WITS 2024 Salt Lake City: Women in Travel Summit, Part 2

Ready to find out what sport I tried for the first time during a tour at WITS? It took place in beautiful Park City, Utah, approximately 45 minutes uphill from Salt Lake City. Here's a hint. 

I grew up skiing, so it's definitely not that. Do these pictures help? The man shown, our guide for the afternoon at Utah Olympic Park, is Carl Roepke. 

  

Does any of this look familiar?

If you guessed that I tried bobsledding, congratulations! 

Here I am, posing in that stationary bobsled, excited for what was to come. The sled feels quite roomy when you're in it alone. 

Before trying out bobsledding for real, we had an excellent tour of the 2002 Olympic venue. My favorite part was standing here, in the starting gate for the ski jump. It looks even higher and more intimidating in person that it does on TV. 

I also loved seeing the training pool for freestyle skiing. The pool is currently frozen, but in the summer the athletes train by landing their tricks in the pool. The water is aerated to break the surface tension that would otherwise be quite painful. I really want to return in the summer to see the freestyle show! Incredibly, you can also buy a pass to try to try aerial skiing into a pool yourself. I will not be doing that. 

After an excellent tour, it was time for the bobsledding experience. I wasn't one bit nervous. In fact, I was so excited that I volunteered to go in the first group. We were instructed how to sit in the sled. Raise your shoulders as high as they go (that's what stops your head from flinging back and forth) and hold them there. Press your forearms firmly against the insides of the sled. 

We put on balaclavas...

... and then were fitted for helmets. It was hard to talk or hear once the helmet was on. 

Once outfitted, we loaded into our bobsled. First in, seated in the front, was our professional driver, Ryan, who would be steering. I was in the third position. It was ridiculously cramped in there - nothing like posing alone in the bobsled had been. Each person had to carefully position themselves up against the next person. We did this from a standstill and it was a challenge. Actual bobsled athletes do it from a run. I have no idea how. 

Once we were all loaded in, we got a running push and off we went.

Now that you've seen the birdseye view, check out how we looked during the ride.

So how did I like bobsledding? The first few turns were fine... even fun. And then the motion sickness kicked in, big time. I'll spare you the details, but it was not good. I hadn't expected the bobsled to make me so sick, but in retrospect... of course it did. I get sick on roller coasters. A bobsled is essentially a roller coaster. In our group of 15 who tried bobsledding, I was the only one to get sick. Two others said they'd never do it again because it was so scary, but the rest enjoyed the experience. 

The whole ride was less than 50 seconds, but it took another 5 minutes to unload us. I was doing everything I could not to throw up (again) before I could get out of the bobsled. I can't remember the last time I felt so sick.

I am so glad I rode in the first group, because it gave me quite a bit of time to recover while everyone else did their rides. But 30 minutes later, when it was time to get back on the bus for the short ride to the Alf Engen Ski Museum at the Joe Quinney Winter Sports Center, I still felt terrible. Two kind women walked down the hill with me so that I wouldn't have to get on the bus. The walk in the cool air helped.

   

Going into the museum, I felt fairly confident that I wouldn't throw up. Fortunately, I was correct. I felt queasy, but was able to enjoy the many interesting exhibits. 

  

I absolutely recommend a visit to Utah Olympic Park. There's something for everyone and the whole place is both interesting and beautiful. 

After the museum visit, I had no choice but to get back on the bus for the 45 minute return to Salt Lake City. I sat in the front and looked out the whole time instead of socializing with the rest of the group. That helped; I felt mostly better when we returned to the Marriott. 

Good thing, as I had dinner plans at Salt Stone with a group of mostly WITS first-timers. There were a lot of tempting choices on both the dinner and drink menus, but I stuck with a simple salad and water. 

It was a good choice. Not only was it tasty, but by the end of the meal, I felt 100% again. 

I really enjoyed the time with my new friends. So much so, that I let them talk me into making an appearance at the Bessie Awards just after dinner. The Bessie Awards, named for Bessie Coleman (affiliate link), honor women and gender-diverse people who have contributed unique voices and work to the travel industry. 

Why did I have to be talked into attending such a worthy event? Clothing. Because I came to WITS directly from the eclipse with just a single carry-on, I was very limited on what I could pack. I did not have room for a nice dress and shoes that I would only wear for 2 hours out of a 2 week trip. I had gone directly from bobsledding to dinner, with no time to change even if I'd brought nicer clothes.  

But the organizers had been clear: the event is dressy, but you're welcome to come as you feel comfortable. I appreciate that. Our underdressed group skipped the red carpet photos and went straight to a table in the back of the room. 

I'm glad I went and was able to learn about the amazing nominees and winners. Congratulations to all! 

It had been a really full day at WITS and I had an equally full day ahead of me. I'll tell you all about it on Monday. 

WITS 2024 Salt Lake City: Women in Travel Summit, Part 1

On Wednesday, April 10 I flew from Texas to Salt Lake City while Steve and Trevor continued home. Why did I go to SLC alone? WITS. 

