Real Salt Lake’s “Championship Cup Tour” needed every bit of the three-day weekend to recharge the batteries and gear up for its most packed day yet, as the group will make a whirlwind tour of Utah County. For the full details of the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy’s visit to our friends to the south, take the jump …

Tuesday, Feb. 16 – Provo/Orem/American Fork/Spanish Fork/Salem (Utah County): After a much deserved break over the weekend, the Cup and crew will make up for lost time by making eight stops in five cities across Utah County. The day filled with stops ranging from elementary schools to universities begins at Orem’s Aspen Elementary School (945 W 2000 North) from 9:30 – 10:15 a.m. and continues in American Fork at Dan Peterson Elementary School (169 N 1100 East) from 10:45-11:15 a.m. The MLS Cup will then catch some lunch at the Provo’s KFC Restaurant (1034 S. University Ave.) from 12:00-12:30 p.m. before heading up the road to BYU’s Smith Fieldhouse (University Ave. / 1060 North) for an open house hosted by the BYU Soccer Program from 1:00-2:00 p.m.

We go back from the big kids to the little ones and over to Salem for an assembly at Salem Elementary School (140 W 100 South) at 2:30 p.m., and then it’s back over to American Fork, where Mayor J.H. Hadfield will declare February 16^th as “Real Salt Lake Day” during a ceremony at American Fork’s City Hall (51 E. Main Street) from 4:00-5:00 p.m. The whirlwind day heads over to the KFC Restaurant in Spanish Fork (1045 N. Main Street) for a dinner break from 5:15-5:45 p.m. and then back to Orem for an appearance at Scoreboard Sports (390 E. University Parkway) from 6:00-6:30 p.m. before finally ending with an appearance at Timpanogos High School’s (645 W. Center Street in Orem) basketball games against Mountain View, with the Cup hanging out on the concourse beginning at 7:00 p.m. before being honored during a ceremony at halftime.

Round trip from Rio Tinto Stadium to Provo: 61 miles (1h 18m)

Trip Odometer: 1491 miles (39h 23m)

Population: 118,581

Elevation: 4,551 ft.

“Fun Fact” about Utah County: While these days Utah County is booming population-wise – the county gained an estimated 175,000 people between 2000 and 2008 alone – just over 25 years ago the county provided a perfect rural setting for one of the 1980’s most popular films, Footloose, parts of which were filmed in American Fork, Lehi, Orem, Payson, and Provo.