Find the Adventure

Anyone who has even visited Provo has probably been beaten to death with urges like "Hike the Y!" "The Y Trail is a rite of passage." "The Y Trail offers unbelievable views of Utah Valley." blah blah blah. Let me tell you a secret that anyone who has done any real hiking in Utah County knows: the Y Trail SUCKS. There is nothing redeeming about hiking the Y except getting to avoid people constantly telling you to do it. There is no shade. It's steep. It's crowded. It's ugly. It's rocky. It's HOT. Honestly, there are only four occasions when hiking the Y is a good decision: You're new to Provo and a bunch of your friends insist on hiking the Y, even though you've presented all the evidence against it. You are really attached to these friends and desperately need social interaction. You are trying to get into or stay in shape, so you use the trail for short but intense training or trail running. (But even then, you could probably f...

Let's start off with a treat we can all get behind. William's Dairy Bar is a fairly new addition to the foodie scene in Provo, but it's definitely a must-visit. Now I know what you're thinking—Provo has so many great ice cream spots already; what could William's Dairy Bar have to offer that places like Rockwell's or Roll With It don't have? Two words.  Soft serve.  I think we can all agree that soft serve just hits a little differently than regular ice cream—no matter how good it is. And William's Dairy Bar does soft serve better than any place I've been. Not only is the soft serve a good texture, but they also have a lot of flavors to choose from. On top of the regular chocolate and vanilla flavors, you have butter pecan, cotton candy, green apple, and a bunch of others, including a limited weekly flavor. You can even put toppings on your ice cream. Plus they have a TON of other options, like sundaes, milkshakes, ice cream cake, etc. But honestly th...

Listen, I'm not going to lie to you. When I moved to Provo, UT, in 2016 for school, I was less than thrilled. In fact, it's the last place I wanted to be. And I wish I could say I made the most of things and grew to love it, but I didn't. When my husband and I turned in our apartment key and moved to Mapleton, I was overjoyed at being able to leave Provo behind. It's not that Provo doesn't have plenty to offer by way of recreation, but living in a college town around the "basic Provo bros and girls" was, in short, exhausting. Anyone who knows me can likely attest that I'm somewhat of an old soul (e.g., I hate Taylor Swift, I think I've uploaded an Instagram story once in my life, and I despise that people spend most of their time looking at their phones). I just wasn't buying the Disney-loving, over-optimistic, selfie-obsessed culture Provo was selling. That being said, I'll also say that I'm a huge hypocrite. I'm a firm believer th...