Saturday, October 17, 2015

Gardner Village, West Jordan, UT.


Gardner Village is a collection of little shops, boutiques, a petting zoo, and restaurants that people can visit throughout the year. Every fall, witches converge from all over and it is transformed into a Halloween fantasy land. While it isn't posted anywhere, your entire family should dress up in your costumes when you go.
Most of the activities are geared towards little girls, but there are still things for the boys to do. Throughout the day you will find witches in amazing costumes roaming around the village. There are face painting boothes, bead activities, a scavenger hunt, and a lot of delicious street food. On the west side of the village you will find the Halloween theme park Six Hags Witch Adventure. This is really for kids about 6 years old and under. There is a hay maze, a giant bouncing balloon, and a few other things, but nothing that would keep the attention of older kids.
The funnest part of the whole day was at the petting zoo. It is actually there year round and is run by a farm animal rescue. All profits go to support that rescue and not Gardner Village, so your money is going to a very good cause. The kids took the longer pony ride that went around the whole village. The kids got a bag of feed and were able to feed horses, goats, sheep, alpacas, chickens, cows and ducks. They were also able to sit and hold the most beautiful rabbit.
Overall, the kids had a lot of fun, even though one of them tried to act too cool for a pony ride.
Activity rating 0-10
Posted by at No comments:

Olympic Village, Park City, UT.


‪#‎terrysweekendadventures‬ ‪#‎unplugged‬
Even though we have lived in Utah since the 2002 winter Olympics, we have never visited the site where they actually took place. It is just a short drive up I-80 from Salt Lake City. The main visitor center and museum situp against the mountains behind Park City. You can see the medals awarded to athletes and some of the equipment they used. You can also see some of the props that were used during the opening ceremonies. There are two cool simulators inside. One takes you down a bobsled track, deep powder skiing, and parasail skiing, and the other takes you down the 120 ski jump. The museum, with exception of the simulators, and walking around the grounds are free, but outside of that it will cost you a fortune.
You can ride tubes down the giant ski jumps, watch the free style ski team practice, ride a zip line, ride the alpine slide, and play on a ropes course. Each of those things costs around $20 per person or you can get an all events day pass for $65. While that may not sound that bad, it is much more expensive than what you can find at other places with similar attractions like the Snowbird Resort.
Activity rating 0-10
Kid fun: 3
Difficulty: 0
Cost: $0-$65
Please check their website for the most updated info.
Posted by at No comments:

Wadley Farms, Lindon, UT


 October 17th at Wadley Farms, Lindon, UT.

Most people who have seen Wadley Farms probably only know that it is a beautiful place to hold a wedding reception. The vineyards are for more than just a nice backdrop. During fall you can go pick grapes, but they aren't the kind you will find in the produce section at the local grocery store.
This late in the season, the grapes are incredibly sweet and many of them have already turned into raisins on the vine. The manager will hand you some buckets and pruning shears to pick as much as you would like. There are several varieties, so we started at one end and move along the vineyard to get all the different types.
On Mondays you have the option of having your grapes cold pressed into juice or you can just take them home to enjoy them. We opted for the latter. If you are just brining them home, bring some bags to put them in after weighing the grapes, as bags are not provided.
We all helped out washing the grapes and removing them from the stems. We ran them through our juicer and then ran the solids through the juicer a second time to get every last drop out. What came out wasn't what we expected at all. We didn't filter it so we ended up with more of a nectar instead of the grape juice that you find bottled in stores. It was some of the sweetest, most delicious grape juice that we had ever tasted.
The whole process was a lot of fun and we will definitely be going back next year.
Activity rating 0-10
Kid fun: 7
Difficulty: 0
Cost: $1/lb of grapes or $6/bottle of juice
Posted by at No comments:

Friday, October 16, 2015

The Albion Meadows and Cecret lake, Alta, Utah

The Albion Meadows basin starts at the very east side of the Alta Ski Resort. It is a maintained path that is primarily used for hiking and mountain biking. Right now the meadows are the typical fall colors, but during spring and summer they are covered in a variety of wildflowers.
There are a number of side paths that will take you up the slopes on the sides of the basin. There are also 2 paths that you can take to connect up to the Cecret Lake trail. We recommend taken the western trail, as it will take you through a shaded pine grove with a beautiful little stream that you would miss otherwise.
The Cecret Lake trail is fairly gentle until you get to the slope just under the lake. The switchbacks ascend roughly 450 feet in about .25 miles. Since it is a short hike, it is also very crowded. There is plenty of room to pass people, so you don't ever feel like you'll be squeezed off the path. The lake itself is a beautiful blue green sitting at the base of a mountain peak. You can explore all the way around the lake and climb up on some of the boulders that have rolled down the slope.
If you have little kids, you should probably just take the road up to the Cecret Lake trail head. If you have older kids and are looking for a bit longer hike, start at the Albion Base and hike the whole thing. You are exposed most of the way, so bring plenty of water and sunscreen. The hike from the base is a total of 5 miles out and back with around 1500 feet of elevation gain.
Activity rating 0-10
Kid fun: 8
Difficulty: 6
Cost: $0
Posted by at No comments:

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Cornbelly's. Lehi, Utah

Cornbelly's is a fall/Halloween themed event that happens every year at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, UT. During the day it is geared towards little kids and turns a lot scarier at night and is designed to keep the big kids entertained. We started off by going straight for the main corn maze that covers several acres. We spent a good half an hour getting lost in the Minion themed maze, but eventually made it out.
There are life size foosball courts, apple cannons, giant slides, and toned down haunted attractions. The hayride is included with the general admission and takes you around the grounds to see some of the farm area.
On your way out you can buy pumpkins and other Conbelly's merchandise. Be prepared for long lines and a lot of little kids. Since it is located between Salt Lake County and Utah County, it brings in a lot of people. Overall, it isn't worth the cost or time, especially for kids over 8. There are several other family owned pumpkin patches that offer similar attractions without the crowds for a lot less money.
Activity rating 0-10
Kid fun: 4
Difficulty: 0
Cost: $10/person with coupon code

Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)