If you're planning a ski trip to Utah, Country Inn and Suites is the perfect location. Located in Bountiful, Utah, Country Inn and Suites is half way between the Salt Lake resorts, and the Odgen resorts. The Bountiful location is more tranquil, and yet close to shopping, great restaurants, and entertainment. Country Inn and Suites offers ski packages and special deals. It's got fast, easy freeway access and is minutes from ALL Utah resorts.
The hotel is beautiful and has many great amenites. The rooms are clean and comfortable and the staff is great. Our family has loved this hotel for a long time.
It's the perfect hotel for a ski trip.
Country Inn and Suites. Bountiful, Utah 801-292-8100
If you’re in Salt Lake and you’d like to go for a quick hike, but you don’t have a lot of gear or time, Ensign Peak is perfect.
The trail head is just five minutes’ drive directly north of downtown Salt Lake City, behind the Capital Building and up the hill.
The hike is less than one mile round trip, and anyone can do it.
The view here is spectacular.
Ensign Peak is a prominent hill on the northern edge of the Salt Lake Valley. On July 26, 1847, two days after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young and seven other pioneer leaders climbed the hill to survey the valley. From its summit they laid out in their minds the city they intended to build.
The men fastened a yellow bandanna to a cane and waved it from the mountain peak. Brigham Young named the spot Ensign Peak. The pioneers had carried two American flags with them across the plains. Within a short time a flagpole was erected and one of those flags was flown from the peak.
Utah's state capitol building stands on a shelf part way up the hill. Efforts to preserve the summit as a park began in 1908. In 1934 a monument was built, honoring the men who climbed the hill in 1847.
The view from Ensign Peak is amazing.
Brigham Young hiked this peak when the pioneers first arrived to get a view of the layout of the valley.There’s a small monument at the top commemorating this event.
Archery and the archery deer hunt were like religion to my family. My father and grandfather bow hunted together, and my great-grandfather bow hunted before them. I ended that tradition because I didn’t want to hunt. But in our family we love archery just the same.
Salt Lake Archery is located on 2200 South just above Highland Drive in Sugarhouse. We go frequently to the range to shoot. My daughter especially loves archery and even talks of trying to hunt one day.
At Salt Lake Archery they have compound bows and traditional recurve and long bows. The pro shop is well stocked with supplies and accessories for both.
Expert advice and instruction is always available and there are leagues and clubs to join.
The range is affordable and there is always room to shoot.
Archery is growing in popularity due to movies like The Hunger Games and Brave. We see lots of teenage girls out learning to shoot, and that’s great! Archery is good for anyone, at any age. It’s a sport that is relaxing, quiet, and challenging at the same time. Progress is immediately measurable. It’s not difficult to learn, or expensive to set up. Compound bows are more expensive, and arrows can get pricey depending upon the materials involved.
But you could get set up with a recurve bow, arrows, and other accessories you might need for less than $200.00.
Salt Lake City has undergone dramatic changes in the last few years, yet remains very recognizable.Salt Lake is beautiful and organized. The city is framed by some of the most beautiful mountain peaks in the Wasatch Range.
Most recently the new City Creek Center has altered the face of downtown Salt Lake City.Where ZCMI and Crossroads Malls once stood, the City Creek Center now meanders from West Temple Street to State Street, just across the street from Temple Square.
I plan several blog posts about downtown Salt Lake City, and this one will obviously focus on the new City Creek Center. The City Creek center was completed and opened in March of 2012. Business has been brisk and people have come in droves. This is our first visit to City Creek Center, so we just did a walk through. We’ll get to know the shops and restaurants soon.
Temple Square, The Joseph Smith Memorial building and the LDS Church offices sit at the top of downtown, and the principle streets run south from Temple Square.
I’m doing an entry about Temple Square that is separate from my entry about Mormons because I believe that Temple Square is worth a visit no matter what you believe about Mormons.
