Sometimes living in Utah we tend to overlook the mountains of our great state. While people from around the world flocking here to get a taste of our fresh Utah powder, we’re complaining about all the snow we have to shovel off of our driveways.

I have a friend from out of state that happens to be one of those flocking to Utah. Actually, the highlight of his year is his annual trip to the Wasatch Front. So naturally when he came into town a few weekends ago our plans were centralized around the mountains, more specifically, Solitude Mountain Resort. Solitude is a local favorite that prides itself with short lift lines and plenty of terrain to enjoy. 

After taking some warm up runs on freshly groomed, wide open trails, we headed to the more adventurous edge of the resort and found some hidden powder stashes left untouched from the previous week’s storm. The snow was great, the staff was super friendly, and due to a bad fall by my friend, we found out first hand that the ski patrol and on mountain clinic were great too.

Solitude truly has a wide selection of terrain and although the mountain has plenty of runs that suit the beginner or intermediate skier, it has some steeps that are sure to give even most advanced skiers an extra dose of adrenaline. If the in-bounds terrain isn’t enough of a challenge, Solitude offers a program called Backtracks, a guided tour that takes you out of the resort’s boundaries and into the untouched Wasatch back country.

Seriously, the hype that surrounds utah and it’s claim to the greatest snow on earth is true. Visit www.skiutah.com to schedule your trip and check out Solitude and Utah’s 12 other world class ski resorts.

Last weekend I had the pleasure to spend a few days in my husband’s home state of Minnesota. I had only been there once before and it was during the winter, so much time was spent indoors. This time I was really looking forward to the opportunity to explore the twin cities and spend quality time with friends.

The name of my blog post is more than 10,000 lakes which is in reference to the fact that Minnesota has over 10,000 lakes (There are 11,842 lakes in Minnesota 10 acres or larger in size). This became apparent as we were flying into Minneapolis- there really were lakes everywhere! Minneapolis is probably one of my top 10 favorite US cities. It has an artsy feel with tons of sculptures and galleries everywhere. The downtown area has a ton to do and see, for those of all ages. It even includes some really pretty walking paths. Our first stop was the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden; apparently the cherry on the spoon sculpture is famous. The park is filled with other unique and interesting pieces. It was fun -definitely worth it to check out.
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Since I have been feeling a little land locked lately (mostly because I have been working like crazy), I decided to cheer myself up by listing some of the trips I am planning to take in the next six months, as well as recap the trips I have already taken due to the fact that the year is already half over.

Trips I have already taken this year:

1. Anaheim/Disneyland
2. Washington DC
3. Anchorage, Alaska
4. Saint George, Utah
5. Las Vegas, Nevada

Ok, so the first part of the year was a little slow as far as travel goes, which makes me a little sad. However, when I think about it- we bought a house in February and we spent the winter doing a fair amount of snowboarding, so I guess you could add Park City, Utah to the list.  Anyways, I am gearing up for Fall travel season which includes an awesome trip to Europe (my first time!). I used to say that we are going to backpack through Europe but apparently that’s not true- I was told we are packing our clothes in a backpack and going to Europe. So that accounts for the first five places on the list- and the rest are stateside cities or states I want to visit.

Trips I want/will take this year:

1. London, England
2. Athens, Greece
3. Ireland
4. Slovenia (here is a map- in case you want to know where this is)
5. Paris, France
6. New York City
7. San Diego
8. Seattle
9. Oregon Coast
10.North Carolina