Salt Lake City, Utah

I had the privilege of going to visit Joel and Julie in Salt Lake City, Utah.  I have never been to Utah, except maybe I flew over it at some point in my travels.  The only thing I knew about Utah, was the great Salt Lake and the fact that the Mormans settled there years ago.  I was in for a special treat.
I did arrive a bit later than anticipated on Tuesday evening.  I flew through San Fransisco and I have rarely been able to fly through SFO without a delay or a cancellation. 
I have to admit that the last couple of weeks, I feel like I have been in a constant state of worshiping God, because I have been out in God's creation.  I keep thinking how beautiful and wonderful creation is and marvel at its beauty, both in Canada and the US. 
Julie is knowledgeable about the hiking and biking trails around Salt Lake City.  The first trail we did was 1.5 miles (a little over 2 km) around Silver Lake.

Next, we went up Guardsmen Pass to walk on a trail up there.  It had beautiful wild flowers, aspen groves and vistas.

Wildflower meadow looking down.

Wildflower meadow looking up

Wildflower meadow around the corner.

Because I have to do a sun picture!

Julie in her glory in the aspens!

Dead wood or so it looks like.

Looking through the trees.

Joel and Julie have a beautiful view of mountains and Salt Lake City, as well as great opportunities for sunsets.

Facing west

Facing east

Panoramic view from the deck at Joel and Julie's house.

Thursday, Julie took me downtown Salt Lake Cityto see Temple Square.  That's where you get a much better idea of how impactful the Latter-Day Saints are on the settling of Salt Lake City and Utah.  The first stop was the auditorium to listen to an organ concert.  Acoustically, it was amazing.  You could hear a pin drop from the front.  The organist played the organ very well.  

The temple from the outside on the side. 

Reflecting pool outside. 

Front of the temple.

Who are  shaking hands? (Julie's question)

We also went to the state capitol.  It's also a beautiful building and has a number of Latter-day Saints references and influences.

Panoramic view from the front of the Capitol steps.

Friday, Julie and I started our day with a hike to Bell's Canyon with a friend of Julie's, Helen.  It is another beautiful hike.

Resevoir

View of Salt Lake City

Making our way down.

Dense woods

Later that morning, Julie and I went to Antelope Island, which is an island in Salt Lake.  There is a causeway that you drive on to gain access to the island.

Yes, I was standing in the middle of the road.  :)

First stop on the island was the visitor center.  Most prominent wildlife there were these amazingly large spiders!

He's a little fuzzy...

And the nests on the visitor's building.

Next stop on the visit was to the Fielding Carr ranch.  It brought back memories of living on the farm growing up, although much of the machinery there was significantly older than what we used on our dairy farm growing up.  That was also the place where many of the bison were located.

Envision the mama saying, "What you lookin' at!" 

Our next stop on the island was to head up to Dooley Knob. It gave a beautiful view of Salt Lake on all sides.

Looks like the salt dust was blown up by the wind.

We headed back and stopped in at an In N' Out Burger.  I had heard about this place, but thought it was only in California.  This trip was the first time I went to an In N' Out Burger.  I'd recommend it.

On our final day we hiked a trail that brought us to Cecret Lake.  It was also very pretty, but probably one of my favorite hikes.  There were meadows with beautiful flowers. 

Cecret Lake

I put together a couple of the videos I made during this trip.  You can hear and see some of the sights and sounds.  

We made it back to the house in time to shower and finish packing up so I can catch my flight to Vancouver, BC.  Joel and Julie were fantastic hosts.  I enjoyed my time in Utah and would recommend visiting there for the rich Morman history and the wonderful hiking and biking opportunities.  I felt quite spoiled, having so many opportunities to visit a number of places this month!  

Next up, Penticton, BC.