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20030611
Open new window with today’s pictures.
June 11, 2003
Wednesday
Start: Four Seasons Inn & Resort, Delta CO
End: KOA, Salt Lake City UT
Miles: 325
Hi Temp: 95.7
Lo Temp: 55.2
We said our goodbyes and see-you-laters to Bob & Judy and got on the road about 9:15. We headed up to Grand Junction on US-50, then I-70 west to Green River, US-6 to Spanish Fork and I-15 to SLC.
It was cool at the start, but warmed up on the desert. It was almost hot when we finally got under a few clouds. The high temp for the day was probably on the desert road as we were waiting at a road construction one-way halt.
At Grand Junction heading west, the sign says, "No Services Next 56 miles". We refueled in Green River, then saw the sign on I-70, "No Services Next 110 miles". Our route left I-70 a mile or two later. Still, there wasn't much to see. One of the railroad signal stations next to the road was named "Desert" and I have to agree with that.
We had intended to stop for the day at Price, UT, but decided not to stay in the desert. We went on to SLC.
At Helper, Utah, we remembered the reason the town got that name - this was where they put "helper" engines onto the trains to assist them over the summit north of there. Soldier Summit is at 7,447' and it's an 8-mile, fairly steep, haul up that hill on the road. It's longer by train. The truck handled it, but didn't like handling the grade.
After that, it was mostly downhill into Spanish Fork and I-15. Then it got harrowing. I-15 is three lanes each way as it approaches SLC. The traffic was heavy. Lots of the big western trucks. All going at the speed limit +10.
Approaching SLC, there are many exits and entry merge lanes. The road itself is nice, and in good condition. There's just too much traffic for comfort.
But we got thru all that and found the campground with a minimum of hassle. We checked in and reserved the city tour for tomorrow morning to get aquainted with the city. It's sort of confusing, even though the streets are wide and the town is a matrix (north-south, east-west streets).
We set up the little house in a paved spot that has a tree. The little house will be shaded in the morning but not in the afternoon. We found all the facilities of the campground and then started thinking about dinner. First, we went to Albertson's to hit the ATM for cash (the tour operator only takes cash).
We had found a place to eat in the guide, but when we arrived at the address it was no longer a restaurant. So we explored and found ourselves at the Gateway Center, a mall of 90 stores centered around the old Union Pacific depot downtown. We looked at the directory for restaurants and selected one called "Flemings".
Flemings has a dark wood walled dining room and wine bar with a back wall that's brass and open for cooking and serving. There are 100 wines that you can order by the glass, covering four pages of the menu. The food offerings are primarily steak, but other categories are covered as well.
We each had a glass of Valley of the Moon Chardonnay to start. Dolores had a crab cakes appetizer and New York strip steak. I had a chopped salad and swordfish with mango, red onion, and cilantro salsa. We shared the dish of Fleming's potatoes that is served family style - it's a sort of scalloped potatoes with cheddar. With the entree, we had glasses of Maxwell's Viognier.
Dolores said her crab cakes were as good as any she's had. The salad was large and I couldn't eat it all, so I asked that it be put in a container to take home. I've never done that before. Dolores said her steak was excellent, and I've never had better swordfish - this was probably the best; warm, moist, buttery, all the good adjectives.
The place was pricey, but worth it for food like this. Highly recommended to anyone who comes to Salt Lake City.
We made our exit and walked past a multi-jet fountain with a nearly-flat base that jetted to music. Kids were running thru it, or standing in it, or trying to stop a jet with their feet. The were having a great time. "God Bless America" was playing as we walked by on our way to the truck.
We went back to the little house under the tree. I got the e-mail and then we relaxed for the evening.
20030612
Open new window with today’s pictures.
June 12, 2003
Thursday
Start: KOA, SLC UT
End: KOA, SLC UT
Miles: 0
Hi Temp: 80.4
Lo Temp: 67.8
This was a cooler day than anyone expected. The low clouds covered the area most of the day, keeping temps down. Also, the wind came up out of the south at 15-25mph, making it seem even cooler.
We ate in the trailer, then went to the office and waited for the Gray Lines tour bus. We hopped in, stopped at a hotel to pick up one other customer, then started.
The tour wandered through the east side of town for a while (Universary of Utah, Federal Heights, etc.) and stopped at the Visitor's Center for Heritage Park and "The Place". The Place is the place where Brigham Young declared to his followers that this was, indeed, the place they were to settle. Heritage Park is a collection of buildings and items that show how things would have been in those days. It's all quite nicely done.
Back into the bus, tour through Fort Douglas (Army fort, now mostly given over to the UofU) to the next stop at Temple Square. We scurried into the square and into the Tabernacle. This is the building the Mormon Tabernacle Choir broadcasts from.
