Connecticut's Best Hikes - Ragged Mountain Loop - Berlin CT

Ragged Mountain - May 2019

A lot of us write off Connecticut as a hiking destination.  When someone references the Constitution State, I am willing to bet your first thought isn't "so many great hikes there"!  Its probably more along the lines of lobster rolls, high taxes, New England charm, and life on the beach.  Even if you are a Connecticut native, it is easy to hop in your car and head to the Whites of New Hampshire, the Greens of Vermont, the Berkshires in Massachusetts, or the Adirondacks in New York to experience what hiking in the northeast truly has to offer.

And yes, living in Utah and having so much amazing hiking right outside my apartment really spoiled me.

A lot of our hikes in Connecticut tend to feel like more of a "walk in the woods", a nice little stroll among dirt trails and trees.  Summit views and elevation?  Not always guaranteed.  So when I find a hike that has some awesome views and gets my heart rate up I am pleasantly surprised and feel like I am winning at this game called Have It All.  A chance to spend some time in the woods without having to be landlocked? Hike in the morning lobster bake in the evening?  Turns out, I can have my cake and eat it too.

Spring Hike: Red Butte Canyon Area

One of the best things about spring is the longer daylight hours.  Which means enough light for weekday evening hikes, the perfect way to break up any long work week.  With the warmer weather and summer around the corner (and working for home), I have been setting some "personal goals" on moving at least 3 miles a day.  Some days its just a walk around the city, picking up groceries or dropping off a book at the library.  But on these city walks there is the issue of Olive being on-leash the entire time, and scrounging for all the leftover food littered throughout the city thanks to our growing homeless population.

City life can be wonderful, right?  

At least once mid week its nice to take Olive out on the trails where she can be off leash, and run like a maniac. And I don't have to worry about her eating week old hot dogs off the ground.  A great midweek hike close to downtown, and early spring hike is the trails in Red Butte Canyon. 

First, let me be clear, these are not the trails within the Red Butte Garden itself.  The hikes in the garden require you to pay admission to the garden, and are not dog friendly.  However, there is a network of trails outside of the fence of Red Butte Garden, that crosses over where the entrance of Red Butte Canyon is closed to the public, and through some nice trails.    

Malan's Peak - Ogden, Utah

Spring hiking can be a little tough when you live in the mountains.  The high peaks are all covered in snow, and the lower trails are often covered in mud.  The flies take over Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island, and everyone and their mother is on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.  Throw in the factor of finding a dog-friendly trail and you may be scratching your head on just where you should hike when winter slowly fades to spring.  After doing a little bit of research, I found a hike that we could do to a peak, that was accessible due to its (relatively) low elevation at 6,960 feet.

- - - - - - - - - - The History Behind Malan’s Peak - - - - - - - - - - 

"Malan’s Peak was named after an Ogdenite, Bartholomew “Tim” Malan. In 1892, Malan and his family carved out a path up the mountain side along the upper reaches of Waterfall Canyon, into what is now Malan’s Basin and built Malan Heights Hotel and also prepared a campground area. Malan charged visitors $1 per person to be hauled up to the hotel in a horse-drawn wagon that had a “poke” stick which prevented the wagon from rolling backwards down the hill. Passengers were treated to beautiful panoramic views, excellent meals, and lodging at $6 per week (steak included). Unfortunately, the Hotel burned down in 1906 and the only evidence of it’s existence left is the old cast iron boiler laying in the grass near the stream which leads to Waterfall Canyon.

Spring in the (Salt Lake) City

I am finally getting caught up with my Salt Lake City Trip.
I figured instead of stupid captions, I would just share all the beautiful pictures I took on a sunny April Monday in Salt Lake City.  

Temple Square full of brides taking wedding pictures, Memory Grove park with lots of runners and dogs, and a quick trip up to the Capital.  

Enjoy the beautiful pictures and soon 

the blog goes back to running and all things Marathon
:) 

Beer Bar - Salt Lake City

Best part about traveling is the food.  No discussion there.  And thankfully I had a 13 mile run planned in SLC so there was room to splurge.  Thatcher and I loved planning out all the restaurants we were going to visit in my short trip to Salt Lake City.   Thatcher kept talking about the MOFY BAR THE MOFY BAR (Modern Family) so we stopped in for drinks after dinner Saturday night.  After Saturday, we were so impressed with the drinks and the place--we knew we had to try the food. So, for my last night in Salt Lake City, we decided to have dinner at Beer Bar.  

After doing a little bit of research on the Beer Bar (I knew it had JUST opened) I realized my timing for arriving in SLC was just a little less than perfect.  I landed on April 17th, and the famous owner of this brand new bar/restaurant was posing in the bar on April 16th.  

Who is the owner?  

