While Michelle enjoyed her last day with her roommates, Dad and I spent our final day in Provo doing – what else? Driving. I’d read about a beautiful drive named the Provo Canyon Scenic Byway, but figured Dad would not be in the mood to explore it, since we were starting the long drive back to the Seattle the following morning. I was thrilled when Dad suggested it himself!
My altitude sickness from the previous day had thankfully faded, but my legs were still sore from our hike up Rock Canyon Trail. That didn’t stop us from pulling over along the road and taking a quick hike up to Bridal Veil Falls!
AllTrails.com lists this as an easy hike, with plenty of reviews gushing about how easy it was even on small children. I was a little surprised to see that the hike was actually a narrow, rocky, and moderately steep series of switchbacks.
Despite my already-sore legs, I enjoyed the short hike up to the falls. Dad and I took a few pictures, wondered if it was possible to hike all the way up to the top of the falls, and explored a bit before strolling right back down to the parking lot. After looking at the trail reviews a bit more closely, it seems that “trail” in this case is just a fancy word for the paved walking and biking trail that passes by the base of the falls. To this day, I’m not sure what trail we hiked, but it was a beautiful start to the day!
We continued along the road, stopping just a few minutes later at Vivian Park, the ending point of the Heber Valley Railroad line. This stop was catered to my Dad, who loves trains (when we were in France, we took a longer, more expensive route from Chaumont to Paris, simply so Dad could ride the TGV).
When I was younger, he was always building model trains and adding scenic details to the miniature railroad in the garage. We were both hoping to take the tourist train that runs between Heber Valley and Vivian Park, but it was closed when we arrived. The railway seems to be a seasonal offering, with trains running from late May through the end of October.
Luckily, the folks further up the road at the railroad’s origin in Heber Valley allowed us to roam through the yard, peering at out-of-service trains and rusty old spare parts. Dad loved it. I think he was happier just poking around the yard than he would have been riding an active train! He was totally in his element, rattling off all kinds of details about the various things we were looking at. He was so happy, he didn’t even complain about my endless photo ops!
We had lunch at Kneaders, a homey little soup-and-sandwich kind of place. I had my first ever French Dip, which was fantastic, and shared a tasty chocolate mousse cake.
After lunch, we decided to head back along the Provo Canyon Scenic Byway and veer off onto yet another scenic road, maybe visit some mountain springs…but a missed turn took us down an entirely different road for almost 45 minutes. We wound up in Duchesne Country, an hour and a half from Provo, before realizing what had happened.
This could be bad news in the wrong company, but it turned into a fun little adventure for my Dad and I.
We opted to skip the mountain springs, and head right back to Provo, where we spent some time at the BYU Museum of Paleontology. I just wanted to see some cool dino casts, and I was not disappointed! The museum also featured a working student lab, and all kinds of fossilized plant and animal life.
It turns out, Utah is part of a much larger hotspot for digging up dino bones! My favorite find? A massive prehistoric sloth.
Short of hiking and visiting more spots around the BYU campus, we weren’t sure what to do next. I wanted to visit the botanical gardens and stop at The Creamery, a popular college hangout, but after that, we were running out of steam. The gardens were beautiful, and the ice cream portions were enormous. I didn’t even finish half of my generous two-scoop sundae.
Dad wanted to stick around campus and help Michelle pack her things into the car for the next day’s drive. We had no idea when she would be free, and didn’t want to interrupt her final day hanging out with new friends, so we killed time loitering around various stores. Thrilling, I know. It’s exactly the kind of thing we might do when I was growing up in Washington. Every time one of my parents announced they were going to the grocery store, the hardware store…any store, I begged to come along. Anything to get out of the house.
We stopped at Deseret Industries, a thrift store maintained by the Mormon church. It functions similarly to Goodwill, providing both goods and jobs to those in need.
We stopped at a couple more thrift stores, a hardware store, Big Lots, and even K-Mart, just whiling away the hours while we waited on Michelle to call. It may not have been the hike-all-day Utah trip I envisioned, but it was memorable nonetheless.
We ate an early dinner at Cubby’s Chicago Beef, a fantastic little shop serving up fresh, innovative salads, burgers and more. Cubby’s was high on my to-do list before landing in Utah, and it did not disappoint! Yelpers recommended the Tri Tip Steak Salad, a savory salad topped with dried cherries, bell peppers, feta cheese, and so much more! Add my Dad to the list of Tri Tip lovers! I went for the handcrafted burger of the day, titled the Gypsy Burger. It didn’t photograph very well, but I can assure you it was delicious!
Cubby’s is exactly the kind of place I love to frequent. From the semi-industrial look to the delicious, unique food offerings, I was in love. Did I mention they also have a variety of interesting soups, seasoned fries, and a range of dipping sauces. If Tomato Basil Coconut soup and Smokey BBQ Bleu Cheese Fries sound good to you, then add this Utah favorite to your travel bucket list!
Finally it was time to help Michelle get packed up for the long drive home. We loaded up the car (which took some rearranging!), then went our separate ways for the night. I was sore, full, and exhausted, but my mind was buzzing. It had been a wonderful trip, and while I was sad to say goodbye to the gorgeous Provo mountains, I had something even better to look forward to. Tomorrow marked the beginning of our mini road trip back home, full of food, sightseeing, and time spent with two of my favorite people. Better yet, that road was taking me home to my wonderful family and the lush Pacific Northwest landscapes I missed so terribly. It’s a miracle I could sleep at all!
Valerie says
This is such a fun post! I love how your attitude is just to explore and see what adventures you come across — sometimes I think the “must have an itinerary” mindset takes over travelers and they miss out on the random fun things that happen only when you give them space and time to do so!
Also, do you live in Seattle? Me too! 🙂
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
Aww thank you! My dad has the same attitude, which made for a fun “anything goes” kind of trip. I grew up in Redmond, so I visit Seattle pretty often. I love it! 🙂
lesleycarter says
I’m glad you still enjoyed the hike up to the falls. It totally looks like it was worth it 🙂
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
Definitely! It was a very short hike, and the views from the falls were lovely. Hard to believe something like this was so easily accessible!
travellingchingrita says
This is pretty sweet that you got to do some adventuring with your dad on your last day in Provo. The falls, scenery but more importantly, the tasty salad at Cubby’s; looks like you had an awesome time.
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
It was kind of an oddball day, but then again, I probably should have known, based on my travel companion. 😛
Tess at blondvoyage.com says
Wow! This is amazing. You’re right, it does seem like New Zealand! What a lovely way to spend time with your dad.
Sarah says
How lovely to spend time together like that. And your dad looks so happy with the trains! The museum looks pretty cool too. I’d love to see the dinosaur stuff on display, and know my kids would too.
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
It was really fun, especially since we only see each other every year or so. The dino stuff was really awesome as well. There was a window into the back room where you could watch students at work.
Vlad says
Awesome photos, I’m sure the hike to the waterfall was worth it 😀 This summer I’ve been on a hike described as easy and it made me wonder what do the difficult ones look like, haha. 😀
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
Right!? Ah well, it was worth the burn! 😀
natalietanner says
How fun! Utah is such a beautiful place and I would love to explore it even more. Love to hear about your journey!
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
It really was beautiful! This was my first time exploring Utah in general, and I hope to return myself! 😛
Jolanta | Casual Travelers says
So what if you took wrong turns and got on wrong paths? It sounds like you had a fantastic weekend with your Dad, and that’s what matters – the memories and photos you took. I bet he appreciated your willingness to hang out with him the whole day as well!
Adventuring The Great Wide Somewhere says
I appreciated him putting up with ME, saying “Smiiiiiile!” every five minutes, ha!