, including a real ride on the bobsled track. If that didn’t come with a $75/person price tag for the less-than-a-minute ride, we probably would have tried it. $150 can buy you a lot at the outlet mall, mind you.

What we WERE willing to shell out the cash for was its Extreme Zipline.

You basically ride a chair lift (there’s that dreaded word again) up past the Olympic nordic ski jump and ride the zipline down to the base of the jump…on an already tall mountain. They boast it’s one of the steepest ziplines in the world. So, as soon as we got there we grabbed our tickets and headed up before reason and fear could set in.

This is the last picture of us before we climbed on the lift. I might have muttered “just in case” after I took it. You know…just in case.

Here are the ski jumps. If you see the platform at the very top, that’s where we were headed. As soon as we got on the lift, some other brave souls flew down the line screaming. Holy *&$# — that was going to be us.

Unfortunately, those damn chair lifts are so slow you have an E-T-E-R-N-I-T-Y to dwell on the fact that this probably isn’t the wisest thing you’ve ever done. You know, suspend in a seat and fly down a mountain and all.

The higher and higher you go, the lighter and lighter your head gets. I don’t know if this is due to the altitude or adrenaline, but it wasn’t a great feeling.

This is still mid-ride! You are so unbelievably high.

In case you ever wondered what’s under all that snow on the ski jumps, now you know.

When you get to the top there’s a bathroom. I’m not even kidding. It’s the smartest place I’ve even seen a series of stalls because as soon as you get off that chair lift and realize what you’re about to do you’re either about to throw up or have a case of the Nervous Stomach. Better to deal with it there than when you’re flying down. (I imagine.)

Then, you walk to the platform.

That guy in the blue was there with his parents (!), wife, and two daughters. Well, please, if 70-year-olds could do this, I’d be fine right? Right before their blue doors opened they made some joke about their wills and then I felt queasy all over again.

This sign of stats didn’t help either.

As the line moved closer, you began to see the drastic drop you were about to encounter.

I kid you not, just looking at the pictures again sends my heart racing. And since you didn’t see the beauty that is the gopro head-mount, here you go.

Now there was nothing else to do but do it. A few pointers I should mention before you watch the video:

1. The most terrifying seconds of my life were hanging in that seat, staring at the blue door, waiting for it to open. You are suspended above the platform with your knees against the wall like it’s a freakin’ horse race. (I watch Joe get ready so you have a better idea of what happens.)

2. At the beginning of the video, I step on the platform to get in the seat and you briefly get a glance of how high I am. Just don’t miss it. You should feel your stomach turn.

3. You really need to turn down the speakers. There’s no profanity, again–small miracles, people, but there’s loud screaming.

4. Joe loses his hat on the ride. Fear not, it was from Columbia so afterwards we hit up the outlets across the street and found him a $10 replacement. Better that than the gopro.

5. Enjoy.

Are you still with me? I think you can pinpoint exactly where in the ride I went from “ohmygod!” to “oh my GOD!.” It’s subtle, but it’s there. And, yes, I definitely waved to the people we met on that platform. When you think you might die, the bonds you forge in those last minutes are somewhat precious. (And I think they were jealous they had forgotten their own gopro.)

Afterwards, when the feeling in our legs was back, we walked back up to visit the museum and got to watch some of ski jump training, which takes place in a huge pool. You can even take a few lessons and try it yourself, which looked pretty fun.

Here are some of the pros we watched:

This is a better view, but it’s sideways. Sorry. #itssundaynightandimtired

The Olympic Museum is really well done. You immediately walk in to a long hallway that chronicles the evolution of ski style.

I especially connected to this lavender number. It reminded me of my own ski style in the 80s. You remember, I’m sure.

I also fell hard and fast for this one, speaking of the 80s.

It ends with the uniforms our US Olympians wore in Sochi, along with a few medals won.

Overhead are weird animals that you encounter face-to-face on the second level. They were used in the Opening Ceremony.

Wouldn’t be much of an Olympic Museum without the actual torch, amIright?

And it wouldn’t be a vacation with me if I wasn’t forcing my husband to take pictures like this. Thanks, baby.

They also had a cool way of explaining why Utah Snow is so great.

We also got to see how the medals were made…

…and feel exactly how heavy a curling stone is. Spoiler Alert: heavy. (Have I ever shared my hatred for that sport? It’s a blog post of its own.)

One last photo op. There were all different kinds of winter sport vehicles in the lobby you could climb into. (Again, thanks, Joe.)

By then it was hat-replacing time, so we ran back over to the outlets. While we were there, my leg kept feeling SUPER itchy through my jeans. As soon as we got back in the car, I pulled up my pant leg and my entire calf was swollen and bright red with darker red splotches.

