UTAH HOT SPRINGS

Utah has so many cool hikes and places to discover. So I decided to get and out discover more.

It was time to visit some of the hot springs that are close by.

 The first stop was a 2.5 mile hike up to Fifth water hot springs. It is located up Diamond Fork canyon near Spanish Fork. There is a fabulous waterfall that greets you as you reach the pools. The pool closest to the waterfall is the warmest and they get cooler the farther you go from them.

There is a parking lot at the bottom and the trail was pretty busy that day. The pools are big enough that groups of people can wade in them at the same time.

 The next spring is Baker Hot Springs in Delta, UT. This one has 3 tubs that are large enough to accommodate several people at once. When we arrived, there was a skinny dipper already in the tub...a risk you take at the hot springs.

 Just like the other other Spring, the tubs have different temperatures and cool as they move farther from the source. The scenery around this one is fabulous.

Meadow Hot Springs was next on the list.

 My friend Rachel and I went with her daughter Claire during Spring Break. It was super crowded and full of people. This spring gets a lot of visitors.

 Meadow has 3 pools to swim in all serrated by short walks. The first one, pictured above, is the deepest and is known to have people dive in it to explore it. This one is the warmest of the three.

 The next pool is a little cooler, but your feet can touch the ground in most places.

I didn't get a picture of the third tub. This one has a cute wooden dock with small fish swimming in the water. It is the coolest of the pools.

 The final hot spring I visited was Mystic Hot Springs in Monroe, UT. There is an entry fee of $16 for adults. There are other fees for camping per person and attending concerts that may be held there throughout the year.

 There are crazy buses and teepees as you drive in to the parking lot. There were almost no other people visiting the day we went because of the overcast weather.

As you walk up to the natural springs, the first spot you see is a giant pool with a small waterfall that can hold a large number of visitors at one time.

As you walk up the hill, there are individual bath tubs you can soak in. 

Like I said, we were the only visitors, so we had our own individual tubs, but you can fit more than one person in a tub.

 You'll spot 3 right away and if you walk to the right, you can find two more that placed right in the rocks.

These springs are so fun and worth the entry fee, in my opinion.

SUMMER CAMPING HAMMOCK

What is a girl to do when she has a new camping hammock, dude with great hair, and a friend with a camera at her disposal? PHOTOSHOOT!!

So I am obsessed with this new camping hammock. It is great because it comes with everything needed to set it up and hang in it 

(2 steel carabiners, 2 hanging ropes, and an attached storage bag). 

Two people can lay in the hammock (up to 450 lbs).

This hammock is made of strong parachute nylon material.
It measures 107" X 55" (or 270 cm x 140 cm).

It is lightweight and perfect for taking on a hike or anywhere you might want to enjoy an adventure.

#hikingsolutions

I was able to purchase this item at a discounted price in return for my honest opinion.

ZOORIFIC DAY

It's almost summer and the perfect time to visit the zoo.

 I grabbed my friend Rachel along with her baby Claire and we headed to Hogle Zoo in SLC.

We were able to see 3 new baby lion cubs wrestle,

a family of orangutans play,

 large elephants eat,

 sea lions swim,

and some hilarious otters do this:

This is my favorite part of the zoo (it took me a bit to appreciate them).

"People forget the good that zoos do. If it weren't for zoos, we would have so many species that would be extinct today."

-Betty White

BFFriends

Sometimes you learn your BFF from high school has moved closer to you and you get to go visit her and her cute little family.

Sometimes that meeting includes the world's largest hamburger (don't actually check the record books and quote me on this one) at Famous Jud's in Boise.

Then you go to the local nature center and let her children take about 179 photos of flowers 

 and bugs with your cell phone camera.

 and then you end the whole trip with a photo with giant antlers. 

Now that is true friendship. Love you, Danae.

IDAhoser

I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Idaho.

I hopped on a super sketchy greyhound bus and a few hours later I was in Boise.

Boise is actually a super charming city.

It's full of creative food (including fries),

fun buildings, entertainment,

graffiti art,

places to hike with great views,

summer Saturday markets outside the capitol building, 

and so much more.

So if you're looking for a super fabulous quick getaway, consider exploring Idaho.

TACHOV TOWER

I drove to Tachov recently to check out a cool look out tower and to get a great view of the city. In Czech, it's called Rozhledna na Vysoké u Tachova. I don't speak Czech, but we can have fun and write that out. Anyway, here's the view I discovered:

Tachov is a 1 hour drive from Plzen, but the tower view was totally worth it. There isn't much else to the town. There is a super small center/square, but that's about it. Never stop exploring!

LINZ, AUSTRIA

Sometimes I drive 2.5 hours to another country just to take a photo of a cool memorial all by myself.

Then sometimes I turn around and drive back. It was well worth the trip.

I drove to Linz, Austria, to the Mauthausen Concentration Camp. Some people might think this isn't the happiest way to spend a Christmas vacation, but I loved the drive.

I have been to the Dachau concentration camp in Germany before and the feeling there was very heavy. I wasn't interested in going on a tour here - I came just to see this giant menorah memorial. 

 It is free to see the memorial, but you must obtain a ticket. As I was getting my ticket from the visitor center, the woman behind the desk wrote on my map and told me to go to the sculpture spot by the gorge and then walk through to the museum where I can visit two rooms for free as well. 

I went to visit the two rooms. Might as well, right?! Well, the two rooms in the museum were the killing rooms and room of names listing around 82,000 victims. Thank you, visitor center lady for a rush of emotions.

The end of my trip was a walk by a beautiful gorge surrounding the area and a look at what are called the Stairs of Death.

 It might not be the happiest place to visit and you might not get the happiest feelings there or maybe even looking at these photos, but it reminded me that I am lucky. We are lucky to be alive, to have freedom, and to learn from the past to be better people.