Park City

On our 2016 road trip, we stopped at Park City, Utah, because it was part of the “Mini Takes the States” agenda.  We attended a Mini event and I remember having a very nice dinner on the terrace of a restaurant somewhere.  The area is known for its ski slopes and in 2002 it hosted the Winter Olympics.  But in all honesty, it was on our itinerary on this trip only because it was midway between Idaho Falls and Bryce Canyon (our next National Park), a leg of the trip nearly 500 miles in distance and more than we wanted to travel in one day.

I had planned to go on a run in Idaho Falls this Sunday morning on the River Walk, but it was raining, a light rain but still a nuisance because I did not want to have to pack wet clothes and shoes.  It was the first rain we had encountered on the road trip except for a brief afternoon thundershower almost three weeks ago.  So instead of running, I went to a small but adequate fitness room at the Driftwood Inn and worked out with weights before getting on the road again.  I should mention at this point that packing up the Mini each day with our two small suitcases and a couple of travel bags is greatly facilitated if we can open up the top.  But we managed anyway, and without getting very wet.

 

It wasn’t far to Park City – only three-and-a-half hours – and we stopped at a picnic area along I-15, by which time the rain had stopped.  After lunch, this vehicle passed us – there is always something interesting to see out on the road!  The huge vehicle, I learned, is the Big Idaho Potato Truck (“Tater-ly Awesome!"), which was constructed ten years ago and crisscrosses the country to celebrate the Potato Commission and the heart-healthy benefits of the humble spud.  I do enjoy a good baked potato.

 

There were hay bales neatly stacked in the fields alongside I-15, and then the road began to get busier as we neared Park City.  The scenery was more desert-like, with sagebrush extending off to distant mountains on the horizon.  I-15 turned into a ten-lane road, and we were grateful when we were able to exit and take a break from the traffic.  We had become accustomed to less busy roads in Yellowstone!

Our hotel was nearly next-door to Park City Brewing, and we walked over to enjoy a relaxing brew to settle our traffic-jangled nerves.  I especially liked the description of their flagship beer, Sneaker Tree!

 

We explored the immediate area, and decided to eat dinner at a place called Vessel Kitchen in the same shopping center.  It turned out to serve some of the healthiest and least expensive fare we had found thus far on the road trip, and we liked their philosophy, too.

 

 

 

I can’t remember what I had, but Martha ordered the steelhead trout and said it was the best fish she had tasted in a long time.  When we asked about the possibility of having a beer with our dinner (we were not driving), we were told that they did not serve alcohol, nor did anyone else in Park City except the Brewery next door.  Oh yes, there was the "DABS" store - the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services (DABS) - but . . . they were closed on Sundays.  It was our first encounter with Utah’s strict (Mormon-inspired, I suspect) alcohol laws, which forbids alcohol sales on Sundays except for some strange reason at the Brewery, which was busy and thriving just a hundred yards away. That was fine by us - we had already been amply refreshed by our Sneaker Trees.