Utah Trip: Utah Olympic Park

We decided to check out Utah Olympic Park while we were in Park City.  We thought it would be a fun stop for a couple hours but ended up there almost the entire day.  

When we first got there some athletes were practicing their jumps into the pool.  It was really neat to see how they ski down rollers without all the snow.  When they are ready to jump, a jet starts up and creates bubbles in the water to soften the blow.  We got to see athletes of all different levels, from tiny kids just starting out to people doing several spins and flips.
The Ski Jump Practice 

Then we explored the museum a bit.  The bobsled caught my eye, and I decided we needed to try it.  It's not often you get the chance to ride down the Olympic Bobsled course!  We signed up, but it didn't start until 1 so we figured we better get some lunch so it had a chance to settle before that excitement. 
Amy, Michal, and Elan on the bobsled
Jamie and I on the bobsled with the kids
When it was time we took the shuttle up to the top and got suited up with helmets.  We watched a video that prepared us for the ride, telling us to hunch our shoulders to prevent neck and back injuries.  We climbed in and grabbed hold of the ropes to hold on.  The driver took his place and we set off on the track.  
Ready to go in our helmets
 As we got going it didn't feel that crazy but after the first turn we really started picking up speed and things got fun.  And fast.  My head was rattling around as we went left, right, and up and down on the track.  It was sort of like the most incredible roller coaster ride I've ever been on, but with an added dimension of feeling.  We ended up going over 100 km an hour!
Us on the bobsled
Our race stats
After the bobsled the family decided they wanted to play.  The kids went to the playground, and Phil's sister, brother-in-law, and dad decided to ride the zip line.
Downhill ski practice areas
Phil's dad on the zipline
 After that full day outside in the sun we were all pretty exhausted so decided to head back to the house.  Then his sisters and I spent the rest of the evening shopping away at the outlets.  There's no such thing as too tired for shopping.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Baw Baw Blog

Image
A couple weeks ago Phil set out to climb Mt Baw Baw again with a couple like-minded (read: crazy) bike friends.  We drove out with Les and met John and Glenda at the primary school in Drouin to start the ride.   The crazies started on their ride while John and I headed off to explore the area by car. Phil, Glenda, and Les at the start About 10km in to the ride, as they passed the Drouin West primary school, Phil realised that that was the place he meant to start, and now an already painful 80km ride had become 90km. John and I stopped at the Noojee Trestle Bridge and took a leisurely walk across.  Then we headed on to the "town" of Noojee and saw the sights - the water wheel that no one knows the origin of.  Then we enjoyed some lamingtons while we waited for the tiers to catch up.  They arrived and took a few minutes' break, then set out again on their adventure. Noojee Trestle Bridge Noojee Water Wheel John and I then drove to Tooronga Falls and had a re
Read more

One Sleep Until Citizenship!

Image
In January of 1649, Thos Morgan, my great great ..... grandfather, signed the death warrant for King Charles I, an act that in normal times would make him guilty of treason for conspiring against the monarchy.  He ended up fleeing to America, where he changed his last name to Carrier in order to avoid being sent back to England for trial.  Of course, later he married a woman who was tried and hung for being a witch, but that's another story... Three hundred and sixty two years later, I found myself taking a new job in Australia.  In order to get my work visa, I had to pledge allegiance to the monarchy of the same country that my ancestor fled from so many years ago.  And tomorrow, I'll take the Australian Citizenship Pledge and become a dual citizen. Besides the physical move, there were a lot of little details involved in getting to this point.  We arrived on a skilled worker visa, which required providing my resume and degree in addition to the lengthy application and emp
Read more

Missy and Emily's Tassie Trip - Launceston

Image
The second day of this Tassie trip was spent in Launceston.  We drove over from Cradle Mountain in the morning and stopped to sample some local cheese along the way.   Ashgrove cheese for some delicious samples  After the drive over we were quite thirsty so of course had to stop at a couple local wineries.  Launceston is one of our favourite places to go to stock up the wine fridge and enjoy the beautiful scenery and food along the way. Josef Chromy Winery for some Sparkling After lunch we went to Platypus House Seahorse World to check out some of the local critters.  Platypus are really difficult to see in the wild; in the nine years we've been here we've only seen one from far away.  So it was a treat to see them up close and watch them scuttle around.   Mr. Platypus The absolute best thing about Platypus House though are the echidnas!  Echidnas are actually the closest living thing to the platypus, though they look far from it.  They are actually near
Read more