Salt lake City with Linda and Jon

I had a wonderful time showing Linda and Jon around Salt Lake City. We had them as our guests for three days, and then we traveled with them to National Parks in Southern Utah.

Our first day was spent exploring our neighborhood, the Gateway complex, the TRAX system, and the downtown area. We had a gorgeous day with temperatures reaching 80 so our outer layers were shed, and despite lotion, we got a little sunburn in our trek around town. We ended our day with a climb up Ensign Peak to see the valley at sunset. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate and a cold North wind almost blew us off the mountain top. This wind was blowing dirt everywhere so our views were hazy at best. It was impressive to see the grid of streets as lights came on and the sun set, but the cold hurried us down off the mountain.

The next day we spent exploring Temple Square, taking the main tour as well as one of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (the old Hotel Utah), and enjoying all of the gorgeous flowers and water displays that decorate the square. We enjoyed the acoustic demonstrations of the Tabernacle and got to hear the organist warm-up for the noon concert. We enjoyed our young tour guides who enthusiastically shared their knowledge of this special place with interesting tid-bits of the history of their church as well as insights into their faith.

The Church of the Latter Day Saints has made a huge impact on the state of Utah, and visiting their church headquarters at Temple Square is a glimpse into the history of this religion as well as the birth and growth of the state of Utah itself. The Mormon people who work there are welcoming and eager to share their beautiful square and their faith with guests from around the world. We had a perfect day to enjoy the outdoor gardens (one of my favorite places in SLC) and the views of the city from the 10th floor of the old hotel.

We ended our day with dinner at Crown Burgers, a Greek fast food-like restaurant, and a stroll through the neighborhoods of Capitol Hill. Wayne joined us late and he ate while we enjoyed a few games of Farkle and and then we watched a movie to end our day.

The last day we visited two new places to me; the Hogle Zoo, and This Is the Place, Heritage Park. The cold winds had continued and brought freezing temperatures and a little freezing rain/snow as we toured. We visited the zoo first and got in free with our reciprocal memberships to the MN Zoo. The cold weather kept most of the animals indoors, where we could see them but in much more confined spaces than their outdoor habitats. We did see the elephants outside which surprised us. They were fun to watch.

I also enjoyed the wild turkeys who were all puffed up and strutting around the place. A middle school group was there with us and it made me want to scold some of the kids who came to the zoo without jackets, and some even in sandals! The tropics building held a large group who were just trying to warm up but succeeded in blocking many of the walkways.

The history park was just across the street, so we headed there for lunch and to walk around. Although the park opened April 1, they wouldn't have actors on site until the 15 of May so we couldn't go into most of the buildings. There was a school group there so they had a few places open and we were invited in to see one of the homes that was getting a new paint job in preparation for the new season. We had fun hiking around and reading the plaques outside of the buildings. Most of the buildings were original, and moved to this sight from pioneer Mormon villages all over Utah. A few were replicas of buildings still standing at the original building site.
Together they told a story of the earliest Mormon pioneers who came to the Great Salt Lake valley and built thriving communities out of the desert. It was interesting to walk around the 50+ buildings, peeking in windows and imagining what pioneer life had been like for them. We were disappointed that we didn't get to go in more and listen to the actors tell about their life.

We enjoyed the little play village they made for children and took some pictures for Brynn and Charlotte of these special kid houses.

We ended the day with a hike up city creek canyon and by the Capitol building, and then back to our condo where we met up with Wayne.

We ended the day with a take-out Mexican meal from Rancheritos. We had hoped to eat at The Red Iguana (supposed to have the best Mexican food in SLC) but the line was long outside the building both before and after grocery shopping for our camping trip, so we ate at home instead and made plans for our camping adventure to the National Parks which will be the subject of my next post!