WITS stands for Women in Travel Summit. This annual conference brings travel bloggers, authors, and content creators together for educational sessions, networking, and an in-depth look at the host destination. About 99.5% of the attendees are women, but all genders are welcome. The 2024 conference was held in Salt Lake City, with a day trip to Park City. This was my first in-person travel conference since I started doing travel blogging in 2017. (I attended a virtual travel conference in 2022.) By fun coincidence, I was in Salt Lake City for SNAP Conference when decided to expand beyond crafts and blog about travel as well.

WITS consists of a 3-day core conference, with many tours available before and after. Some are by invitation only, while others are available to any attendees. Since they’re included in the price of registration, I signed up for as many tours as I could fit into my schedule. 

Anyway, I landed in Salt Lake City in the early evening. It was fun seeing this sign greeting me at the airport. 

For $2.50, I rode the Trax Green Line from the airport to the Temple Square Station. I love how easy and convenient it is. 

The Temple is under construction (more on that later) but it doesn't affect transit.

The Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek (the host hotel) is just one block away from the Temple Square Station. I checked into my room, unpacked, and went to bed early, excited for my first tour the following morning. 

Early on Thursday, April 11, I headed to the lobby for my first tour. I didn’t know a soul going into WITS, but everyone was very friendly and I almost didn’t want to stop chatting with my new friends when it was time to load onto our respective buses. There were seven of us on our 3-hour tour. 

Southwest Adventure Tours offers private tours throughout the southwest and beyond. Our guide, Cameron, told us all sorts of interesting information about Salt Lake City as he drove us around town. We made made multiple stops, starting with this influencer-friendly sign. It's randomly tucked away in a parking garage.

Next we went to the Clark Planetarium. I went there in 2016 with Steve and Trevor and it was lots of fun to visit again. I don’t remember them having a huge display of telescopes for sale in the lobby last time. 

A moon rock! (But already on The List).

This is so much fun to watch. 

I love the tables by the snack bar outside the IMAX theater. Our group didn’t watch a show, but we did during our 2016 family visit. I definitely recommend a visit to Clark Planetarium during your visit to Salt Lake City. 

Salt Lake City has a lot of public art, including many fabulous murals. This one, SLC Pepper, was done by Jann Haworth. She's a Utah resident who created the original Sgt. Pepper album cover for the Beatles!

Next, we went to the Capitol. 

Until very recently, they were flying the previous state flag. This one is a huge improvement. 

I've visited almost all of the State Capitol buildings and Utah's is one of my favorites. It's grand and beautiful and full of interesting details, inside and out. 

If you're up for a challenge, try to count the beehives at the Capitol. Allow most of the day - they are everywhere! 

Hey! That's the old flag. I can see the beehive, but it's so much easier to spot on the new flag.

Don't forget to look for the Liberty Bell replica.

The views from the Capitol are so pretty. And we were blessed with perfect weather. 

I didn't know that High School Musical was filmed in Salt Lake City. East High is an active high school and students were in session when we passed by. You can take a self-guided tour after school gets out in the afternoon. 

Our final stop on the morning's tour was supposed to be an organ recital at the Tabernacle. These 30-minute concerts have happened (almost) daily for a century. However, there had been an Ensign College graduation at the Tabernacle that day instead of a concert, so we got to see the organ but not hear it. 

I was surprised that the Tabernacle was still open and hosting recitals (and, for that matter, graduations). Much of Temple Square is blocked by construction fencing. 

You can read here about the renovation; it's very interesting. It started in December 2019 and is expected to be completely finished in 2026. 

Since I'm not a member of the LDS Church, I can't go in the Temple anyway, so it's not a huge deal to me that it was under construction when I was there. However, I was very disappointed not to be able to eat at Lion House Pantry, which is also closed for renovations. I'd been thinking about their pot pie and biscuits since I booked the ticket to SLC!

Instead, I ate somewhere I hadn't been before, Kneaders. This Utah chain serves up all sorts of sandwiches, soups, salads, and bakery items. I had a fantastic lunch and took advantage of the many samples they had on offer. 

Kneaders is located in City Creek Center. It's basically an outdoor mall, but there's a lot more to it. Most notably, it's beautiful. 

  

In addition to the namesake creek, there are beautiful fountains (with hourly shows). Kids are welcome to play in the children's 'Engage' fountain and there are opportunities to feed the fish! Along the creek, there are pawprints of different native animals. City Creek Center is quite a place and well-worth a visit. 

Another good reason to visit City Creek Center is that it houses the Utah Sports Hall of Fame. 

  

The HOF is small, but very well done. And it's free to visit!

This display lets you choose an athlete and see how you measure up to them.... literally!

The angles are a little weird (I'm 5'2"), but it's funny how I'm dwarfed by this basketball player, while the gymnast and I are about the same size (and have similar bangs!). 

I enjoyed my visit, but it was time to return to the Marriott for my next tour. I could give you a hundred tries and you probably won't guess what I did on that tour. Here's your hint: it's a sport, and it's something that literally not a single person I know has ever done. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow!