Temple Square, Utah

It's the season of Christmas lights again!  You know, that season where you try and beat your neighbor at having the highest electric bill by covering your house in multicolored light bulbs?  Anyway, no place tops having more lights than Temple Square.  It's located in the heart of Salt Lake City, and every December they string lights all over the trees, put up several multicultural displays of the Jesus, and much more!

My personal favorite thing to do there is to listen to all Christmas messages playing throughout the square.  It really helps bring those warm feelings of Christmas into your heart.  Many families from all around come here to spend time together and make special memories.  Actually not just families, but also young couples come to go on a beautiful walk together beneath all the lights.

(if you did not catch my hint there, I'm trying to say it would be a great date idea)

The arches

Ever see the Utah license plate and noticed the stone arch on it?  Well guess what, I’ve recently been there!  It is located near Moab, Utah in one of the national parks down there.  It was naturally formed by weather and elements over several centuries.  The hike to get there is actually not hard at all, so if you are a bit out of shape don’t worry too much.  In fact if it makes you feel better, the park rangers have installed stairs along several parts of the hike. 

Now, despite popular belief, there are actually more than one naturally formed arch out in moab.  There is a trail just a little farther up the road from the first arch that has over five arches along it.  This is most likely not the cheapest vacation but it will most assuredly not being the most expensive either.  I highly recommend it for families and the extended date.  

Corn Mazes of Utah

One of the highlights of Halloween in Utah are the corn mazes!  You may ask what a corn maze is, well let me tell you.  Each year the farmers grow their corn and then they cut large, intricate designs into the field.  Sometimes they make a large picture like a pirate or something similar.  Other time they just make a bunch of random turns and dead ends.

Within each corn maze are several posts that you have to find in order to get your prized before leaving the maze.  Each post has a unique symbol that you must collect so that you can prove that you made it.  Sounds easy enough right? Wrong.  All the corn mazes are haunted by ghost and monsters, who impede your way of getting to any of the post. 

To me thought the best part is that all the corn mazes are very inexpensive.  The price is normally around seven dollars to get in.  I don’t know about you but I see a good date idea ;)  

Pumpkin Palooza

So this was an event I attended at a friend’s house recently.  Whoever attends the Palooza needs to bring a pumpkin to carve for the best jack-o-lantern.  Also, each person is told to bring their favorite pumpkin treat (e.g. pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pie, pumpkin something, etc.).  To help spice up the event, the host picks out the craziest Halloween music he/she can find.   

At the event I attended it was encourage, not obligated, to come dressed up in your Halloween costume.  Once the food has been consumed and the pumpkins have been judged on whatever categories you and your friend have chosen (scariest, funniest, cutest, etc.), the host then last puts on a scary movie, or Halloween themed movie, to help settle everyone down before sending them home. 

It was a very fun and simple event to do with your friends.  If you wanted, you could even turn this into a date idea J

Hidden in the middle of a Draper, Utah neighborhood is a park that is home to the fabled Whisper Dome.  The Whisper Dome attracts hundreds if not a few thousand people each year, and has been the site of many marriage proposals.  So what makes the whisper dome so special?  From the outside it looks like a typical gazebo that you would find in any normal park.  There are no strange markings, colors, or any signs to suggest that this seemingly normal gazebo is a special secret of modern architectural ingenuity.

When one stands directly in the middle of the Whisper Dome your voice echoes all around you as if you were speaking into a powerful microphone yet all the people around you hear you as if you were speaking normally.  There are six to eight pillars going around the inside of the dome.  If you were to stand in front of a pillar and a friend was to stand in front of one directly across from you, you would be able to hear even the tiniest of sounds from all the way on the other side of the structure.

The Address is:

900 E 12650 S
Draper, Utah 84020

It’s definitely a great date idea if that is what you’re looking for.

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Mirror Lake and Provo Falls

Have you ever gone to a new place that was in your own state or home town and thought “I never knew that this was in my own backyard!”?  Well that is exactly what happened to me when I took a trip to see the amazing sites between Camus, Utah and Evanston, Wyoming.   The first awe inspiring place is Provo River Falls; these naturally formed waterfalls are both gorgeous and easy to access.  Many of the falls feed into one another, creating an intricate maze of waterfalls going down the river.  Since it’s not a very steep or dangerous place, it would be a fantastic family trip.

As you head farther up the road from the falls, you will start to pass numerous lakes.  Don’t speed on by the lakes because each lake is either a different color or reflects the wilderness around it, making the lake appear to be a portal into another world.  The last of the Lakes is Mirror Lake.  This is the largest of the lakes, and, like the lakes before, reflects the wilderness around it.  What makes mirror lake a little more special than the other lakes in the surrounding area is that it reflects the surrounding the mountains and the beautiful blue sky behind it.  It is the most breath taking of the lakes.  So next time you’re heading toward Evanston, consider taking a detour through Camus and seeing some of the wonders of the world. 

The Crimson Trail

Do you like the change of the seasons?  How about the change from summer to fall? If you answered yes to either of these questions then you definitely need to visit The Crimson Trail.  The trail in located in Logan Canyon and is directly across from The Wind Caves Trail.  During the change from summer to fall all the trees in this canyon change colors: yellow, red, and orange.  All trees over hang the trial, creating a tunnel of crimson leaves all around you…hence the crimson trail.  

The trail go up the side of a mountain, therefore, if you’re not in the greatest of shape you should not attempt this hike.

At the top of the mountain is a ledge, from there you can see all up and down the canyon and its multicolored sides.  The entire hike took my group and I about 3 hours to complete, but we did stop a lot.  So next fall, if you want a hike to see some awesome fall colors, check out The Crimson Trail.