The Ultimate Utah Travel Guide: Must-Visit Locations, Restaurants, and Accommodations

The Ultimate Utah Travel Guide: Must-Visit Locations, Restaurants, and Accommodations

Utah is home to some of the most stunning landscapes in the United States, offering a diverse range of outdoor adventures, from hiking through canyons to skiing on world-class slopes. Whether you're a nature enthusiast or just looking for a relaxing getaway, this guide provides the perfect itinerary for each location in Utah, along with restaurant recommendations and accommodation options.

Zion National Park

                   

Known for its towering red cliffs and scenic canyons, Zion is one of the most visited national parks in the U.S. It's perfect for hiking, photography, and immersing yourself in the natural beauty of the area.

Best Time to Visit: Spring (April-May) and Fall (September-October).

Must-Try Restaurants:

Oscar’s Cafe - A local favorite for casual dining with hearty portions.
Zion Canyon Brew Pub - Enjoy craft beer and a variety of pub food.

Accommodations:

Zion Lodge: The only in-park lodging with cabins and hotel rooms.
Cable Mountain Lodge: Located just outside the park with modern suites.
Watchman Campground: Inside the park, reservations recommended.
South Campground: Also within the park, first-come, first-served.

Arches National Park

                      

Home to over 2,000 natural stone arches, this park offers some of the most recognizable landscapes in the U.S. Perfect for hiking, photography, and stargazing.

Best Time to Visit: Spring (March-May) and Fall (September-November).

Must-Try Restaurants:

The Broken Oar - A classic spot serving hearty American dishes.
Desert Bistro - Known for its upscale, seasonal menu.

Accommodations:

Moab Springs Ranch: Offers bungalows and townhouses with resort amenities.
The Gonzo Inn: A boutique hotel with southwestern decor.
Devils Garden Campground: The only campground in the park with reservations.
Moab Valley RV Resort & Campground: Offers tent sites and RV hookups near Moab.

How To Survive Military Life as a Significant Other

 

Relationships are based on four principles: respect, understanding, acceptance, and appreciation. ~Mahatma Gandhi

When you and your significant other make the decision to join the military there is a lot of behind the scene decisions that others looking from the outside in aren't aware of. Most people think of the military as easy, the president is in charge of you, you make a lot of money, lots of deployments, marrying young, multiple kids, and PCSing to the most amazing destinations. While some of these things might be true, there is a lot more to unpack. So today's blog post is about how to survive military life as a MILSO. 

Before we became an official military family I got to live the lifestyle through my mom. My dad went through multiple deployments and I was lucky enough to live close to my mom during those times and get to drop everything and be there for her when needed. Deployments teach spouses to be independent. To be strong, to learn things they never knew they would need to, to be smart with money, and to really be okay with being "by yourself" for multiple months out of the year. My husband went to basic and tech school while I was pregnant and just barely made it before our baby was born so I've lived through the experiences I'm sharing today. 

How To Survive Military Life as a Significant Other

1. Learn the acronyms

Aka all the "military lingo" If there is one funny thing I have learned from this military life is that Military officials love using acronyms for literally EVERYTHING. Each branch has its own specific abbreviation that you will have to learn. For us, the Air Force acronyms were what we needed to learn (Such as AFB "Air Force Base") There are also abbreviations that all branches use which is what I'm going to list down below:

MILSO: Military Significant Other

PCS: Permanent Change of Station

BAH: Basic Allowance for Housing

ASVAB: Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery

BAS: Basic Allowance for Subsistence

DITY: Do-it-yourself (move)

DEERS: Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System

DFAS: Defense Finance and Accounting Service

BX & PX: Base Exchange & Post Exchange (tax-free stores inside the military base)

For more acronyms, you can go to the military benefits website for a huge list. Knowing these abbreviations will help you communicate with different departments within your military branch and commanders and such (especially if your significant other is deployed). 

2. Find yourself a new hobby

When it comes to being a MILSO, as we previously explained, life can get a little lonely. Your spouse might be deployed for 90 days to a couple of years at a time. Or it could just be the long hours that your spouse is working at their base and you only really get to spend quality time with them during the weekend. Finding something that you are passionate about is going to keep you sane. Some people have always been "creative" since they were born. While others have to really dig deep and see what hobbies they could try and be passionate about. Me for example, I enjoy baking, blogging, thrifting, organizing, crafting, and doing research ( I know that this is a random hobby but I truly enjoy researching different topics my favorite being: Nutrition). 

