Inaugural RV Trip in Utah - March 2021

Outside Zion

One of our dreams is to buy an RV in retirement and spend a few years going around the US and through all national parks.  Bound stateside during the Covid crisis, we decided to make lemonade out of lemons and give this whole RV thing the college try....through some of our favorite countryside in the US.

Accommodation:

Cosmopolitan:  We needed a hotel room that was able to separate into two spaces as we were working on the Friday and the Cosmo had that - with a pocket door between the bedroom and the living area.  It had the added benefit that Keith's parent company owns it, so we were also staying there at the end of the trip while Keith worked in Vegas for a few days after the trip.  

View from our room

Winnebago:  Well, what an experience!  While we had a fantastic time on the trip, we do think that we experienced almost everything that could go wrong in an RV! We rented a 2016 Winnebago Ultra-Lite 31-foot trailer .  While only 5 years old, the interior aesthetic seemed more 1990s - brown on brown was the recurring theme.  So....what happened you ask?  First, the jack stripped, which meant that we couldn't get the trailer off the truck.  And we discovered this on the Sunday morning, with no one to fix it until Monday.  Also, the heater did not work the first night so we were incredibly cold overnight.  Fortunately, there were enough blankets but we had zero desire to get out of bed because it was 32 degrees outside...and possibly colder inside!  While the heater was fixed for a while, it was on and off all week.  The hot water stopped working mid-week, which coincided with the need to use the shower - so we had glacier-water showers.  The toilet clogged for a day which created its own adventure!  And we had a few other minor mishaps - mostly driven by our lack of knowledge!  We did learn a few bits of lingo - like 'stinky slinky' which is the name of the coil tube that connects the RV to the ground to empty the tanks and 'boon docking' which is when you park your RV off the grid!

Our home for 7 days

Wonderland RV Park, Torrey UT:  Our first RV site!  We were assigned space 16, which was a nice, spacious spot in the back corner.  The owner was nice and the shower/toilet block was super-clean.  It is also across the road from a gas station which enabled us to run across and get some "emergency" items like a can opener and ice.  

KOA St George / Hurricane:  This was a bit less exciting.  Just off I-15 on the east side the highway, we were assigned space 58.  The check in area was easy to navigate.  The downside of this site was that our space was in the middle of a long row of RVs, so not as quiet.  Also the toilet/shower block was closed for renovation which meant we needed to use the RV's toilet and shower - which added to the excitement of the week.  

Activities:

We flew to Las Vegas on the Thursday night so that we could work remotely on the Friday and then have a nice dinner in Vegas the Friday night before setting out.  

On Saturday morning, we jumped in a taxi to pick up the RV at the owner's house.  The owners are a nice couple, married for a year.  He is a musician and she was in marketing before moving into the RV renovation business as a result of Covid.  We were shown around two of their RVs under renovation while Shawn was brining our RV over.  We ended up borrowing the couple's minivan to go to Vonn's grocery to do our major shopping trip (Shawna had planned all the meals ahead of time so we had the list at the ready).  The shopping took almost 1.5 hours, but with that done, we drove back to the house for our orientation of the RV.  They had just purchased it a week prior so they were fairly new to this model as well.  It took about 30 mins for the full "tour" and we were on our way, Keith driving the F350 that was towing the trailer.  It didn't take long for Keith to get used to towing the trailer, though within minutes we were stuck at a left turn unable to make the turn with so much traffic in both directions.  So instead took a few rights to get back on the target road...and soon enough we were on I-15 for our 6 hour drive to Torrey Utah.  We did have to stop for gas every couple of hours as the combined truck and 18,000 pound trailer got 11.5 miles to the gallon!  Shawna checked us in to the park and the owner helped us reverse in to the space...Keith made it the first shot!  We arrived at RV park at 7pm, so Shawna quickly made a dinner of salmon and couscous and we went to sleep for the night!  

Keith at the wheel!

Shawna trying to stay warm!

Sunday was spent relaxing at the RV park since we could not unhook the truck from the RV.  We slept in and watched a few shows in bed, read, cooked, napped and did a little day drinking.  

Shawna cooking and lunch

On Monday morning, we went to see "Biggie" first thing when he opened so that he could replace the jack and check on the heat.  It only took us about 45 minutes and he charged way less than we thought considering he was the only RV repair shop in town (granted it's a small town).  So, we returned to the RV park to park the RV (no pun intended), unhooked the truck and drove into Capitol Reef to do some hiking.  We hiked the Grand Wash (which is an in/out trail in a canyon) and the Cassidy Arch Trails (which is uphill to a natural bridge made out of the rocks) for a total of 7.5 miles.  We then drove the Scenic Drive in the park to see the views - the park reminded us of Sedona but on a grander scale.

