A Summer Afternoon in Park City, Utah

I'm not a skier, but even if I were I wouldn't find much of it in Park City, Utah, in August. Nevertheless, I was interested in seeing the ski resort area during our recent visit to Salt Lake City. At only 40 minutes away, it was an easy goal to accomplish.

Why did I want to visit? Maybe it was my memories of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, of which there are still many signs and reminders. And when I came across the Atticus Coffee & Teahouse online, I knew we had to pay a visit.

We arrived in Park City in time to eat a very late lunch at the town's Wasatch Brew Pub location, then we walked up and down the crowded Main Street. Of course I took many photos of Atticus in front of "his" Atticus shop!

The street seemed like the main street of any small tourist town, except with a ski-and-outdoor bent. Interestingly, several restaurants had "patios" on the other side of the sidewalk, essentially taking up a parking space or two, and on a platform so they would sit flat on the steep hill.

Park City was a fun detour and a good way to spend the afternoon, if only for the photos of Atticus!

Burr Oak Weekend

It was only the second state park weekend getaway in as many years, but the kids were looking forward to it as much as any vacation they had ever taken. After all, they get to spend 36 hours traipsing around with friends who are just footsteps away! But truthfully, that's why I enjoy the weekend, too.

Our trip two weekends ago to Burr Oak State Park in the Hocking Hills region of Ohio had been on our calendar for months. A good friend organizes the weekend, basically setting aside cabins that are available to rent from the lodge for a discount. Something like 14 families were there in our group, and I knew almost all of them. The weekend was filled with fires, food, pumpkin decorating and crafts for the kids and indoor swimming (mostly for the kids again!). Some people went on hikes, although lazy me did not. But I enjoyed the camaraderie.

It's not much of an exaggeration to say the kids were devastated when we returned home on Sunday morning. It's a fun way to spend a weekend, and only 90 minutes away.

Three Days in Salt Lake City

We ended our adventure to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks by spending our last three days in Salt Lake City. The city was only a four-hour drive from our Airbnb in Driggs, Idaho, so it was a great cap to the trip and -- bonus -- allowed us to catch a non-stop flight back to Columbus.

We arrived in Salt Lake City late on a Friday afternoon, but there was plenty of time for Paul to take the kids for a swim in the hotel pool before we began to explore. We drove by the Statehouse -- immediately visible atop a hill as we drove into the city -- and took a steep hike up to Ensign Peak to look down upon the city and across to the Great Salt Lake, barely visible through the reflecting glimmers of the quickly setting sun.

The peak we climbed.

After a quick playground detour, we parked the car in our hotel's lot and walked a few blocks to Squatters Brewery. Despite Utah's abundant number of Mormons, the city boasts a good number of breweries, and we tried several.

The next day we walked through a large farmers market on our way to Clark Planetarium. As soon as we got there, another guest almost immediately gave us free extra tickets to an Imax movie on rescue dogs, which was a nice surprise. The planetarium exhibits are free, and our local Cosi membership also got us a free planetarium show.

Then we walked to Temple Square, peeking into the Tabernacle Choir's home and taking a few photos. We continued our walk on this hot day to the Leonardo (thanks again, Cosi!), a museum combining art, science and kid activities. The kids quite enjoyed it, and we stayed almost two hours, til the 5 p.m. closing. We could have stayed longer.

That night was dinner at Red Rock Brewing, featuring a lime gose and a shrimp po' boy with the best fried shrimp I've ever had.

The next morning we visited yet another museum courtesy of Cosi -- the Natural History Museum of Utah. The museum, at the University of Utah campus, was on my "maybe if we have time" list, but I'm really glad we went. We stayed around three hours and the kids would have been happy to linger longer. The museum had an excellent dinosaur exhibit, a small but fun play area with water and kid activities everywhere. And a beautiful view, of course.

We spent the afternoon in Park City, which will be the subject of another blog post! And with a fridge full of leftovers, we ate in that evening.

The next and final day in Salt Lake City was a Monday, with a flight just after 5 p.m. We intended to go to the Leonardo again since the kids enjoyed it so much, but instead we spent a few hours next door, in Salt Lake City's public library. The kids alternately played or listened to me read books, while Paul, Edith and I took turns going to the fifth floor deck looking out over the city and mountains. It really is a lovely library, filled with window, light and lovely views.

When we first drove into Salt Lake City three days before, we were surprised to pass an In-N-Out Burger, so we decided to try it for a late lunch before heading to the airport. The burgers and fries were above average for the cheapo price, but I won't be rushing back.

Nevertheless I would be happy to visit Salt Lake City again. It's not what I would call an exciting city -- really, it's like Columbus with mountains and better views! But it was a destination that exceeded expectations, and a nice city experience to cap off a week spent largely in the middle of nature.

36 Hours at Grand Teton National Park

Why not? That was our thought when we learned how close Grand Teton National Park is to Yellowstone. Only a few miles apart, it seemed a shame not to visit when we were so close, so we spent a day and a half viewing the famous mountains.

We left Yellowstone by the southern entrance, entering Grand Teton at the northern in the afternoon, and the change in scenery was amazing: Jackson Lake and the peaks of the Teton Range stretching above, with few foothills. We ate a late lunch/early supper at Jackson Lake Lodge, looking out the large picture windows while we ate.

The 5-mile, 20-minute car ride up Signal Mountain was worth it for the spectacular views, but it was the first and only time the whole trip that the elevation made me feel a bit woozy. By the time we were down the mountain, it was sometime after 5 p.m. and we still had about a 90-minute drive to our Airbnb in Driggs, Idaho.

What a drive! The route took us through Teton Pass and its 10 percent grades. When we took the route the next morning, I think we were literally driving through the clouds. I felt sorry for our little rented Nissan Sentra.

Our first stop the next day was Mormon Row/Mouton Barn for a few photos in the morning light. Then we met one of Paul's best friends (who lives hours away in Wyoming but happened to be at Grand Teton on vacation at the same time) at the Leigh Lake trailhead. We picnicked with him and two of his children and watched the kids wade in what I believe was String Lake. The kids got soaked, but luckily I had spare clothes in the car!

We took a peek at Jenny Lake and drove around a bit admiring the scenery. The sky had gone gray with periodic rain much of the afternoon, and we ended the day with a drive through Jackson on our way back to Driggs. A beautiful 36 hours that would have been a shame to miss.

Jackson, Wyoming

Neighborhood Chili Cook-off

Have I mentioned how much I love our street? If I haven't mentioned it here, I think about it every week -- if not every day. The kids play outside with neighborhood friends nearly every good-weather day, and simply sitting on the front porch is sure to prompt a conversation or two among adults as well.

What's more, we frequently all make plans to hang out together. There's the block party, of course. A couple of happy hours. A progressive dinner was inaugurated earlier this year. And this past Saturday was our first chili cook-off.

A grand total of 11 pots of chili made by different households were consumed by some 60 or so neighbors. Plus cornbread and desserts. Plus Ohio State ended up playing a night game, so we projected the match-up versus Nebraska as well. While 80-degree weather may not be ideal for consuming a steaming bowl of hot chili, at least it didn't rain! And boy, were they all good.

Maybe we'll do it again next year, although I did hear at least one neighbor suggest having a different theme each fall. Mexican food, perhaps? Pasta? Either way, I'm sure my neighbors will come up with good food and be good company.