So next time your spouse is gone for a little while finding something that you have been wanting to try and giving it a go should be on top of your list! Here are a few ideas for you to add to your list: 

• Blogging/Youtuber (so many possibilities here)
• Social Media Influencer (same for this one, you can be a fashion or fitness influencer)
• Crocheting
• Learn how to play an instrument
• Start an Etsy Store
• Deep Clean your entire home and sell things on eBay
• Learn how to cook
• Learn how to bake
• Learn a new language
• Learn how to dance
• Learn how to play a sport
• Go on a thrifting adventure
• Take a class on Skillshare
• Learn a new workout routine
• Take a photography class
• Make a list of books to read for the year and complete it
• Start a small business from your home
• Explore your town 

Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation. ~Kahil Gibran

3. Keep a Journal

A journal is a place to clear your mind. To write down what’s clouding your thoughts and keeping you up at night. To help with conflict resolution and to give you solutions. It also helps with memories for years to come. There has been plenty of research on how journaling helps those with anxiety and depression. It helps people write down things that they might not want to say or someone face to face. One study specifically mentioned how older adults with ongoing medical conditions and anxiety found that journaling helped to decrease their mental stress load and increase their overall well-being. Just like one of my favorite songs, a journal is thinking aloud. It makes you more self-aware. It helps to fight your inner demons. To face your fears! (taken from my blog post on why you should keep a journal in 2021).

Keeping a journal while your significant other is also a great idea to look back at how you were feeling while they were gone and what memories you might have made. 

4. Make Traditions

Keeping traditions is one of our favorite things to do as a military family! There are so many fun ideas on Pinterest that you can find and create your own version for your family. Here in the Bertelli household, we love to spend time at home, making food, playing board games, watching movies, or going for adventures in our town. Here is a list of ideas for traditions:

• Create a "bucket list" and complete it as a family
• take a picture as a family in every new location you PCS to then save it as a digital scrapbook
• buy a few of your favorite board games and have a game night with treats every week (or however many times a month you would like)
• volunteer for a great cause as a family
• create holiday traditions, whether it be for Christmas, Halloween, or the 4th of July, create some fun traditions that go with those holidays. 

5. Family Support

Having family there for you during the most difficult times of your deployment will make such a difference! There a few memories that come to mind when it comes to my family. My dad was deployed one year and my mom called me late a night saying that she was not feeling good and that I need to take her to the doctors. I dropped everything and drove 45 minutes to her house to help her out... My mama has always been there for me throughout the many stages of my life so I have to be there for her as much as I can. The same goes for when I was pregnant last year and my husband was gone for tech school. I had to get IVs quite often and luckily my brother-in-law lives next to me and was able to take me to the emergency room so I could feel better. 

So yes, family support is so so important! There are times that you might be PCSing to a different state and far away from family but I cannot express this enough: communicate and keep in touch with your family members! It will help with your insanity as well. 

God chose the strongest, the bravest, and the most courageous… and He made them military spouses.

There you have it, if you have found this information useful I encourage you to share it with others or even pin it on your Pinterest for future reference. You can follow some of my military-related Pinterest boards for more ideas.

Day trip to Antelope Island - Utah

UTAH BUCKET LIST: ANTELOPE ISLAND

Antelope Island is the perfect place for a quick day trip with your kids! We woke up early on a Sunday morning and my husband suggested we would go check out the wild buffalos, bison, and antelopes. 

We stopped and got some drinks and snacks for the drive and hit the road. From where we live it took about an hour to get there but it wasn’t too bad at all!

Once you get to the gate before going over the bridge to the island you can already see how beautiful the view is. The price was $15 dollars per vehicle and if you have someone 60 and older it is only $10 dollars. They gave us a map of the island and off we went to explore.

There are a few different routes you could take when you get to the island. One leads you to a beach where there is also a burger joint, different hiking, and biking trails, while the other leads you to all the wild buffalos off to either side of the road.

There were a few other families there and the best part about it is that everyone we keeping their distance and taking their time while parked on the side of the street. We started driving on this winding road when we spotted the first heard. The kiddos got so excited to see them up close! 

The island also has hiking trails that you can go on and you can even go camping there which I think would make it for a fun weekend with the wild bison!

Here are some fun facts about Antelope Island found on the interwebs:

Description

Antelope Island, with an area of 42 square miles, is the largest of ten islands located within the Great Salt Lake, Utah, United States. The island lies in the southeastern portion of the lake, near Salt Lake City and Davis County, and becomes a peninsula when the lake is at extremely low levels.

A balloon festival is held yearly, around Labor Day. Birdwatching on Antelope Island is well known. Observing wildlife is also popular on Antelope Island, especially the large numbers of bison which are part of the Antelope Island Bison Herd. Coyotes and antelope are sometimes seen close to the main roads and campsites, and bison often wander across the roads, though the bison are most often found towards the south end of the island near the Fielding Garr Ranch.