Capitol Reef

Tuesday was spent getting to our next destination and running errands.  We had a leisurely morning and then packed up the RV to drive to Zion.  After we checked in and parked the RV, we set out to get a few more groceries (namely wine) and a few space heaters since the heat was not working.  We actually only ended up using one of the space heaters (as we found out turning on two tripped the breaker which took us about 15 minutes to find)! But thankfully one was enough and took the chill out of the RV.

On Wednesday, we got up early to drive into Zion - about 45 minutes from our RV park.  We had purchased our shuttle tickets in advance (in Zion, you can't drive into the park - there are shuttles that take you to the various spots within the park) so we were in line for our time window - thankfully there were not too many people in line but when we returned later in the day, the lines were quite long! Unfortunately a few of the great hikes in the park were closed due to a rock slide that had occurred last year but we were able to do one of the famous ones - Angels Landing! The hike is 5.5 miles and is somewhat strenuous (uphill with crazy switch backs) - the last mile is the nail biter with chains to hold on to while you hike up a very thin edge to the top.  Needless to say, Shawna only made it up the first part of the chains and with legs shaking, decided not to make it the rest - so she sat there and waited almost an hour while Keith did the rest - it took that long b/c there were quite a number of people hiking and you had to wait at times to allow others to pass since the trail could really only fit people going in one direction at a time.  Keith took some great photos from the top.  We had our lunch (cheese and crackers) sitting at the area where the chain part of the hike starts with great views!  We then hiked over to the Lower, Middle and Upper Emerald Pools which added another few miles - the pools were not that spectacular and the trail was very crowded. After our hike, we tried to stop for a beer in town but couldn't find parking so opted to head back to the RV and have a few beers there before making dinner.

Zion - Angel's Landing

On Thursday, we got up early again and went back into Zion - this time hiking the Sandbench trail (a recommendation from the park ranger) which is a 7.5 mile, fairly easy trail (although a bit hard as much of the trail is sand) - what was great about the trail is that we hardly saw another person and there were great views. We then took the shuttle over to the last stop to walk the Riverside Walk (about 2 miles) to the entrance of the Narrows - we wanted to see what the water levels were like.  We saw several people setting out to do the Narrows with waders that went up to their chest - we had heard from a few that we spoke to on the shuttle that the water was quite cold and at times did come up to your chest so we opted to try this hike next time when we happen to return in the summer.  This time, we kept our car parked at the entrance and walked over to Zion Brewery across the bridge - unfortunately, they were not serving food but we were able to grab a couple of pints and sit outside by the river.

Zion - Sandbench Trail

Enjoying a pint at Zion Brewery

On Friday, we drove about two hours (so left early) to Bryce Canyon.  While it took a while to get there, we were so glad we made the trip as we both thought it was our favorite park of the trip with such wild and interesting hoodoos (rock formations in columns).  We did the Queens Garden and Peekaboo Loop trails - about 8 miles in total. The hike was moderate with a few icy bits but with stunning views along the way! We had a great picnic spot - right at the part of the hike they call the 'windows'.  After the hike, we returned to the RV for a few beers and dinner.

Bryce - Queens Garden and Peekaboo Loop Trails

On Saturday, we drove back to Vegas, after having a leisurely morning. We returned the RV with no issues and were quite happy to check-in to the hotel to get a warm shower.  That afternoon, we treated ourselves to a massage at the hotel spa and then a yummy dinner that Shawna did not have to cook!

On Sunday, Shawna flew out early to go to Louisiana to visit with her mom for the week while Keith caught up on work and stayed in Vegas for the week to visit properties.

Dining:

Cosmo Room Service: we ordered room service for lunch on the friday.  Keith ordered a salad which arrived with no dressing which was less than optimal.  Shawna had ordered a tuna poke bowl as well as pita and hummus, so Keith ate half the hummus as well.  

Mizumi at the Winn:  Delicious dinner - a Micheline star Asian restaurant.  We both started with the Cherry Blossom Margarita, then moved to a bottle of Jordan, Alexander Valley, CA, 2016 and closed out the night with a dessert wine.  Dinner was shared Wild Snapper Sashimi Usuzukuri, Wagyu Gyoza Dumpling, Crispy Brussels Sprouts, Lamb Chop Yakiniku with Yuzu Miso, and Miso Toothfish Saikyo-yaki.  We finished with the Trio of Pineapple for dessert.  

