Utah Valley

Making beauty out of trash is something that artist Gustavo Calderón of Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, Mexico, has been doing for 30 years. For the past seven years, he and two other glass-blowers from the Guadalajara area, Vicente Martin del Campo and Octavio Flores, all resident artists at Sundance resort, have created stunning, one-of-a-kind items made entirely from recycled glass.

In an effort to beat the rain forecasted for Labor Day, I wanted to get in a quick hike on the Saturday before. So with a husband dedicated to BYU football, I took my two kids, aged 2 years and 6 months, and my dad for a hike on Saturday evening. It’s a great time to hike: a way to enjoy the scenery without the threat of heat stroke.

The best part for me about boating at Utah Lake with my kids is the big smile that bouncing up and down on the waves puts on their faces. I grew up waterskiing, and I’m proud to say that at the age of 11 I was up on my first waterskiing attempt.

Jeremy Jones, a native of Utah and a resident of Lehi, has spent the last eight years working as a professional fly-fishing guide. Jones now manages a dozen or more full-time guides for Rocky Mountain Outfitters, which provides guide services for a number of the local resorts and has an outfitters shop at Sundance and another in Midway.

There were more than 1,400 of us equipped with super soakers and small squirt guns awaiting the sound of the whistle.  And when it blew, all eyes were closed as water blasted our faces and bodies.  Saratoga Soaked was one of the wildest and wettest events in Utah this summer.

Located in American Fork Canyon, the Timpanogos Cave National Monument is a remarkable place to explore.  The cave is located at the end of a very steep, though paved 1.5-mile trail, which begins at the stairs on the eastern side of the visitor center and ranger station.

Thanks to the snowmelt, spring and very early summer are the best times to hop into a raft and float our local rivers.  Our friend, Mark, spent his Saturday afternoon taking both my husband and me, in turns, on a 30-minute run of a 2-mile section of the Spanish Fork River.