Sunday was the unofficial last day of our vacation. We weren't flying out until Monday evening but with all the packing and such we weren't going to do anything exciting that real last day so we needed to make the most of Sunday. I started the morning with some oatmeal. We were starting to run low of most of the food we purchased for the trip so I just tossed in a few strawberries and some peanut butter. Not the greatest combination but it got the job done (334 calories). Once we were all clean and fed we went down to Main St in Park City to check out a street fair we had heard about earlier in the week.
It was similar to all of the "fests" we have at home. Lots of tents with vendors selling jewelry and other handmade items then an area with food & drink. I was almost out of suitcase space after our outlet shopping excursion so I reminded myself not to buy anything unless I absolutely had to have it. Luckily, there wasn't anything I had to have! And because I had eaten breakfast less then an hour before we left the house I also had no interest in food. But there was one both that Joe just couldn't pass up. It was from a place called Jimmie Cracked Corn and they were selling corn on the cobb with different toppings. He went for the type with parmesan cheese and when I tried a few bites it was very good.
One booth was featuring animals made of old metal parts and you better believe I stopped to take a picture when I came across these armadillos! I called Shana over and I totally would have gotten them for us if only I'd have the suitcase space.
That was about it for our time at the fair. I really wanted to find a Park City sweatshirt to take home as a souvenir but was having a hard time rationalizing paying the $50+ that all the stores wanted for them. I had been hoping to find something cheaper at the fair but didn't have any luck so Joe and I made our way back to stores up Main St and hit all the sale sections of the shops. I finally found a white sweatshirt with a moose on it (one of my prerequisites) that was super cute and less then $50 so I bought it and we moved on.
At the other end of the street we found a farmer's market. All of the fresh produce and bread looked awesome. Unfortunately since we were heading home the next day so it didn't make much sense to pick up anything, although I later found out that Shana & Bill split a loaf of bread between the two of them. I tried the best white peach I've ever tasted some asiago bread that was equally delicious. It was super cute and I really wish we had markets like this at home.
After a few hours of wandering around we all met back up at the car, it was time to head to Sundance. This was one of the must see locations Carol & Chris had given us, they said there were a lot of artisans and great views. Our plan was to shop the artisans shops/booths and then hike to a waterfall. We were blown away but the views as soon as we stepped out of the car, it was the first time we'd seen a mountain high enough to still have snow at the peak. We stumbled across the ski lodge immediately and decided to buy lift tickets and hike first. I also checked my phone for any nearby caches (it's so addictive once you start) but the the signal was terrible and nothing would pull up.
We decided on the Stewart Falls hike because it was primarily down hill and my mom was still having problems with her breathing at the altitude. It's funny, I never had any problems with the altitude, I tried to attribute it to my being in good shape but apparently that doesn't have much to do with it, I guess I just have good lungs, lol. We took the lift up to start the hike and we just kept going higher and higher I was actually starting to get nervous towards the end and had to look straight forward at the mountain instead of up or down. Bill wanted to attempt the Arrowhead Summit route but the map showed it going straight up and the rest of us weren't interested. Since the paths started at the same spot he and Joe decided they would start off with the rest of us and go off on their own if they felt like it once they got to the turn off.
It was evident right from the beginning that this hike was different from the one we had taken near the house on Tuesday, it was much scarier. The trails were narrow and there was no tree line on the outside to make you feel safe, I was totally freaked out and pretty much clung to the side of the mountain!
The route was pretty though. We wandered through one meadow area that reminded us all of Jurassic Park. It was really neat, you could see where the grasses were matted down from animals sleeping there at night.
I tired to take a few pictures of Joe and me to use for five for Friday posts but he and Bill were eating sunflower seeds so most of his smiles looked like this...
When we bought our lift tickets the cashier mentioned that due to recent weather conditions there were some area where we might get our feet wet. We encountered one of these areas about half way to the falls. We had to cross over a smaller waterfall while holding onto a rope along the back side. I managed to stay dry and decided that cashier was being dramatic.
We were a little ahead of everyone else at this point so we stopped and waited for them, we also figured they might need help getting across. Joe took this opportunity to play a little CHESS with friends on his iPhone.
Once everyone else caught up it didn't take much longer to reach Stewart Falls. It was pretty crazy, we just walked around a curve and there it was!
Joe decided to climb up the far side where some people were taking pictures. I'm not sure this picture really shows how steep it is. He got up there pretty quickly though and it was nice that he was wearing an orange shirt so we could keep track of where he was.
While he was up top taking pictures and being adventurous the rest of us tried to figure out the way back out. The trails weren't marked extremely well and no one seemed to know exactly how to get back. Finally my uncle found a small sign near the ground pointing the way, the only problem, it was across the falls from where we were. We had to walk across and the safest way required passing through ankle deep water, touche cashier... Now that we all had wet sneakers it was time to head out. But Joe still needed to come back down, looks like the best was was crab walking/sliding down feet first...
A little while up the trail we realized we hadn't taken a picture of the two of us by the falls. This was the best we could do without doubling back and we're far enough away that Joe doesn't look "special" because of the seeds!
By this point we were all hungry, tired and ready to be finished with the hike. Even though it was almost 2 miles shorter then our hike earlier in the week it was way more exhausting! I had forgotten to bring my garmin watch so I had to run SportyPal on my phone instead and my battery was starting to die. Joe and I went off ahead hoping to reach the finish line before my phone quit. Luckily it wasn't too much further so we got to sit and rest while we waited for the rest of the crew. The time listed is our actual moving time since I paused the app whenever I stopped, we were actually out there more the 2.5 hours.
Once everyone else emerged from the trail we hightailed it to the car where I immediately peeled off my wet shoes and socks. I was so happy I thought to grab a pair of flip flops before we left the house. We were all starving, it was after 5pm at this point so we'd missed lunch. We didn't want to wait the 45 minutes it would take to get home to eat so we looked on Yelp for somewhere close by to grab dinner. We decided on The Hub cafe. When we walked in we had to laugh. It was like a diner at home only decorated with "country" style.
We decided to give it a shot. No one said anything until we were in the car and pulling away but we all had our doubts. The staff seemed unorganized and the place just looked run down. But we felt much better once our waitress showed up, she really knew her stuff and was super fast. I ordered the club sandwich (662 calories) which came with a side salad which was a bowl of iceberg lettuce and some croutons with ranch dressing (83 calories).
They were advertising fresh peach pie ala mode (406 calories) for dessert and I decided to give it a go. Everything else had tasted fine so far and I skipped lunch so I could totally fit it in to my calories. It was good but it wasn't what I expected, it was basically just a crust with peaches poured over it then topped with whipped cream.
As soon as everyone was finished eating we left, no one wanted to spend any more time in there than (hope that's the right word, Shana commented that I use the wrong then & than a lot) necessary. We were all cracking up the on the way to the house about how we should have just waited and found some place better to eat. When we got back I was all about a dip in the hot tub so I poured myself a glass of wine (123 calories), changed into my suit and headed downstairs. Joe was excited I actually wanted to use it so he was right behind me and Shana & Bill joined us soon thereafter.
The rest of the night wasn't crazy exciting for me. I spent the evening uploading pictures to Facebook and blogging while Bill, Shana & Joe finished off the rest of the alcohol and food in the kitchen. They would occasionally come check on me and tell me how lame I was for being on the computer but I just tried to ignore them. I finally fell asleep around 2am but Joe and Bill were still going strong in the other room.
1. 15 Spend Free Days: 10 days total.
5. At least 20 days with 30 minutes of housework: 9 days total.