Dinner at Mizumi

Winnebago:  Shawna brought home-cooking to RV life.  We were pretty sure that we were the only ones eating couscous and veggie burgers in the RV park - the other RVs seemed to be more of the hotdog cuisine!  Breakfasts were either avocado toast, omelets, or yogurt/granola/honey/berries.  Lunches were usually hiking and we generally had cheese and crackers we hiked in with us.  Dinners were delicious: they were usually preceded with 2-3 beers and then enjoyed with a bottle of wine.  Everything Shawna cooked was made in double portions so we could have leftovers another night...again, just like home!  The dinners included salmon with veggie couscous, turkey burgers with sweet potato fries and arugula salad, and turkey meat balls with orzo and peppers.  All fantastic!

Jose Andreas Bazaar Meat: After a week of hiking, Keith wanted some real meat. Being fans of Jose Andreas, we decided to give this place a try.  We arrived a bit early for our reservation so sat at the bar to enjoy a drink - Keith had a great gin and tonic and Shawna tried the 'cotton candy' mojito which involved pouring some liquid over actual cotton candy to create a smoky effect - quite the show! For dinner, we had a great bottle recommended by the sommelier - 2016 Aalto Ribera Del Duero.  We also shared the Super-Giant Pork Skin Chicharron (which was quite giant), Kobe Eye of the Rib prepared table side, Tenderloin, Setas al Ajillo (grilled mushrooms) and Patatas Bravas.  Since we were filling quite full, we opted to skip dessert.  Everything was very tasty.

Dinner at Bazaar Meat

Ski Trip - February 2019

Alta - Ria, Keith and Rak

After a successful ski trip to Salt Lake City last year with Rakesh, Simran, and Ria, we opted to return, this time spending the time at Alta and Snowbird.  Simran and Shawna, however, decided to make it a separate girls weekend so abandoned us for their own trip to San Diego.

Keith was supposed to arrive within 15 minutes of Rakesh and Ria, but his flight was delayed a couple of hours.  So Rakesh and Ria used the time to stock up at Whole Foods and have a pasta dinner ready to go when Keith arrived at the VRBO in Cottonwood Springs.  It was then immediately to bed so we could get an early start on the Saturday.

Snowbird - Keith, Rak, Ria and Shelly (instructor)

We made it to Alta early enough on the Saturday to rent the skis and get our lift tickets and meet our instructor Shelly in time for the first lift of the day.  Shelly asked us our goals for the day: we let her know they were to be safe, have fun, and learn a bit.  We did not mention that our goal was also to skip the lines with an instructor!  With a huge dump of fresh powder, our instructor took us down mostly black diamonds and taught us to navigate the powder.  It was possibly the best day skiing Keith has ever had.  It was so good we asked the instructor to spend the second day with us.  Ria also did really well: easily making it down any slope that the boys did.  We hit Snowbird the next day and back to Alta the last day - by which time Keith and Rakesh were sore from head to toe.

Food on the trip was good - we got Indian takeout which lasted us two nights and ate at a taco shop the last night.  Breakfasts were in the VRBO with lunches on the mountain.

Park City with Rak/Sim - February 2018

Dinner at Handle

 We missed the annual ski trip last year with Rak and Simran but resurrected this year.  This was our 3rd time to Park City in ~9 months after never having been there before!

Our flight was late out of Phoenix due to the runway work.  We arrived just as Rak and Sim's flight did, so ended up seeing each other at the Hertz rental.  We grabbed both cars, Simran joined us, and we drove out to the Whole Foods to get a few bites for the VRBO.  We walked out $350 poorer and with way more than we had planned.  Shawna and Simran went to the wine shop next door to stock up as well.

Hanging Out at the Bookstore

The VRBO was at 212 Daley - a 3 bedroom with garage, first floor kitchen/living/bedroom, and 2 bedrooms on the top floor.  The kitchen was good but the rest of the VRBO was less than optimal: the living room was not configured to be social, the beds were small, uncomfortable, the sheets polyester so had lots of static, and the pillows terrible.  Definitely once of our more disappointing VRBO experiences.

When we arrived to the condo, we had a quick late-night bite and then headed to bed.

High West Distillery

On Saturday morning, Rak, Keith and Ria stopped by Jans to rent our skis for 3 days and then drove the hour to Alta since none of us had been there before.  The resort is just stunning and the weather was just perfect that day.  The only downfall was that with very little snow recently the ski conditions were not A+.  Simran and Shawna went to the High West Distillery to do a tour and taste whiskey - we ended up eating lunch there as well sharing soup and a sandwich which was very good.  The tour was interesting but we did not have much of the tasting since Shawna is not a fan of whiskey.  After the tour, we walked around town.  Back at the condo, we had some cheese and beer/wine with the skiers and then went out to dinner at the Handle.  Shawna and Simran were on strike so this ski trip, they did not cook dinner.  We shared several dishes - kale salad, cauliflower, mushrooms, short ribs, and fried chicken - food was tasty!

