Salt Lake LDS Temple.
APRIL 21, 2014
NEAR SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH. Our itinerary called for us to leave Bryce Canyon this morningand drive to Lake Powell for a few days, followed by visits to Canyonlands, the Arches and Monument Valley. We changed our minds. As beautiful as Bryce Canyon and the nearby national parks are…sheer cliffs, bright red rocks, hoodoos and chimneys, open vistas…we’ve already seen lots of it. We’ve been on the move. We need a little rest and recuperation. One of the beauties of our current lifestyle is the freedom to change or minds and change our plans. We’re not bound to a specific schedule or itinerary. So we’ve come to the Salt Lake City area.
SLC IS THE CAPITAL OF UTAH. It was founded in 1847 by Bringham Young and a few other Mormon followers. It is still home to the headquarters of the LDS church. The Salt Lake Temple, constructed on the block that would later be called Temple Square, took 40 years to complete. Construction started in 1853, and the temple was dedicated on April 6, 1893. It has become an icon for the city and serves as its centerpiece. Salt Lake City has developed a strong outdoor recreation tourist industry, based primarily on snow skiing, and hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics. It is the industrial banking center of the United States.
HERE WE’RE GOING TO RE-GROUP. We have a few RV upgrades to get done on our rig, we’ll do a little sightseeing and then we’ll spend some time just doing what needs to be done. Just because we’re traveling, it doesn’t mean that every day can be a vacation day. . Laundry still needs to be done, bills need to be paid, chats about prospective travel routes need to occur and groceries need to be purchased. We need to make a trip to Costco and then to Wal-mart to get some Rx refills. I’d kind of like to see an in-theater movie or go to a play. Oh, and I’m still enjoying all my new-found-time for reading. Be sure to check-out the “Recent Reads” page on this website. Maybe you’ve read one of the same books and we can compare notes.
Interior of Salt Lake City Library. You can sit under a real tree and read a book, just as if you were outdoors. Newer libraries are being designed as meeting places. They no longer want the reputation of, “Shhh. Be quiet. Don’t talk.”
So we’ll stay here about ten days and then travel through Idaho before we head to Oregon to visit our friends at Cavitt Creek Falls, near Roseburg, Oregon. Next we’ll wind our way up the State and probably stay at Rockaway Beach…the “storm watchers’ destination point” in the entire country! I love to watch storms at sea…or anywhere else for that matter. After that we’ll cross the border into Washington and spend a week with Florence’s brother near Mt. St. Helens. Then? We’ll traverse the country, arrive at Maine and head down the Eastern Seaboard. We haven’t decided the specific route, but the plan is to see lots of Fall colors and enjoy the little fishing villages and rugged coastline. I have a friend there who’s a lobster fisherman, with his own boat. That’s a must-see…so is eating some lobster only an “hour from home in the sea.”I have another friend to visit in Cape Cod and then…well, we’ll just see what appeals to us as our Journey unfolds.
