Bill&Theresa: Day 1--Salt Lake City

The view from our balcony.

As opposed to somewhere else in Utah! Actually, we are staying in Park City, very near the site of the 2002 Winter Olympics. But we headed back to see the sites of downtown SLC. We found a central parking garage that was free for two hours. When we arrived it was practically vacant! We soon found out why as everything was closed and we had trouble finding our way out of the garage! After a few blind hallways, and random stairs, we emerged outside.

"Rocky Mountain Doubles" (one long trailer and one 28 foot "pup")

Driving through mountains

We headed to the State Capitol (in the State Capital), which turned out to be a hike up a decent hill! We’re pretty sure it was a couple hundred feet higher in elevation. Along the way, we saw a few old buildings in classical styles, a few quaint little homes, and some in pretty rough shape. We also saw the gathering of a lot of people for a …let’s just say a political support parade. Lots of American Flags, so it seemed like a festive atmosphere. The Capitol was closed (for COVID, almost everything is closed), which was known but disappointing, as we like seeing Capitol buildings in as many States (or Provinces) as we can. But we walked around the outside and admired the human grandeur of the building juxtaposed with the natural grandeur of the mountains in every direction. (We’re kind of a bowl with mountains on all sides.) We spotted the airport from the Capitol grounds, so that required a bit of watching (naturally!).

Capitol building under the Eagle Gate

Eagle Gate built in 1859

Capitol from the courtyard (backside)

Look! It's Utah!!

(OK, I thought it was cool! Theresa not so much!)

The walkway around the Capitol

Utah is the "Beehive State" as they want to model
themselves as a hive working for the good of all.

SLC Airport from the Capitol. :-)

Spend all day watching the airport! (see right side)

Enlarged for everyone's enjoyment!

Down the hill we went, as the parade had started, with all the usual honking and revelry. We headed to Mormon Square, kind of the Mormon version of the Vatican. They had many buildings and it was a blend of culture, architecture, and the business of running their church. Of course, with everything closed…it was just a walk and look kind of thing. We only had two hours of free parking, so when we got to the garage (and things like the food court were finally open), we debated whether to stay or go park in another “free” spot, finally determining to head out. Well, the garage was packed by then, with vehicles circling looking for spots. We headed out, and spontaneously decided to U-turn and head right back in!! Our spot was still open, so we snagged it and started a new free 2 hour stint!

Two of the Mormon buildings (HQ in the back).

This is where they keep the archives for family history and family trees.

Mormon Temple (one day).

Temple-to-be

Cathedral of the Madeleine

We walked down to the Cathedral, spend a few minutes there enjoying the beauty and silence. When we arrived we were the only ones there, so we took a front pew, and took a little time with God. Then headed back to the food court for lunch. On the way home, we started checking our altitude (Siri was rather helpful!), and noted that in SLC we were about 4200 feet and at the high point 20 minutes later, we were about 6900 feet. And the road (I-80) was not a bit straight! Lots of turns so it felt like we were in one of those car commercials (with a lot of other people in their own commercials). It was kind of fun! After a little visit to the local grocery store, we took a quick dip in the pool (Theresa loved it, Bill hates being wet). And are looking forward to a nice lazy evening!