Whiskey Tasting at the Distillery

On Sunday, Rak, Keith and Ria decided to go back to Alta for another day skiing as we had not covered the whole mountain.  Also, a winter storm was coming so we thought the conditions would get better.  Shawna and Simran went to the spa at the St Regis, eating lunch there first (salads and tuna tartare which was OK but not great) and then each getting a treatment (Shawna got a massage while Simran got a facial).  Back at the condo we had cheese and wine again before going to dinner at Yuki Yama Sushi.  We shared a few appetizers - edamame, gyoza, shishito peppers - and then split the  udon.

Ria and Keith Skiing

On Monday morning, we woke to 20+ inches of snow from the winter storm the night before - and the snow was still falling.  Keith and Ria shoveled the snow - with a bit of a debate re: the contribution of the 12-year-old!  But we got all the snow out so both cars could leave the house, and packed up.  Rak/Ria/Keith headed to Park City for a half day of skiing which was insanely hard because of the deep powder.  Shawna and Simran stayed at the condo until the maid showed up to clean and then went into Park City to hand out at a book store until we all met up.  It was a fun day - we skied until 1pm and then met Shawna and Sim at High West Saloon for lunch.  It was a terrific lunch - we shared several dishes again - popcorn, mac-n-cheese, cheese board and elk chili (which was delish but very heavy).

Ria and Keith Shoveling

After lunch, we all went back to Jans to drop off the skis.  Then after goodbye hugs, Rak and Ria drove off to Sun Valley while Shawna, Sim, and Keith drove to Park City airport for the flight back to Phoenix - where Simran was to spend the next week with us.

Park City for Tom's 50th - February 2018

The Gang at No Name Saloon

 Kim texted us a few months ago and asked if we were free for a 50th birthday ski weekend with Tom.  Of course we will be!  Kim opted for Park City as none of us had skied there before.

Keith, Mark, Stuart, Tracy, Kerry, Kim and Tom

We were to get a 5:30 flight out of Phoenix, arriving at about 7:30.  At the last minute, Keith had a day trip to Vegas...which ended up wrapping early.  So, Keith texted Shawna, we both rallied, and got earlier flights to Salt Lake...each arriving about 5pm...which enabled us to join the rest of the crew for dinner!  It was only a 45 minute drive from the airport to Chimayo where Kim/Tom, Kerry/Stuart, and Mark/Tracy were already sitting at the table.  Kim's brother John joined us about 10 minutes after we arrived.  The restaurant was delicious - we shared the Carne Asada.  We then went for a nightcap at The Spur where we went to the back room and became groupies of the band Metal Dogs before heading back to the hotel. Kim had arranged a 4 bedroom condo in the Silver Baron Lodge.

Chimayo Restaurant

The others had arranged a ski valet to bring their gear the night before, so Keith dressed early and walked up to the Deer Valley base to get his skis and boots.  By the time he was ready, the others were at the base ready to hit the slopes.  Shawna is not a skier so used the day to spend a few hours catching up on work and also grabbing some food and beer at the store to stock the condo.  The snow had been quite poor lately - so many slopes were closed and the remaining were a bit icy at the start of the day.  But....we were still able to have fun!  There were a fair share of blues we could bomb down.  Lunch on the Saturday was at one of the lodges on the mountain - a few of us had a bowl of soup that was delicious.  Saturday night we started at Wasach Brew Pub where we had drinks at the bar, then sat for table for basic pub food.  Nightcaps after were at the No Name Saloon where we drank on the rooftop deck.

Tom, Mark, Keith, Tracy, Kerry, Kim, Stuart

Sunday, we started at the Canyons - the sister resort to Park City - and skied the whole area.  It was roughly the same conditions as the day before.  Lunch was near the base at Silver Star Café which was delicious.  Keith had the Braised Lentil Chili which was fantastic.  We might have had a couple of pitchers of beer to go with it.  Shawna caught up on a bit more work and then had an afternoon spa at Stein Eriksen Lodge.  It was Super Bowl Sunday so the slopes cleared a bit earlier than usual so the end of the day was fun.  We decided to watch the game in the condo so we didn't have to fight crowds - ordered in Thai and drank the beers that Shawna had bought.  The game was great - and then we all watched This is Us right after - an odd juxtaposition to the game!

