Salt Lake City, UT: Partyin' with Chuck

Fear not world, the Zinger is alive and well! The guys over at the Foreign Aid did an amazing job and we simply can't thank them enough! After a hug and some reorganizing we were back on the road headed several hundred miles to Salt Lake City to party with Chuck Mumford, fellow Vermonter, extreme skier, and founder/CEO of Pit Viper Sunglasses (.com). Our adventure was back on!

Utah was one hot desert. And while we were happy to have the van back it took a bit of getting used to. Our rental car(s) had spoiled us a little. We were now going 20 mph slower, with the noisy wind whipping in through the open windows, no AC, and back to getting blown all over the road being passed by everyone and their grandmother. We were however pleasantly surprised to find that our new used engine took us up the highway hills at 40 mph not 35. Yeah that's right! Wanna race!?

We were scheduled to meet Chuck at a party up in the mountains of Park City and we drove all day and into the night. The van drove like a champ, somehow some way making it up some of the longest and steepest hills of our entire journey. We got lost a few times and had to continuously coordinate with Chuck for accurate directions. Up at 9,000 ft the Zinger was having a hard time breathing the thin mountain air and we almost thought we weren't going to make it. We eventually navigated some dirt roads in the woods and found ourselves at an epic mountain house rager! It was almost midnight at this point but the party turned out to be worth the wait. We met up with Chuck, met a bunch of other Vermonters and even ran into Ned, an old friend from Burlington! There was a bonfire and an awesome band playing. And come to find out one of the owners of the house (and guitar player in the band) was none other than our friend Max whom we had met in Massachusetts. He was Christy's (White Barn Farm) cousin! Talk about small world!

In Utah beers are only 3.2% alcohol (or something like that, we heard several stories) and we were party favorites with our growler of IPA from Colorado and our 'full power' Budweisers! We, along with Max and Chuck, were the last to go to bed at 3:15 in the morning and when we awoke we got to see our beautiful surroundings in the daylight. The mountains of Utah are gorgeous!

The van was slow to wake up but we eventually made it back down to the SLC, driving past endless bikers, Mormons and outdoor enthusiasts.

We got an exclusive tour from Chuck of the Pit Viper warehouse/office/factory and he assembled a new pair for us on the spot! We then took a ride in his new '86 Mustang to an awesome Mexican food spot to get some burritos and chimichangas to fuel up for the next leg of our journey. 

We're now cruising through Idaho en route to Bozeman, Montana to spend some quality time with Holly, the other Mumford. We won't get there til late tonight but we'll be hanging out in Big Sky Country for the next few days. Onwards!