Subject: Salt Lake City
Wendover UT is not a pretty town. Lots of trailers and tiny houses with a lot of trash around. The landscape, which is barren (only brown rocks and dirt--no discernible vegetation) is hard to see because the view of it is hidden by shabby looking signs and businesses. I took a walk and heard dogs barking everywhere, although they weren't loose. So leaving Wendover was not a sadness.
Shortly after we left, we got to the Bonneville Salt Flats. That was pretty interesting-- very flat and white. We were told it is better than blacktop for reaching speeds of over 600 mph, the record speed there so far. It was cloudy and threatening to rain; it did rain last time we were here, but we only got a sprinkle today, despite flood warnings. Our bus driver was quite concerned about us tracking salt into his brand new bus, so we had to promise not to step in the salt or even on unpaved ground. He watched us, too.
As we drove on, we passed mountains, rocks, and the Great Salt Lake. But we didn't stop again until we got to the state Capitol. In Salt Lake City, we stopped near Temple Square. We had lunch, and then a woman on the trip and I took a tour of the Beehive House, where Brigham Young (thought of almost as reverently as God around here) lived with his wife and children. Bill wasn't interested, and he made a good choice. It was a short tour of rather ordinary content. Our tour guides were 2 Morman Chinese women, quite young, who spoke limited English but were quite devout.
One more stop was made at the Brigham Young Interpretive Center. This was set up as an old town, with guides dressed in period costume and buildings and shops depicting older crafts. We took a little train ride, and while we waited, 3 young people, also dressed in period costume, entertained us with music--singing, fiddle, and banjo. That was fun.
And finally to the hotel, but just briefly. We went on a tour of Temple Square in Salt Lake City, dinner in the rooftop restaurant of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, and then we sat through a rehearsal of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, with orchestra. That was spectacular, in my opinion. Having sung in choruses and choirs all those years myself, I really appreciated the sound of over 300 voices going over and over the hard parts of wonderful music and then singing it perfectly all the way through.
All the while we spent there, we didn't get converted to LDS, though.
Love,
Lynn
