Our daughter, who lives in Maui, is going to be in Salt Lake City for a conference, and wants us, who live in Florida, to join her for a few days after her conference is over. We've never been there, and know nothing about the area.

Of course, just spending time with Dani is our primary goal, but exploring new territory is always fun!

Are there any BT'ers out there that know the area and can suggest "must do's" for 3 days? We all like outdoor activities, but don't want to wander too far from the city, since this will be our first visit.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Gail, I don't have any first hand knowledge but SLC is on my list thanks to articles in Sunset Magazine. I'll see if I can find them and post them for you.

Thanks. It must be that all the folks from SLC are too busy diving the Salt Lake to belong to BT!

Gail,
We're about 7 hours away. We've ridden and driven through SLC but I have no advice for your 'must do' list other than a short drive to Park Lake City - think Olympics, Robert Redford and Sundance Festival.

But maybe you or Dani have something we can add to our Maui 'must do list'.
We take Megan back to UH-Hilo in a couple of weeks and decided to fly to Maui for a few days before school starts. We're staying in a friend's condo in Wailea. Any suggestions?

Go windsurfing at Ho'okipa. This is an insane place to sail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5brSmdsyaPw
Maybe a calmer spot on the north shore would be better.
Wind Cam http://windcam.com/

Go to Mt. Haleakala National Park http://www.nps.gov/hale/ We did the sunrise bike ride down. http://www.bikeitmaui.com/

Have a great time on Maui.

That Bike ride looks great. Not sure if Megan would get up so early to join us but we'd love it. I haven't been on a bicycle since the knee replacement but I ride the exercise bike most days. There is always the escort van if I have problems. Thanks for the recommendation.

We also stayed in a condo in Wailea!

Danielle took us to many of her favorite hiking sites. Ewo Point for one, a bamboo forest for another. The beaches are gorgeous! We went to Lahaina Town and wandered through the neat little galleries.

Be sure to take the "Road to Hana" either by yourselves or on a tour. Since our daughter took us, I think a tour would be best for first timers! The road is narrow and "curvy" is an under estimation. But a wonderful experience. Lots of scenery places to stop off, and little parks to visit, with black sand beaches and floral gardens. Hana is a very quaint little town.

We also visited the aquarium, but I wouldn't call it spectacular, just nice!

It's just a really beautiful place to hang out and unwind.

Gail, my experience is not current (1984) but, when I was working just west of Salt Lake City, I used to go to Heber City. Beautiful country in them thar hills.

http://www.go-utah.com/Heber-City/Scenic-Drives/

or you can ride the Heber City train

http://www.go-utah.com/Heber-Valley-Historic-Railroad/

I've been researching and researching! Good links Tom. I'd love to do the RR trip!

I went online to AAA and am having tour guides and maps sent to get a feeling about time and milage between stuff.

It'll also help when Danielle gets her itinerary nailed down as to where she'll be, and when she'll be free. Then we'll decide what day to fly out, and about where to stay.

It's an unplanned mini vacation! Surprise! (Nice)

Hi Gail!

I live 25 minutes north of slc. I would say if you have 3 days go see the good stuff if possible. Bryce Canyon is like no other place on Earth. It is about 5 hrs south of slc. Arches National Park is about 4 hrs south of slc. They will knock your socks off, or flip flops off. I love Florida, Maui and Utah.

If you don't want to drive that far there are plenty of other things to do and see close by. Just depends on what you would like to see. Go to utah.com for great info.

It also depends on when you are coming. We have the best snow (powder for me) on Earth. Skiing is awesome here.

We are leaving shortly for Bonaire, but will be back home the end of Aug if you have any questions for me.

If you go to Antelope Island on the Great Salt Lake be ready for bugs. Swam in it as a child and thought it was great floating because of the high salt content. It isn't very deep and you would probably have to have a ton of weight to get you under.

Have a great time! We have crazy liquor laws, so be ready for that.