YEAR VISITED: 2011, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

FAVORITE CITIES AND EXPERIENCES: Our first experience with Utah came in 2011.

We were on our way to a family reunion in Colorado, we spent a couple of nights in Salt Lake City. Upon checking ino the hotel I enjoyed a lengthy walk around Temple Square and even popped into the Salt Lake Tabernacle and enjoyed listening to their famous organ. We found this downtown area to be as pretty as any area of any major city we have traveled to.

Growing up I was infatuated with dinosaurs. I was mainly intrigued with their size and the mystery surrounding their disapperance. Therefore, when I had the chance as an adult to go to a Dinosaur Musuem I jumped at the chance. We went to the Musuem of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point.

It is located in Lehi, right outside of the Salt Lake City city limits. While the entire famly had a great time, I was a kid in a candy store. I remember thinking I could be there for days. The dinosaur sekeltons were complete, massive, and the exhibits altogether first rate. I highly recommend a visit.

Also on the trip in 2011 we visited the Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island State Park. It is the largest salt water lake in the Western Hemisphere and not a destination Team Castro was willing to miss out on. However, the day we visited a storm was rolling in and lightening and thunder cut our stay short. Furthermore the water and beach seemed like something out of a sci-fi movie.

The water was extremely warm, almost hot, and there was so much salt you could just lay down and float. The sand felt like hot mud and we discovered a 5-10 foot ring of gnats lining the coast line. While Bailey and I pushed through just to be able to say we went into the Great Salt Lake, it was extremely gross. So much so that Maddie threw up. I am sure what pushed her over the edge was the insane amount of gnats and bugs. As you can see the gnats were covering her shoes that she had only taken off 5 minutes earlier. I have never been in a location with more bugs.

The last destination we visited on this trip was the Bingham Canyon Mine. This is the largest man made excavation in the world and has produced more copper than any other mine in history.

People have been mining here since the turn of the 20th century. The pit is currently over two and a half miles wide and over 4,000 feet deep. While this is never a tour we set out to do, we found it extremely fascinating to see a hole in the earth this big.

In 2020 we spent the day exploring Salt Lake City. Due to the COVID19 pandemic we could not enter any of the buildings. However, that didn’t stop us from touring the immaculate grounds of the capital building and enjoying the views of the valley.

We also stopped for lunch at Lucky13, adajacent to the Salt Lake Bee’s baseball stadium (the triple A team of the Los Angeles Angels). We ordered the Big Benny, a foot tall hamburger that now comes with a one hour challenge to eat the entire thing. Needless to say, we did not step up to the challenge but instead fed the whole family.

STADIUMS AND/OR SPORTING EVENTS: The Delta Center, the long time home of the Utah Jazz, is located adajacent to the Temple Square. While I haven’t seen a game, I did walk around the outside of the arena. Below are statues of Jazz greats Karl Malone and John Stockton.

ADVENTURE(S): Our first stop in Moab and Arches National Park came after Salt Lake City in 2011, the second stop was in 2018, and the most recent in 2020. Before visiting Zion, I couldn’t imagine a prettier desert setting. During our first visit we stayed at a KOA and rented a cabin named Saloon. While it was in the middle of the desert, over 100 degrees during the day, and we didn’t have air conditioning… we had a blast.

A great family outing is staying the night in a cabin – great family memories. Within Arches we drove the park and then took two different short hikes. On a much bigger scale, Moab reminded me of Sedona Arizona as it has a majestic feel. I would love to return to Arches to explore more hikes and hopefully have the opportunity to go off roading; Moab has a ton of backcountry roads and trails open to 4-wheel drive vehicles.

Our second trip to Moab we stumbled upon the Hole N’ the Rock… a tourist destination second to none.

At one point the Hole N’ the Rock was someone’s home built into the rock. Now it is a musuem of sorts and souvenir shop with something for everyone.

In 2020, Moab was a once again a one night stop on our 33 day roadtrip to the east coast. We stayed at the Bowen Motel off Main Street or Highway 191 and once again visited Arches National Park (one of our favorite national parks). While I am sure there are nicer places to stay, this more than met our needs for the night.

This time Bailey and I hiked the Delicate Arch trail. The Delicate Arch adourns the Utah license plates. I would highly recommend this trail to anyone wanting to explore the terrain in the southwest – just not in the middle of the day as temperatures routinely hover north of 100 degrees.

In 2018 we made Zion National Park a destination on our month long July road trip. We did The Narrows hike and consider this the most impressive hike we have ever done anywhere in the United States. We began by renting neoprene socks and boots which came with a walking stick.

Once we had our gear we boarded a bus that took us to the trailhead, which is a river bed. Our boot rentals allowed us to navigate the river bed safely and the sticks to keep our balance – I would not suggest this hike without either of these items. We began by walking through a river similar to nearly every other river we have been.

However, the further you go the taller and narrower the canyon gets which provides an experience like nothing else. While it was extremely crowded it was worth the wait and one of our families top-5 highlights of anything we have experienced on our travels.

NOTABLE DESTINATIONS AND STOPS: In the summer of 2019, while on our way to Las Vegas, we took a detour to the Bonneville Salt Flats located in Wendover.

This area is one of the largest salt flats in the world and is known for it’s land speed records. Speed records have repeatedly been set, broke, and re-set over 400 mph. While the family truckster didn’t ever get abover 40 mph, we did let both girls drive a couple yards.

We also walked around in the salt which was an out of body experience similar to our adventure with the Great Salt Lake. Even though it was over 90 degrees outside, the salt was cold and damp; so much so it stuck to your shoes and skin. It was really an odd experience.

Being a history teacher you hear and teach of all sorts of historial events and points of geographical interest that many others haven’t heard of let alone visited. One of those sites is Promontory Point, the site where the transcontinental railroad was completed, and the Golden Spike National Park.

This feat, completed in 1869, was commemorated with a golden railroad spike. While I enjoyed this stop it is located in the middle of nowhere and is probably best being a stop while on your way to another destination.

We had so much fun at Thanksgiving Point, our first dinosaur musuem, that we decided to visit a another dinosaur musuem – The Prehistoric Musuem at Utah State Eastern. While Thanksgiving Point had more square footage and significantly more dinosaur displays, this musuem had multiple full skeletons, a raptor claw, a full mammoth display, and was equally fascinating.

• OUR LIST TO VISIT OR RETURN TO:
• Bryce Canyon National Park
• Inspiration Point
• Jeep through Moab
• Canyon Lands National Park
• Natural Bridges National Monument
• Goblin Valley State Park
• Buckskin Gulch
• BYU Football at LaVell Edwards Stadium