Wasatch 40
This April was one of those big birthdays, I wasn’t all that keen on doing anything. Some of my dear friends thought maybe that wasn’t the best option and determined that I needed to celebrate. So I did. Not in a all-night rager kind of way (this wasn’t a 21st birthday) but in a way that only Deer Valley can deliver.
Prequel: Board meeting in Price, Utah. This meant a scenic drive from Cedar – frankly, you had me at scenic drive. The board meeting I was attending was held at the USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum in downtown Price. If your board meetings aren’t surrounded by dinos, you aren’t doing things properly! Coffee was courtesy of Happiness Within, located in Helper, Utah. I wanted to stick around and try some of Ruben’s BBQ but I had dearest friend to pick up from Salt Lake Airport and I was not going to be late for that very important date!
It Starts with a Room: There is no place like the Stein Eriksen Lodge for unparalleled mountain luxury. Situated mid-mountain, this iconic property offers breathtaking views paired with a level of service like no other. Valet? Yup. Bell staff? 3 of them for just us. Concierge welcome that escorts you to your room and makes a fire for you? Welcome to your room and Hello Cozy Fire. Not part of the standard package but happens when you have phenomenal friends: two bottles of champagne, a charcuterie board, and macaroons (made on property). Did I get kinda emotional as we got to the room? Maybe. Fine, I did. I got a little teary and emotionally overwhelmed. Did we then stay up talking and enjoying the fire, bubbles, and charcuterie board? Yes, Yes we did.
Spa Stops: The next day was a spa day. Breakfast was in the unit, where we enjoyed bagel and lox with cappuccinos and caught up with another dear friend. (Yes, the fireplace was 100% going because your girl can start a fire – that said, the Stein makes it easy with all the starter wood, matches, etc.). After breakfast we headed over the Canyons because we had reservations for Lavender Zen body treatments at the Waldorf Astoria spa. I can’t recommend this enough. Leaving the spa, very relaxed and rejuvenated we walked out into the snow! Nothing like Spring in the mountains. We headed back to the Stein, opting to stop at the grocery store and grab some light lunch/snack items. Our mountain view and private hot tub were too good to not enjoy to the fullest. Sitting and watching the skiers catch some Spring runs, we relaxed and then walked the property and enjoyed some live music in the lounge. Dinner was at the Cena, just across the street at the sister property Chateaux at Deer Valley. Highly recommend, the food was delightful and the lounge has a great atmosphere.
Walking Main Street: Our last day started with a fire, a hot tub, and a mosey up and down Main Street. Our first stop was Atticus Coffee, Books, & Teahouse. What an adorable spot! Highly recommend for coffee, tea, a bite, and to sit and work or people watch. There are books, and cute gifts. We had no real plans so mostly we wandered up and down the street and in and out of different shops. Lunch was at High West Distillery, a converted auto garage (and happens to be the only ski in gastro-distillery). This happens to be one of my favorite eateries in Park City, and it is a must stop for any trip. The afternoon was filled with backyard bbq, cornhole, and lots of laughter, a solid way to cap off the trip.
As birthday weekends go, this one was special. You may be going “Duh, you stayed at the Stein!”. That wasn’t it. That was part of it but it wasn’t IT. What made this was a friend that flew in from MT, the gifts from outside the state, lots of well wishes, and dear friends in Utah that took the time to make the weekend special…the laughs, the hugs, the treats, the unconditional love. To experience something wonderful is only made exponentially more wonderful when it is wrapped in love.
Cougars at the Ridge (April Adventures Continue)
At the Utah Tourism Conference last year (2022), I procured a stay at Cougar Ridge Resort via the Tourism Works Silent Auction. Cougar Ridge sits in Torrey, Utah, and outside of Capitol Reef National Park (CARE). This would be the second trip that Carissa and I took to CARE. It is a really special place for us and I was excited to share this experience with her, especially staying at a property that was on my list of “must stays”. We started out in SLC at the Little America – also a property I was excited to stay at. We started our morning of adventure with crepes (go eat crepes and you too may walk away wanting matching ‘oui oui’ tats). Then into Ranger with a stop in Price at the Prehistoric Museum (yes, again!) before rolling into Torrey and Cougar Ridge via UT 10 and UT 72 (scenic and worth it..even if your co-pilot has you stop on a sketchy overlook so she can touch snow and pick up rocks…remember kids it’s all about the journey).
We pulled into Cougar Ridge in the afternoon. We were booked in a 2bedroom casita unit. The unit was stunning, luxury level by any standard. Spacious rooms, this unit had a king bed suite and the second room had a queen bed and bunk bed – however the room still had plenty of space. The kitchen and living room were perfect but the best part was the deck and the view. The casitas overlook a field and into CARE, the perfect spot to drink a morning cup of coffee or afternoon glass of [drink of choice here]. The property is complete with a hot tub, morning breakfast, and a delightful menagerie of animals that are totally petable(longhorns, goats, donkeys, horses, cows..)! In addition to very friendly fluffy friends the service was excellent – easy to check-in and the gift shop/office was staffed with friendly, knowledgable staff (and a great selection of breakfast treats – including very good coffee). Based on a recommendation from Cougar Ridge Instagram, we booked a stargazing adventure with Sleeping Rainbow Adventures – the weather the first night didn’t cooperate, which was a bummer because we were supposed to star gaze in the park that night. Our stargazing was moved to a ‘star party’ that would take place on property at Cougar Ridge. As fate would have it, an on property wedding meant that we would indeed get to go stargaze in the park. The night sky did not disappoint and Mason was great guide to all things in the sky. (Highly recommend Sleeping Rainbow).
On any trip to CARE, there is something VERY important that must occur. PIE. Yes, pie – as in the stuff you bake and eat. THERE MUST BE PIE! Carissa and I take our pie consumption very seriously – pie is to be obtained from the Gifford house and always pairs well with homemade ice cream. Now, in what I’m taking to be a tradition, Carissa and I may have mistimed our first hiking day and made it to the Gifford House after all the pies were gone. This was really sad because, also per tradition, we were really using the pie as motivation to finish our first hike (it was a doozy).
Sooooo…I, in my infinite wisdom, narrowed down some hiking trails for Carissa and I to select from. We chose “The Old Wagon Trail Loop”. Carissa was all excited about the “pinyon-juniper” forest – which was great – I may have misread the forest for the elevation and may have transposed the elevation gain for a different hike with the elevation gain of this hike. So we started our just under 4mile round trip hike thinking it was 800ft of elevation gain – when in reality…we just kept climbing and climbing and climbing (not sure where to because there was nothing in front of us) but that’s what happens when it is ACTUALLY 1,080 ft of elevation gain. I’ll say this…our turkey sammies never tasted so good and we really felt our legs over the next two days. We did get our pies…the next day we got up early and carefully selected our pies before hiking Cohab Canyon. The downside of pie day was that we then headed back to Salt Lake City as our trip was coming to an end. I booked EVO hotel for our last night and we chowed down at Slackwater Pizza. The trip seemed to end too quickly, but then all of our trips fly by faster than I want them to.
Find AJ 