Trip Pics: Utah Trip & BYU Game Pics

I would say this was definitely one of the best overall away trips I’ve taken and I’ve done a lot. Of course the way we did this one by hitting Vegas for a night, 3 days in Zion National Park, and ending in SLC certainly helped. Vegas was Vegas and all four of us left with positive gains, so it was a good 24 hour stop. Zion was simply amazing, one of best national parks I’ve been to and I’d go back anytime just for this place alone. The hiking and canyoneering here was a blast and the setting was beautiful! We did the two most famous hikes in the park with Angel’s Landing & Narrows, the later of which we had to rent shoes, neoprene socks, and a hiking stick to be properly outfitted. Just look at the pics and you’ll see why.

Provo (where BYU plays) was interesting to say the least. The people were outrageously friendly and it was fun to hook up with one of the few BYU tailgates running and likely the only that were accepting of us having a few adult beverages. Extra cool that we met Orlando Mayor Deyer while there. The stadium itself has the most beautiful natural backdrop I’ve ever encountered, what a gorgeous setting! After the game we got some funny responses when asking where a bar was and literally no one knew where one was or if one existed. We finally had to look it up on the Internet, and notice I said “it” because there is only one. Hitting that one bar in Provo was an experience as it certainly was the counter-culture stomping grounds for the area. I live band playing there started with the song “I want to be a polygamist” in an obvious satirical way. We ran into some other UCF fans there who were teaching the locals drinking games, but we found out that ultimately they got thrown out for bring too drunk. Yep, sounds about right.

Salt Lake City I think actually felt a bit smaller than Orlando, but I liked it. Definitely a huge clash of cultures there. Best summed up by our experience of getting a tour of Temple Square by some missionary sisters that would have been happy to convert us on the spot to walking just a few blocks and away running into the Utah Undie Run. The run was basically a protest against the heavy restrictions in Utah based on church influence. Thousands of mostly college age students (unfortunately half men and women) ran from a park down State St and around the Capital. Very memorable experience to say the least. We hit some bars in SLC Saturday night and couldn’t help but notice there doesn’t seem to be much middle ground. You have the Mormons that obviously aren’t partying and then you have a strong counter/alternative culture on the other side. A very very high percentage of woman out drinking had at least one tattoo as a small example.

Overall this was a fantastic trip that I’d do again in a heartbeat. Notice I said nothing of the game itself because I’ve already blocked it from memory.