Salt Lake City, Utah

We spent September 4-11 in Salt Lake City.  The drive from Boise to Salt Lake City was a mix of barren mountains and farm/ranch land.

Our first outing was a drive to Antelope Island.  At 15 miles long and 4.5 miles wide, Antelope Island is the largest island in Great Salt Lake.  It is home to free-roaming herds of bison, bighorn sheep, mule deer, and pronghorn antelope.

Driving onto the island we could see how low the lake level is.  Water flows into the lake from four rivers.  Great Salt Lake has no outlet; water leaves only through evaporation. Snow melt helps to refill the lake.  There are no fish in the lake because of salinity levels.  However, brine shrimp, brine flies and several types of algae thrive in the lake and are primary food sources for millions of migrating birds.

There were many rocky hills to climb...

To reach the water we had to walk about 400 yards from the parking lot.

It was so hot (85) I needed my umbrella for extra shade

Walking along the shoreline we saw millions of midges on the sand.  Midges are small flies.  We could only see them because they scattered in a cloud away from our footsteps.  They made a humming sound as they scattered.

The darker color is midges

On the other side of the island we finally saw some wildlife--bison.  Every year they have a bison roundup and sell some of them to keep the population down because they have no natural predators on the island.

Then we spent a few days exploring the city.  Salt Lake City is the state capital and the largest city of Utah.  The capital building was built between 1912 and 1916 and is made from granite.  The dome is made from Utah copper.  Salt Lake City is also home to the Utah Utes, which has a beautiful campus, and the NBA Utah Jazz.

"Industry" is the state motto and is associated with the symbol of the beehive which represents the values of industry and cooperation.

We toured Temple Square, headquarters of the Mormon Church.

Salt Lake Temple and reflecting pool

Salt Lake Temple in the evening

 Daily rehearsals of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir are open to the public.

Tabernacle

Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearsal

Assembly Hall

The grounds were beautifully landscaped with flowers

Also in Salt Lake is The Cathedral of the Madeleine, the only cathedral in the United States dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene.

Closeup of the tympanum over the front door

The 8 gargoyles perched on top of the cathedral are for decorative purposes only

The altar

There are 2 chapels and 2 shrines.  This is the Shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Other interesting things about Salt Lake City...

The downtown streets are very wide.  This is because when the city was being laid out, founding fathers decided the streets should be wide enough for a wagon to turn around on.  The city is laid out in a grid fashion.  Streets are named by the number of blocks from Temple Square and the direction from Temple Square.  For example, the east west streets south of Temple Square are named S.  400 S street runs east and west and is 4 blocks south of Temple Square.  900 E street runs north and south and is 9 blocks east of Temple Square.  Sounds a little confusing, but once you get the hang of it you always know where you are!

Wide streets

Amusing opposite signs at a busy intersection with a long stoplight

One of the entrances to City Creek Center, a downtown shopping center with shopping, dining, a dancing water fountain, a trout pond with daily feedings,  and a glass roof that can be closed during inclement weather.

Comic Con was happening when we were there so we saw many interesting characters

We went to a large downtown farmers market with about 150 vendors selling arts and crafts, fresh produce, bakery items, and hot food.  There was even free valet bike parking!  Automobile parking was hard to find because across the street from the market the Greek church was having it's annual Greek Festival.

We enjoyed our visit to Salt Lake City even though it was a bit warm for me--upper 80's!  On to Yellowstone National Park...