One of our favorite parts of the trip was when we were driving down the small road and this huge herd of mamas and babies decided to cross the road right behind us. We just all watched it right from our rear window as they went by. It was a fun experience to have them that close to us. 

As a reminder, it is not recommended for you to get out of your car when they are this close as they can charge towards you or your car and you can potentially get injured. They are wild animals after all!

Address: 4528 W 1700 S, Syracuse, UT 84075

Hours of operation: 6:00 AM - 10:00 PM (Sunday-Saturday)

Price: Entrance fee: $15 per vehicle up to 8 people (Visit the park site for more information)

Make sure to add a day trip to Antelope Island to your bucket list! If you aren't sure how to start a bucket list I have written a helpful post on it so that way you know exactly what to do! 

How-To Series: Ketogenic Diet

Welcome to the first post of this fun How-To Series! I'm kicking this off with one of the most talked-about diets of the year: KETO (aka Ketogenic Diet). 

A quick unbiased reminder: the point of this series is to educate you on all things nutrition. This doesn't mean that I'm going to persuade you towards a certain diet/lifestyle. I want to be transparent as I can with you about each topic and give a "research & study" point of view, and since I'm going to school for dietetics it seems fitting to give you an overall understanding without selling you on a product from some business. However, I will be recommending certain products that have research to back them up. Let's get right into it, shall we?

What is the Ketogenic Diet?

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet that in medicine is used primarily to treat difficult-to-control (refractory) epilepsy in children. The diet forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates. When the body has too little glucose in the bloodstream, the liver converts fats into a form of energy known as ketones and fatty acids. The body then uses the ketones as an energy source.

Who is recommended for?

Usually recommended by a doctor if the patient has epilepsy, seizures, or is obese. People who use the ketogenic diet to control seizures usually follow this plan for about two years of being seizure-free. However, a person must taper off the ketogenic diet gradually or risk seizures and other health effects. It is no surprise that keto is recommended by many online health coaches to lose weight and fight diseases such as autoimmune. 

What are the side effects?

The ketogenic diet can cause several side effects, such as no appetite, constipation, dehydration, high cholesterol, kidney stones, nutrient deficiencies, and diabetic ketoacidosis. The Keto Flu - which is the initial symptoms of transition may include fatigue, insomnia, digestive upset, achiness, and lightheadedness. 

What is recommended:

First and foremost you should consult with your doctor to see if this diet is a good fit for you and quite honestly I dislike the word "diet" and think of it more as a lifestyle change. People on a ketogenic diet MUST drink lots of water to stay properly hydrated. Although supplementation is not recommended, there are a few products out there that could help you on this journey such as: 

What are the common foods for the Keto Diet?

Beef, lamb, venison, wild-caught fish, ghee, pastured eggs, swiss chard, spinach, zucchini, spaghetti squash, asparagus, avocado, and black coffee are some of the most common foods. 

What are the foods that need to be avoided on this diet?

Avoid sweetness, grains such as rice, quinoa, pizza, ice cream, soda, processed foods, refined fats products are among the list of what to avoid. 

Once again, the keto diet consists of around 70% fat, 25% protein, and 5% carbohydrates. I have presented you with detailed information on the ketogenic diet and hope that you proceed with your own discretion. Just like any other diet: keto isn't for everyone. If you have serious health issues please consult with your doctor beforehand. 

HOW TO START THE KETO DIET:

1. Talk to your doctor first.
2. Plan on being on this diet for a while (your body takes around 2-7 days to reach the ketosis stage). 
3. Don't eat processed fats! Eat the foods I mentioned above.
4. Talk to an expert on Ketogenic diet
5. ONCE AGAIN: This diet is not for everyone!

I searched a few books on Amazon to help you get started if you are serious about this diet: 

Below is a compilation of delicious and healthy "Keto Friendly" recipes should you chose to go that direction. Let me know if you try any of them! 

 1. Dill Glazed Carrots by teaspoon of goodness

2. Fried Green Tomatoes by Attainable Sustainable

3. Chicken Fajita Sheet by Meraki Mother 

 4. Low Carb Swedish Meatballs by Whole Lotta Yum

 5. Keto Salad by Diabetes Strong

6.Super Veggie Breakfast Scramble by FOODAL

7. Low Carb Chocolate Dessert By Honest Mum

8.Healthy Carrot Cake Bites By VegAnnie

9. Instant Pot Egg Bites By This Old Gal 

10. Silky Vegan Cauliflower Soup By Happy Kitchen Rocks

I hope you enjoyed today's post! See you next Wednesday for another How-To! 

xo,

Karina 

*Disclaimer: Nina Talks earns a small commission from affiliate links on the blog. I also receive compensation/products in exchange for reviews. All opinions are my own. I only recommend products we love. Thank you!