It's turtle-back shaped, all wood (dowels vice nails, etc), and has outstanding acoustics. The organ is immense - 5 manuals (keyboards), 206 ranks, and 11,623 pipes. The largest pipes (lowest notes) are actually made of pine. They give a organ performance at noon every week day. At the start, the performer (Clay Claiborne today) comes out and demonstrates the acoustics. He tears a sheet of paper, crumbles it and throws it into a wastebasket. He drops several paper clips onto a desk. He drops a nail onto the desk. Each of these events can be heard throughout the building. Then the performer speaks a long sentence as he rotates 360 degrees slowly; his voice level remains the same at the listener.
Then he hops up and gives a half-hour performance which is designed to give the organ a workout (and the organist, of course). It was very impressive.
We walked around the temple, encountering three couples heading to the temple to be married (up to 30 marriages are performed per day in the temple, which is only used for "ordinances" like marriage and baptism. It is not used for ordinary services. You must be a full practicing Mormon to enter the temple.
Continuing our walk to lunch, we went thru the former Utah Hotel and into Lion House, Brigham Young's last house. In the lower level, a cafeteria is maintained. The food is good and there's plenty of it, served cafeteria style. It's a good value. It's called "Lion House" because it has a recumbant lion decoration on it.
After lunch, we reconvened with our driver in front of Lion House. While waiting for him to get the bus and return with it, we had a chance to look at the front of Beehive House next door; an earlier house of Young's and a place for business and greeting visiting dignitaries. It has a beehive decoration on the cupola.
There was a tree out front that had a very nice fragrance. Nobody could think of its name while we were waiting.
Off again in the bus, we went mostly north to the Utah State Capital building. There's a horizontal large map in the first level that the driver used to talk to the diversity of the state. It was a good prop.
Then we went up to the second level, under the rotunda, and listened to him talk about some of the Utah politicians and leaders. Martha Cannon captured everyone's imagination; she didn't agree with her husband so she ran against him for the US Senate and won, becoming the first woman US Senator.
We went out onto the front steps and heard more about Utah and SLC. Then we hopped into the bus and returned to the KOA, not without some confusion. Some of the passengers wanted to extend the tour by going to the Salt Lake and others did not. All the buses convened at the KOA to transfer passengers back and forth to go to the lake or return to their hotels. We gave an appropriate tip to the driver.
We loafed around the trailer for a bit, then gathered ourselves up for another effort (this retirement stuff is hard!). We drove the truck up I-15 almost to Ogden then went west to Antelope Island State Park (an island in the Great Salt Lake). It's really quite desolate, and the lake level is down some six feet due to four years of drought. With the lake level down, a lot of land is exposed and smells really bad. We drove out the causeway to the island and to the location of the last ranch on it, some 12 miles south. Along the way, we spotted two buffalo next to the road. The cattle and sheep have been removed from the island, leaving only buffalo, coyote, and smaller wild animals. We went to the visitor's center about closing time but got a nice reception anyway. Outside it, a pair of barn swallows are raising their young in the rafters.
We drove around the island a little more, looking at campgrounds and beaches (there were two people in the lake, which has about 24% salt now (the ocean is between 3 and 4%).
We drove back across the causeway. There are great clumps of "brine flies" coming out just now; driving through them makes a sound in the truck like driving through mild rain. I drove to a nearby gas station and refueled while cleaning the windshield.
Then back to the little house and a supper of leftovers and canned things to cut down the clutter. We gathered the e-mail and did the photos and I'm finishing this as Leno is coming on. To bed now for whatever tomorrow brings (30% chance of showers!).
20030613
Open new window with today’s pictures.
June 13, 2003
Friday
Start: KOA, SLC UT
End: KOA, SLC UT
Miles: 0
Hi Temp: 80.4
Lo Temp: 61.5
T'was a cooler day in SLC than anyone had expected due to clouds from early afternoon on.
We didn't do much today. I guess we ran out of ambition. Part of it may have been that Dolores got hooked on an old John Wayne western (The Searchers) and stayed up late last night.
We ate in, then loafed and read till nearly noon. Then we decided we had to do something, so we went downtown and walked around for a while. We looked in on the ZCMI Center (a mall) and Dolores bought two shorts from Meier and Frank (a May company, with stock that looks a lot like Hecht's out our way). We had a pretzel in the mall, and hiked some more.
We then went to Trolley Square, a former set of trolley barns made into a shopping environment. Rather upscale, but it was interesting to walk through.
We returned to the little house under the tree and took it easy some more. Then a big thunderstorm came by, but it passed just to the east of us. We just got a little more breeze.
Then out to Denny's for a simple dinner. We'll be in bed early tonight for an early departure across the desert to Winnemucca.