With summer starting today and travel plans in full swing, it's time to head over to some great blogs highlighting places to go and things to do. (Caveat: for the most part this is Utah-centric, so feel free to send me other great travel blogs for other locations!)

Utah Travel Headlines Blog is just that, a culling of all the recent headlines from newspapers, magazines and press releases that focus on the how and where of traveling in Utah. A wonderful compilation source for those looking to hit the Utah highways and byways!

Things to Do In Utah is such an awesome resource for people looking for something fun and cheap to do in the state. I have used it a few times and searched the tag cloud for the city I planned on visiting. Love it!

Your Heart Out features shops, boutiques and eateries along the Wasatch Front. I love the music guide that highlights upcoming lesser-known performances. Also check out the eye-candy photos sprinkled liberally throughout. This fun blog makes me just want to shop and eat my heart out!

Temple Square Events is a lovely stop if you plan on going downtown Salt Lake and are looking for culture. Click on the events to find out more information!

Oh What Do You Do In the Summertime? is our final travel spot, and this one gives you ideas for making summer a blast for your kids! This list of summer activities has such fun ideas as geocaching, squirt gun fights and even making slime (with a linked recipe)! How fun!

And now let's travel to some other great posts from this past week:

Power Pick — Dark Night of the Soul is such a personal spiritual experience that I feel bad sharing. Yet, it is so profound and wonderful that I would feel bad not to share it. This poignant piece includes descriptions of faith intermingling with doubt and other deep musings on spiritual uncertainty. I love this ending: "Rather, you might be experiencing a Dark Night of the Soul simply because God wants to see who you truly are, or perhaps because He wants to help you see who you truly are."

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Follow-up — Click over to a wrap-up to Ziff's fascinating look at Bloggernacle statistics. 'Nacle Numbers: Notes looks at how the posts differ by gender, commenter consistency and more interesting correlations. Again, he includes helpful explanations and handy graphs. Thanks!

Forgotten Gem — A few months ago, author Janet Kay Jensen posted some great travel advice in a series of four posts: Pack Light and Plan to Wash, Carry-on Bags, Security and Traveling with Infants and Children. Full of great tips, this series is a smart way to prepare for any of your summer adventures!

Techie Tip — Thanks to technology, filtering your movie choices is getting easier! Click over for some great links and information on how to both review movie content before watching, and customize your movie settings. Here's to Taking Back Control from Hollywood.

Happy trails!

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