Ty Burrell,  also known as Phil from Modern Family

Picture from the article- Read the whole article HERE!

*Some of the facts about the Beer Bar are from the article mentioned above, but all opinions are my own.

** Because as much as I wish I could say I was paid, no one paid me to drink beer and eat sausages in SLC

*** If anyone wants to pay me to drink beer in SLC and talk about your beer on this blog,   I can be reached via email Karruda88@gmail.com (A girl can dream... right?)

You walk into a super clean, bright, and fun restaurant.  The seating is mostly picnic/long table, or "german style" i suppose, and the bar is large with fun yellow stools. 

  "Beer Bar, a beer garden-like eatery that serves 150 beers paired up with an array of house-made bratwursts, local breads and Belgian fries. The restaurant, which has high ceilings and long tables and benches to evoke that Bavarian beer hall feel, is next door to the cocktail bar Burrell co-owns with an equally simple name, Bar X." (Page Six, Associated Press)

"“It’s a super simple menu, which is what we wanted from the beginning,” says Burrell, sporting a scruffy beard and glasses. “Basic, but well-made and local. Instead of putting the energy into a lot of elements, making sure you have fewer elements and you are taking the time to make them right.”" (Page Six, Associated Press)

The bartender was super friendly and was happy to recommend a few beers for us.  Day 1: Super busy on a Saturday night-  a really fun crowd and the place was full.  The lines were quick though and we got our beers and found a table.   I got the Dark and Stoutly (A dark and stormy, made with a stout instead of ginger beer), and Thatcher ordered a fun beer that was brewed, a mistake, and then turned into an award winning beer.  Both were delicious but my beer cocktail took the cake. 

  

Day 2:  It was a Monday so while the place was still busy, it was much less packed than Saturday.   We ordered two beers- I got a German style heffeweizen (the Ayinger)  while Thatcher tried some beer on tap I can't remember (great review... right?).  I LOVED my beer it was extra large and had a clovey deliciousness too it. 

 You also get a playing card to take back to your table so the waitress can bring your food over.  You order your food at the left side of the bar, and your drink at the right side of the bar.  No table service, you order your food, grab your beer, and sip away while they make you some tasty food.  Fun alternative to traditional table service. 

"For the menu, the Emmy-winning actor teamed up with Viet Pham, an up-and-coming Salt Lake City chef who was one of Food and Wine magazine’s best new chefs in 2011. Burrell met Pham when he and his wife ate at Forage, Pham’s Salt Lake City restaurant, and were blown away by Pham’s cooking. It turned out that Pham was a fan of Bar X, and the seeds for the future partnership were planted." (Page Six, Associated Press)

They had a bunch of different meat options, with different toppings, in a few different price ranges.  You then pick your sauce for your meat, pick your side, and pick a sauce for your side.

We ordered a turkey sausage and a bison sausage, with lots of fun toppings and sauces.

We also shared a large fry with a garlic aioli and a curry ketchup 

While both were good, the turkey dog was the better of the two.  The fries were AMAZING and the sauces were even better.  We also tried some of their home made mustards which were delicious. 

While the sausages didn't exceed our high expectations, they were both delicious.  And we both agreed the sauces were the best part (Aside from the beer...). 

We loved the atmosphere, the food, and duh- the booze so we will DEFINITELY be back.
I am also really excited to try BAR-X next door, co owned by Ty, and known for their outstanding drinks.  

Skiing Snowbird - Thatcher turns 30

Sunday was Thatcher's 30th birthday.  We had planned a day of skiing at Snowbird to ring in 30 and have a relaxing and fun day on the mountain.  It was forecasted to rain in the city so we knew this meant snow in the mountains.  

Only problem was, it was really overcast, foggy, and snowy in the mountains.  Snow is good.  Fog is rough.  But we decided to enjoy the day and take it easy despite the conditions.  

The sun came out for about.. 10 minutes.  Long enough to take this picture.  

About 20 minutes later it was snowing again.  And then it was graupeling ( a new term to me )  It is a mix between snow and hail, something I have never seen before, it looked and felt like hail, but it was not ice and it smooshed into snow after you touched it.    While it was pretty painful to ski in, it did result in fresh snow.  And some great skiing conditions. 

After a day of skiing, we headed back down to the city.  The drive up and down is only about 30 minutes each way and it is a beautiful drive.  It is amazing how you can be in a beautiful city, get in your car and drive 30 minutes and be on a ski mountain.   I made Thatcher pull over to snap some photos at least 10 times.  

After a day of skiing, we were both graving something carby and hearty.  Thatcher is an easy guy to please, and for his birthday dinner, he wanted Charlie Chow's, the dragon/mongolian grill by his house.  Noodles and beer and he was a happy guy.  And the cheapest birthday dinner ever ;)