Day 23: Utah (Part 5)

by | June 2014 | 0 comments

Day 23 (6/23/14): Timpanogos Cave National Monument | Salt Lake City, UT

I broke out my electric griddle this morning and made a hearty breakfast of pancakes and turkey bacon.ย  We were going to be doing a long hike later in the day, and I didn’t want us to get hungry in the middle of it. Our hike took place at Timpanogos Cave National Monument at Mt. Timpanogos in the Wasatch mountain range. We wanted to see the cave, so we had made reservations a few days ago for the cave tour as it requires a ticket ($8 per person at the time we went) and often sells out during the summer.

We started hiking up Mt. Timpanogos around 1:30pm and didn’t reach the cave entrance until about 2:45pm. It was a steep 1.5-mile hike up the 1,092 feet to the cave, probably the steepest, most strenuous hike I’ve ever done in my life (and I’m not new to hiking). We got quite the workout though, and luckily, it paid off. Not only did we enjoy the rugged mountain terrain and stunning views of the Pleasant Grove valley below, but also the cave itself was amazing!

The cave is still alive or active, meaning that it’s still growing and evolving. Therefore, you’re not supposed to touch any part of the cave as the oil in our hands will damage it and change the structure. There were multiple caverns that often required bending, crouching and ducking to avoid brushing the wall growths to be able to pass through the narrow and low passageways. So many different sizes and textures of cave formations! They were fascinating and extremely tempting to touch with their wet and often slimy-looking surfaces.ย  But alas, no touching allowed, photos only.

At one point, the Ranger giving the tour turned off the lights in the cave, and it was literally pitch-black. You couldn’t even make out shapes or your own hand directly in front of your face. However, as creepy as the blackness was, it felt as though I was being embraced by it, which was a strange, somewhat comforting feeling. In a way, it seemed like “What you can’t see can’t hurt you.” But then the lights were turned back on, and I was reminded that I was underground, in a cold, damp series of caves. The temperature inside the caves is an average of 45 degrees Fahrenheit, the typical temperature of a refrigerator. Brrrr!!! Good thing I brought a sweater!

After exiting the cave and hiking back down, we were reminded how high up in the mountains we were with the surrounding scenic views.ย  The icing on the cake though for our time at the Timpanogos Cave National Monument area was seeing a family of bighorn sheep crossing the road directly in front of our truck! How incredible is that?!

We then headed into Salt Lake City where Justin gave me a tour of his old neighborhood.ย  He showed me his old house that he grew up in, his elementary school, his high school, plus many of his old hang-outs, such as Scone Cutter where I tried a scone and Hires Big H restaurant where we had a cheeseburger and fries (with Utah’s famous fry sauce of course) for dinner.ย  He then took me over to Iceberg for a milkshake (shakes are big in Utah, and many restaurants offer them).ย  Justin’s favorite shake flavor from Iceberg: Bubblegum! ๐Ÿ™‚

Follow Next Destination Unknown on Pinterest

Affiliate Disclosure

This post may contain affiliate links or links to Amazon. If you choose to purchase anything through these links, I may earn a commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting me and my blog. Youโ€™re the best! See the full disclosure for details.

Join the Free Blog Launch Course and learn how to start a blog in just 7 days!

Let’s Connect!

Briana Nickas of Next Destination Unknown

Behind the Blog

Hey there! I’m Briana, a blogger, hiker, traveller, RVer, photo-taker, and National Parks lover who is passionate about exploring the great outdoors while practicing clean living for a healthier lifestyle to continue doing the things I live for. My goal is to inspire others to live a life focused on wellbeing and wandering. Join me!

READ MORE

Top Blog Categories

RVing

RVing

Blogging with Next Destination Unknown

Blogging

A Few of My Faves…

1

RAKUTEN

Get cash back on your purchases through Rakuten for free! This is seriously one of my favorite things in life!


2

SITEGROUND

Reliable hosting for your self-hosted WordPress website is a must! SiteGround is not only reliable, but it's also affordable!


3

DIVI THEME

If you want to design a custom WordPress website without having to know code, the Divi Theme is the way to go!


4

WP ROCKET

Boo for slow websites! Does your WordPress blog need a major site speed boost? You need the WP Rocket plugin!


5

MAILERLITE

For an affordable yet customizable email marketing service, MailerLite is my go-to choice!

Powered by…

Divi WordPress Theme
WP Rocket - WordPress Caching Plugin

Earn Cash Back

Get Cash Back with Rakuten!

Go Natural

Try natural skincare with 10% off Primally Pure!

Use code NDU10 for 10% off EVERY Primally Pure purchase!

Go Shopping

Get What You Need from Amazon!

Try RVing

Blogging Tools I use, LOVE, and highly recommend:

  • SITEGROUND I use SiteGround as my web hosting provider for this self-hosted WordPress blog. Their plans are affordable and include must-have features. Learn more about SiteGround and their web hosting plansย HERE.
  • DIVI THEME –ย I love the Divi Theme’s page builder to create a fully customizable website. Plus, it comes with some super handy plugins! Get 10% OFF the Divi Theme HERE.
  • WP ROCKET –ย Site speed is critical for blogs. I use the WP Rocket Plugin in conjunction with my SiteGround hosting and their SG Optimizer plugin for a super fast site. Check out the WP Rocket plugin HERE.
  • CANVAย –ย Canva makes it super easy to design eye-catching graphics and Pins for your blog. Sign up for a FREE Canva account and try Canva Pro FREE for 30 daysย HERE.
  • MAILERLITE – I love using MailerLite to design and send engaging emails to my subscribers.ย Get MailerLite FREE for your first 1,000 email subscribers HERE.

You may also like…

Leave a Comment!

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Treasure Chest of Freebies with Free Resources for Blogging, Travel, RVing, and Hiking

Unlock the Treasure Chest of Freebies!

ย 

Sign up for the key to unlock the Treasure Chest of Freebies and get your free Travel, RVing, Hiking, Wellbeing, and Blogging resources!

Success! Check your inbox for the key to unlock the Treasure Chest of Freebies.