We left Park City and made it half a mile before we decided to ride the fun tram again. The operator gave us a suspicious look as we went around and around, so we didn't push our luck and got off. Then we drove a whopping mile and stopped at Starbucks as we realized we needed caffeine before we could go any further.
When Rebecca pulled out the paper map, the kids were so confused on what we were looking at. To them, it was a foreign language with lines going every which way and strange words like "milepost" and "to scale." We explained that this is how we used to find our way around before phones, and they asked if we also made our tires from rock and made our cars move by running our feet (a la Fred Flintstone).
The trip was long but the scenery was amazing - the rock formations blew us away. When I say us, I mean Rebecca and me. By the fifth time I said to the kids, "look at that amazing rock formation" all I got back was rolling eyes and "come on dad, it's just another hill." Little did they know they were being educated - Jedi mind trick.
And here is the exact look you get when you talk about rock formations...
We made a stop in a small town called Helper and saw some cool run down buildings. This was my favorite. I know we are outside of pride month but it was neat looking.
We also dragged our kids to see the tallest Coal Miner in the state - when I say dragging, we literally had to pull them out of the car and bribe them with food and water for this picture. Rebecca and I thought it was cool but clearly 9 and 14 year old kids are more into their Nintendo 64s, Walkmen, and Cabbage Patch Kids.
What I learned today: Talk to strangers (Don't have your kids do this) wherever you are. We landed in a small rock and fossil shop and got to know the owner, Jack. He came from Minnesota and knows everything about rocks. His favorite place to buy them is in India. He told us some good inside tips for our hiking tomorrow and we appreciated his friendliness.
What I appreciated about today: Rocking out with Rebecca to 80s anthems while driving and seeing the horror in the kids' faces as we belted out the lyrics in off harmony.
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