If you want something out of the ordinary to do while visiting the Salt Lake City area, come along with me to Juab County! We started off hopping into our van and driving out of the city to a rural area called Juab county. And to put it lightly, I was more than pleasantly surprised by how the day went!

Eureka, Utah

About 2 hours Southwest of SLC, Eureka is a small mining town. Although it doesn’t have the same hustle and bustle as it did back then, it has all the charm you’d look for when going through a small town. I particularly loved this stop because it reminded me a lot of my hometown. The Main Street downtown is lined with local businesses: a coffee shop, a cafe (Cast Iron Bistro), even a motor emporium! After grabbing a coffee at Sipping Magic Coffee Apothecary, we were introduced to the people behind this trip.

First, we got some history about mining in the area – mainly metals used for coins at that time. After that, we were given time to wander around town and visit the Tintic Mining Museum. This was actually really interesting! Especially because they have a 3D map of how the mines looked when it was open. There are rooms showing how times were back then (late 1800s), clothing that went with the times, and even an old fire truck. Overall, it was a great stop, and a nice place to stretch our legs before continuing to our next destination.

Topaz Mountain

Another hour and a half drive had us at Topaz Mountain Adventures – be sure to check out their website for hours and activities! The owner and our guide, Rhonda, is amazing! She made it fun but was also serious about safety and the rules around the site. We got to watch a small explosion, which is where we went to search for fresh topaz. Rhonda’s rule is “you find it, you keep it!” And so we did! She made sure we all found some treasures before our time was up.

After breaking a sweat searching for and then extracting our topaz, we gathered around and ate our packed lunches. These came from the Cast Iron Bistro back in Eureka, which I thought was such a great way to tie the two parts of the trip together! Lunch was sandwiches with homemade sourdough bread, potato salad, and a homemade cookie. Honestly, for a simple lunch it was delicious and even better knowing it was fresh and locally made. This whole experience was so special because I don’t know when I would ever get the opportunity to do something like this again.

Crafting with our Topaz Finds

Once we were finished with lunch at the mining site, we drove another hour to a town called Nephi and stopped by The Haven Coffee House. We ordered our drinks (there were so many delicious choices!) and went back down the stairs to hang out in their community room to make a little craft out of the topaz we all just found. This would be a really great co-working space for people working remotely, too!

We were given a box full of fun crafty things, and, as much as I like to think I am a crafty person, I struggled a bit to make my keepsake a cute one! The photo below on the right is the example they gave us to go off of – if only I could make something that pretty! I’m still working on finishing mine, but I was really glad to have to opportunity to make something with the topaz we found.

An Incredible Outdoor Dinner in Mona

Following arts and crafts time, we drove over to another small town called Mona. It was only about 20 minutes this time, and we actually drove out to a field outside of town. Sounds strange, but it was the most beautiful evening ever! (See the photos and the Wasatch mountain range!)

There was a table full of appetizers, an open bar with yummy drinks, live music, comfy couches… the list goes on. I can only say that this was the perfect ending to the day. With the mountains as our backdrop and the perfect sunny day, Mother Nature was really spoiling us!

One of my favorite things about this evening is the people who hosted us. Known as the Junk Hunks, Brandon and Mike are two very passionate Utahns who are helping make visiting their community in Juab extra special! They spared no detail in the preparation of this event for us, and it was truly so incredible!

We found out as the meal went on, that this was a family affair. Brandon and Mike are brothers, their sister and sister-in-law were the waitresses, and their mother cooked the meal! Everything was so delicious and having a home made Utahn meal was extra special. I just kept looking around thinking this can’t be real.

Back to Salt Lake City

After the meal and dancing and singing along with Tom Bennett (One Man Band), we loaded back into the van and headed back to SLC. It was about an hour and 45 minutes back to the city and our starting point. I have to give a shoutout here to our driver Cameron from Southwest Adventure Tours because he was so great! He made sure we got to our destinations safely and on time all day! He also had a great playlist and we were all singing along in the van at one point!

In all, this is a trip I’d definitely recommend to anyone visiting Utah and the Salt Lake area. It is something different than most would think to do when in Utah, but that made it more special to me. Like I said, when will I ever get to go hunt for topaz again in my life? The meal is something I will never forget. Trust me, this is well worth taking a day to do!

Have you been to Utah or Salt Lake City? If you want more recommendations on things to do in Salt Lake City, read here. And if you want to check out Juab county sometime, visit their website and see what else you can get up to!