Days 11-12 were off to Salt Lake City for the end of our trip. By recommendation we decided to take a scenic route through the Teton Pass to Victor, then Swan River Valley, through Idaho Falls and down to Salt Lake. The whole ride took about 4 ½ hours but the ride through the mountains was beautiful, Swan River provided great views of the Snake River and the falls in Idaho Falls were fantastic, beautiful and well worth the stop. We then stopped for lunch in Pocatello at Goody’s Deli & Pizza. It has a front section for “to go” and the back has a bar. We just ordered sandwiches but honestly they were really good. The bread was soft with whole grains and the ingredients were fresh. Many of the patrons were ordering the pizza which looked good as well. This was a good unplanned lunch stop which hit the spot. Driving through Idaho is very agricultural and also has mounds of black “lava” rock all along the highway.

We had a full day to tour Salt Lake City. Our hotel was walkable so we did as much as we could in one day. Unfortunately the LDS temple was under restoration so we could not tour that, however we did go into the Mormon Tabernacle where someone was playing the organ which was beautiful. We also toured the Beehive building which was the home and offices of Brigham Young. Interesting - he had 57 wives and 56 children. Wow! They also have an informative museum of the history of the church. We then trekked up to the State Capital. Inside is filled with white marble and gold details. It was fairly quiet as they were not in session. The ground had some great statutes as well.

On the morning before our flight we made a quick trip to Park City. It was pre-ski season so it was kind of quiet there, however that did not stop us from taking in this nice ski town and the sites around it. The main street has lots of shops and restaurants which during the ski season would be bustling with people. There are a couple of ski lodges that are adjacent to this which look like great places to stay. We noticed on our drive in the ski ramp which had the Olympic rings on it and decided to drive and take a look at the ski area from past winter Olympics. Walking around the now practice facility we noticed that there were actually practices going on for the acrobat skiers. They were going down the slope, doing their flips and landing in a deep pool with their skis on. This was amazing to watch and we were so glad we just happened to find this site. Then it was off to the airport with a beautiful drive with the leaves starting to change on the trees on the mountains.

All and all it was a great trip which we are so glad we took. Would we go back - probably not but only because we are trying to see as much of this great country that we can and there are lots more trips already in the works. Everyone asks us what was the best part of the trip. Our answer has consistently been that every part was different and had their own uniqueness. All are definitely worth going to and could easily be 4 short trips full of activities. Please check out our dining pages for the trip as we found lots of great places to visit. Feel free to email us any questions, comments or suggestions you have. More trips will be coming in the future. Safe travels and Enjoy!