Keith, Stuart, Kerry, Kim, Tom

Monday started with bad weather, but we opted to ski anyway at Park City.  It ended up being the best day of snow, although it started out icy.  Lunch was at High West Distillery - we all shared popcorn and fries to start and Keith had fantastic Elk Chili.  Shawna had not taken the day off, so was still cranking away at work when we returned to the condo.  Our flights left that night (Keith to Portland and Shawna home) so we left at 6pm as the others stayed one more night before leaving the next day.

Keith, Kim, Tom

It was a fun weekend and fantastic to spend time with Tom to celebrate his 50th!

Kim and Tom

Park City - July 2017

Silver Lake Hike

We decided to celebrate our 16th anniversary with a four day weekend in Park City.  The added advantage was that it also allowed us to escape the crazy AZ heat!

Accommodation:

Hotel Park City (a Marriott hotel) - Shawna had enough points to get us all four nights free here so we booked it!  It's a beautiful, all suite hotel, about a mile outside of town.  We were upgraded to an executive suite so had a separate bedroom from the living room/kitchen.

Hotel Park City

Activities:

We flew into Salt Lake City on the Friday night and then drove out to Park City.  The drive is only about 45 minutes and it was still light out so we could see the beautiful scenery along the way.  When we arrived at our hotel, we checked in and were greeted with a lovely bottle of rose wine that Keith had ordered in advance.  So after unpacking, we had a couple of glasses of wine before dinner.  We were too lazy to go into town for dinner so we grabbed dinner at the hotel which was surprisingly good.

Each day, we slept in, grabbed breakfast, did a morning activity, had an afternoon nap and then went out for dinner.  It was a very relaxing weekend.  Here are the activities we did:

• Park City Mountain: We hiked up Jenni Trail and down Loose Moose Trail - about a two hour hike that went up the front side of the mountain.  Most of the time we were in the shade which was nice but we did have to share the trail with mountain bikers.  

Jenni Trail Hike

• Massage at Hotel Park City - We each had an 80 minute massage which was in our top 25% of massages we've had. The spa is pretty nice with steam rooms and a whirlpool to enjoy before the massage.

• Park City Town - We walked around the town and went into a few of the galleries.  The town is very cute.

Park City

• Utah Olympic Park: This was the adrenaline portion of the trip.  We started with a tour of the park which is about an hour and we learned about the events that were held there during the olympics as well as the current use of the facility (they still use it as a training facility but make money by offering activities to the public).  Our guide is the announcer for the sledding events at the Olympics so was interesting to hear about the park from his perspective.  Keith convinced Shawna to try the Extreme Zip Line (much to her chagrin) which turned out to be quite fun.  We took a chair lift to the top and then had to wait about 45 minutes before our turn. We both went down at the same time by being strapped into a harness.  After this, we went in the bobsled (driven by a professional) down the track - about a mile in one minute!  On one of the turns, there is about 4Gs of force that come down on you so it was definitely a rough ride but also very fun!  There is not a ton of room in the sled so we were both happy to get out of it when it was over!

Bobsled Ride

One of the ski jumps

• Deer Valley: We hiked the Silver Lake Trail (which begins from the Silver Lake Village), a 2.25 mile hike that goes up the front of the mount and around the back side.  The views were amazing!  We then took the gondola down to save pressure on our knees!  We had planned on going stand up paddle boarding but opted to have a few glasses of wine at the St Regis instead - a choice we did not regret!

On Tuesday, we decided to relax at the hotel and then drove back to Salt Lake for our flight home.  It was a great weekend and we would definitely return!

Restaurants:

Ruth's Chris - Located at our hotel - we were surprised by how good the food was.  We shared the crab avocado salad, lamb, fingerling potatoes and brussel sprouts with bacon.

Legends - Had lunch here - located at the Park City Mountain resort.  We sat outside and shared the compressed melon salad with shrimp and some hummus.

Coal and Lumber - Had dinner here.  Shared the heirloom tomatoes with burrata, charcuterie board, mushrooms and rigatoni with bolognese.  The food was OK.

High West Distillery and Saloon - Had a few drinks here. Great bar/restaurant.

Fletchers - Had dinner here.  Decided to share several appetizers: biscuits with bacon jam, peach salad, tuna tartare and lobster tacos.  Also shared the warm butter cake for dessert.  Food was tasty.

Royal Street Cafe - Had lunch here - located at Deer Valley resort.  We were told we had to have the seafood tower so we shared that along with another salad.  Nice patio to sit on.

St Regis - Had a few glasses of rose on the patio overlooking the valley.  Gorgeous setting.

Riverhorse on Main - Had dinner here. Was our favorite of the restaurants.  Shared the tuna tartare trio, pear and burrata salad and trio of game.  Food was very good.