The Mormon pioneers who settled Utah started work on Temple Square almost as soon as they got here.They used Temple Square as a reference point for all other addresses in the city. It’s still that way today. North Temple Street runs from east to west on the North side of Temple Square. South Temple does the same on the south side of the block. West temple runs from north to south on the west side of the block. You’ll suppose now that I’m going to talk about East Temple Street, but there is no East Temple Street. Main Street runs from North to South on the east side of the block.
The Tabernacle should be a key part of your visit to Temple Square. The acoustics are famous and you will probably be given a demonstration. A sister missionary will go to the pulpit or stand near the organ and drop a straight pin. You’ll hear it clearly as it hits the floor.
There are two visitor centers, one on the north side, and one on the south side of the square, with displays on the history of Mormonism, and displays about Mormon beliefs. The north visitor’s center contains the famous statue of The Christus.
The building in the southwest corner of Temple Square is The Assembly Hall. This is a beautiful old building that is used for smaller meetings and concerts.
In front of the Assembly Hall is the Monument of the Seagulls. The early Mormon pioneers told of a summer when crickets started eating their crops. Disaster seemed certain. Then suddenly, seagulls came from the Great Salt Lake and began to eat the crickets. The crops were saved. The Seagull is now Utah’s state bird.
Temple square has many assorted statues, monuments and historical memorabilia.
Many people are surprised that tourists are not permitted to enter the Temple. This is because the temple is very sacred to Mormons. Members of the Church prepare themselves to serve in the temple.
Christmas time is an incredible time to visit Temple Square. Temple Square is light up with hundreds of thousands of lights during the holidays.
Sister missionaries are always waiting to give a tour of any of the buildings on Temple Square.
The Front Runner train runs up and down the Wasatch Front. Front runner is a commuter train. Currently it runs from Salt Lake City to Ogden, but soon the route from Salt Lake City to Provo will open.
The train moves swiftly from station to station and doesn’t stop at every town. I took the train from the Woodscross station, and we passed the Farmington station, and the Layton station, and the Clearfield station, and the Roy station, and finally arrived that the Ogden station.
The cars are comfortable and quiet. The views are spectacular. I especially love riding on the upper level. To the west you see quiet communities and a vast vista. Beautiful wetlands stretch on forever and Antelope Island looms in the distance in the Great Salt Lake. On the other side of the train to the east, the famous Rocky Mountains, the section we call the Wasatch Front, tower high in the sky. The mountains are snowcapped well into June.
At the Ogden station there are museums and train yard with historic trains and related sights to see. The Ogden depot is fun to see and has lots of local history.
The Front Runner train began service in 2008. At the time service began, the train ran from Salt Lake City to Ogden. That’s the way things still are. Work has continued since 2008 to finish the second section that will run from Salt Lake City to Provo. As of 2012, the work is almost finished. A new station will be added at North Temple Street in Salt Lake City that will connect passengers with the Trax trains, specifically the line that goes to Salt Lake City International airport.
This building has always been a favorite place of mine. I love to visit here. My wife and I used to come here just to hold hands, and stroll the grounds and chat when we were dating.
The Capitol building serves all three branches of government in Utah.
The capitol building was designed in 1912 by Utah architect Richard K.A. Kletting and completed in 1916. It’s really a beautiful building, in a beautiful location.
The interior dome is fun to see. It’s 165 feet at its highest point. The paintings and decorations of Utah history in the dome are beautiful. The background is painted like a clear blue sky with seagulls flying across. The dome is held up on four piers, each supporting ten million pounds.
There are lots of displays about Utah and Utah history, including lots of art and sculpture. The Governor’s suite contains a desk, table and cabinets that were made from trees that were toppled when a disastrous windstorm hit the Capitol in 1999. They represent Utah’s spirit and resilient nature.
When I was a kid there was a large museum in the basement that was fun to see, but that has changed since the remodeling.
In 2004 the Capitol building was refurbished. Pilings were installed under the building to help stabilize the Capitol in case of earthquake.
Local high schools frequently hold their formal dances here under the dome. The Capitol building in Salt Lake City is beautiful and definitely worth a visit.
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