I should mention that all summer I’ve been fighting a yet-to-be-identified rash (a point I’ve managed to keep blog-free until now), so this new rash was actually over the old rash. It’s complicated.

To keep it simple: it required a trip to urgent care and the acquiring of three huge tubes of steroid cream and orders to stay indoors. Thus ended our Park City outdoor adventures. That afternoon we had planned to go around the actual city (and its famous main street) for some pictures, but that was okay. It gives us something new to do when we go back again. Thankfully, we came prepared with DVDs and magazines, and the forced downtime allowed us to do a lot of this:

It was a wonderful long weekend and I’m glad my rash held off until we had done everything we really wanted to do. Family vacations are the best.

And while we were pretty sad to pack it up and head back north, this girl seemed the saddest.

As for the rash…I’m contemplating writing a post about it since I just found out what it is…but for now know that things are good and the steroids worked their magic.

Park City is probably the most famous resort area of Utah. It’s where winter Olympians live and train, it’s where Hollywood celebrities converge to debut their new projects, it’s where people bring their families to hit the slopes. So, as you can imagine, there’s lots to do there…even when there isn’t a perfect blanket of snow around you.

Our first stop was another ski resort which offered many different family activities on its grounds. We opted to try the Alpine Coaster and Alpine Slide.

Cue the GoPro.

Do you know what a GoPro is? It’s a tiny camera/videocamera you can attach to almost anything to capture the previously uncapturable. Like the surfers who attach it to their board, or the off-road bikes you’re suddenly on, and don’t forget the skiers. A lot of drum corps use them now, attached to one of its members, so you can feel like you’re marching the show with them. Pretty awesome footage. And even though the info page for each activity already has its own GoPro footage, wouldn’t you rather watch mine??

We got one last year as a joint Christmas gift and besides dreaming of a Bella Cam, I’ve been itching to use it for something like this, which required us to get a head mount.

Even though we set up the mount the night before, I was still nervous about wearing it…and…more importantly, losing it. I tugged and tightened throughout the entire wait line, so much so that I pulled one of the straps from his holster mere seconds before boarding my car. *nice* I didn’t break it, but it caused me to tighten the daylight out of the main strap. A point we’ll revisit in just a moment.

The line was getting so backed up because people were being too wimpy on the ride, not going as fast as they could, and delaying the start time of everyone behind them. So we had very strict instructions to go full speed, let ‘er fly, and, subsequently, make me feel like I could die.

Here’s the video of the ride, which has a substantial build-up as we climbed to the top. The ride itself starts at 6:30 (but enjoy the scenic views from the start). And, with all of my gopro videos, now’s the time for the sound disclaimer. Turn down your speakers to avoid my screams scaring your neighbors.

#amazing.  It’s a small miracle there wasn’t any profanity on that video.  We read one review by a guy who rode the coaster during the winter and he said he couldn’t feel his hands halfway through. I can’t even imagine what this would be like surrounded by snow.

What you didn’t see was me clinging to the gopro for dear life, despite their “don’t take your hands off the levers” warning. I was going so. fast. In fact the camera kept slipping down my face despite cutting off my circulation. Here’s Joe’s view of my face when I finally got off the ride:

After waiting in line for so long, we hurried over to the Slide, which required you to ride the chair lift to the top of the mountain. It had just started sprinkling and we knew that they shut down the track if it started to rain due to the brakes not being able to work when it’s wet. No need to convince me further. We had to hurry.

This is about the point where I realized I don’t like chair lifts. How can anyone ride them without that security bar being down? I don’t think I’m afraid of heights, but something about being able to fall that far, that easily leaves me a little extremely unsettled.

At least the changing trees kept my mind from wandering too far. Hard to believe fall is already hitting the area, thanks to that crazy altitude and cooler temps.

Check out those ski runs.

And then it started to rain.

Get me off!

When we got to the top, we were asked to pull our cart to the tracks. They were heavy, but we were trying to hurry to beat the rain. Well, Joe was hurrying and I was taking pictures.

Look at those Aspens!

We each chose the fast track, but right before I hit record on my camera, she warned us that 8-9 people a day fly off the track, so we should be careful. Also if it starts to rain we immediately need to stop and walk down the mountain carrying our cart. Needless to say, I was a little freaked by both statements, so Joe takes off immediately and I play this one safe. It’s still a good watch, though. *Turn down speakers*

Again, #amazing. Do I not know what else to say after finishing rides?

We left the mountain on a pure adrenaline high and headed back for lunch at the hotel, a little resting, and some Bella walking. Then we spent a leisurely afternoon with about a million other people at the city’s outlet mall. Labor Day Weekend = deals = people, people, people.

