Salt Lake City

After a lie-in and a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, we set off for Tabernacle Square to listen to a 30-minute organ concert. The rounded wall behind the impressively large instrument glowed a different color for each of the songs that were played for us. After the concert, we wandered out in to the square where there were a number of brides and grooms wandering around, posing for photos in the lush surroundings. Emmett then informed me that on average, there are 70 weddings a day in Salt Lake City (he’s a wealth of knowledge that boy). We continued our stroll around the square which was beautiful, bright and clean with large buildings, perfectly manicured lawns and overflowing flower beds. It felt more like I was walking around the headquarters of a large Fortune-500 company and not the central offices of a church which left a funny taste in my mouth. Church and excessive displays of wealth should not go hand in hand in my opinion. That being said, we didn’t spend a lot of time there and headed back to the hotel to prepare for the next part of our day – a swim, or float as it would be, in the Great Salt Lake. We debated going the 40 miles to Antelope Island State Park vs. the 20 miles to a beach just to the west of the city and settled on the quick and dirty method of the water by the city. I’m glad we did. Within no time of leaving the hotel, we pulled up to Saltair, grabbed our cameras and headed out to the water. Sand flies were everywhere, some dead, some alive but none of them really bothered us. There was quite a breeze that whipped up across the great open space but the water was nice and warm, and very clear. We had to walk out some distance to reach the water and even then, it only came up to our thighs. One by one, we all laid back in the salty water of the lake. I am able to confirm for you now, it is indeed true that you will float in the Great Salt Lake. It was relaxing to lie in the water and look up at the mountains that surrounded us. Getting the salty water in your eyes and mouth, not so fun, but you’ve got to take the bad with the good, right? After a long float, we headed back to shore where our skin and swim suits seized up with the salt which now encased us. Opting not to take a shower when we got back to shore (it was a cold, windy walk back from the water and I was finally dry and warm by the time I reached the shore), I now have at least a shaker full of salt on my seat in the car. Before we left, we ventured in to Saltair. Once a popular family destination in the early 1900s, offering a float in the lake as well as an amusement park, the building now lies vacant except for a very small souvenir shop. Postcards and a model of the original Saltair, exquisitely decorated inside and out during its hey-day and reminding me a bit of the Taj Mahal, were displayed in the shop. Saltair experienced a few set-backs over the years, including drought and a few fires, but the final blow was delivered in 1970, in the form of an arson fire from which this tourist destination never recovered. One of the most simplistic yet smart ideas I've seen in a while were the little buckets of orange flags found at the crossings in SLC. Apparently having pedestrians wave these little flags while crossing the roads has significantly cut down on accidents and injuries.