Did you know that Tanger Outlet Stores love AAA members? If you’re card-carrying, hit up the Guest Services station and you’ll receive a page of 20% off coupons (for one item each at participating stores) and a free coupon book that would normally cost others $5 from a vending machine. Not bad.

We’ve actually been here before, mostly to hit up the Columbia store for winter wares, but this time we walked the entire complex and took advantage of some crazy holiday weekend sales.

Some of our favorite spoils: fleece-lined winter pants from Columbia for Joe (he was always jealous of mine), cute dresses from Loft, Columbia sunglasses for Joe, a pair of skinny jeans for $14, and an $80 quilted Banana Republic purse for….$20!! Again….#amazing. No other word is needed.

That night was our big splurge meal of the trip. Sean and Wallis had raved about High West Distillery earlier in the summer. Everyone else knew how awesome it is, too. Our initial wait time was an hour and a half, but lucky we were seated in about 30 minutes — roughly the time it took Joe to find a parking space!

The atmosphere was very dark and rustic chic, so I don’t have many pictures from the meal, but I have to share what we had.

For cocktails, Joe had their signature shandy and I had their Mountain Rose, which was a martini made with rose water — absolutely delicious. We shared an appetizer of crispy homemade pretzel with a whiskey cheese sauce — unreal. Joe went with pulled pork for dinner and I had their three-bean bourbon chili with crispy quinoa croutons. It was incredible, but all I could think of was how even more amazing it would be if it were snowing outside. Warm ya right up! For dessert, Joe had their homemade s’more (duh!) and I went with their famous “Grillswith:” a grilled cinnamon krispy kreme doughnut topped with rye whiskey vanilla ice cream and drizzled with caramel sauce. Honey, hush.

That’s all she wrote. …for Part 2 at least. Next up: Joe and I carry the Olympic torch, zip line down a mountain and make a trip to Urgent Care. Oh, the suspense!

Welcome to the first installment (of, I’m guessing, three) that will chronicle the wonderfulness that was our trip to Park City. Did you guess right?

Ironically, Park City wasn’t our first pick. We were originally going to head north to Jackson, Wyoming–to the mouth of Yellowstone. But in the end, Park City was a better fit for a shorter amount of time (Friday afternoon to Monday afternoon) and a shorter drive. (Can you believe Park City is less than two hours from our house?!) Both had what we were looking for: pet-friendly resort-ish hotels, but with much different price tags. I know we’ll make it to Jackson someday, but we had such an awesome time exploring a different area of our state.

We knew before we picked a destination that we wanted to take Bella. As she gets older, it breaks my heart to leave her boarded and I spend most of my time away picturing her in a metal crate. I just don’t want to do it if I don’t have to. She’s a great road traveler, so why not pay the extra money and everyone’s happier? She was clearly excited from the get-go.

We found a great last-minute travel deal online for the Hyatt Escala Resort.

We couldn’t have picked a more perfect place for us. It’s located in the ski area of Park City (not the downtown area), so it’s quieter and so gorgeous. This was the view from our balcony. #swoon

The resort, like everything in Park City, is designed in the most rustic way possible. Even the Starbucks and Domino’s look like lodges. But this was the real deal.

This is looking back at our portion of the complex. For as big as it is, it seemed so cozy and quaint. There is even a chair lift that leaves right from the back door to the top of the mountain. (Obviously shut down now without that powdery snow.)

More rusticness. I loved the fire pit, which was a popular hang-out spot every night.

Within two minutes of arriving, Bella had already made herself very welcome in our room.

The room was spacious and lovely. We didn’t get a suite or anything like that, but this room was still much larger than most places I’ve ever stayed.

Oh, that patio. We spent a lot of time out there. Bella would watch the people below and we’d stare at the mountains above. Each balcony had its own private heater and gorgeous views. And if Bella wasn’t out there, she was inside keeping watch with the door open.

I should fill you in on how Joe and I travel. We pack so much food you’d think it was the end of the world. BUT — it’s our way to not only make our favorite dishes/snacks/desserts, but it’s also a great way to save money. We eat at least two of the three meals in the hotel every day and splurge on whatever meal we choose to have out on the town. It works well for us and having Bella there forces us to spend more time relaxing and taking breaks to avoid a frantic getaway. You know, since the whole reason we’re there is to escape our frantic everyday lives. Win-win.

The first night we found a cute little place on Yelp that was just featured on Triple-D: Sammy’s Bistro.

You know what I had for dinner? Nachos and Cheesecake. No shame — it was incredible. (Joe was a little more sensible and had a special club sandwich and bread pudding.) This is what vacation is all about to me…Joe, Bella, no technology and cheese.

Next up: Day one of being adventurous, or aka “How I almost died with a gopro camera strapped to my head.”

Until then…