MINGLING WITH THE MORMONS IN HOT SALT LAKE CITY

Wells, Nevada to Salt Lake City, Utah:

Day 3 of our run to Sturgis, South Dakota for the Boomerang...

Crossing the Great Salt Lake on Interstate 80 west of Salt Lake City.

We left Beverly Hills RV Ranch, our "private campground" near Wells, Nevada, quite early for us... a bit before 9 am. We would lose an hour when we crossed the time zone at the Utah state line - and a heat wave was forecast for Salt Lake City. We wanted to get settled into our new spot before the afternoon heat arrived.

Site W27 at the Salt Lake City KOA

After the wide open spaces of Nevada, it was a shock to be back in an urban RV park, especially a completely full RV park. This KOA (read our review here) is huge, and every site was full on Saturday night - full of vacationing families with kids, dogs, and extra vehicles. The sites are unusually large for a commercial RV park, and landscaped with trees and grass, but the park feels big and crowded to us.

Luna explores her "porch".

One amenity we all appreciate is the picnic table. We set up Luna's crate so she could be outdoors while we worked - or any other time she wants to be outdoors when we don't.

The day was as hot as forecast - 90 degrees. After setting up, we explored our neighborhood on foot for an hour or so, until we were too hot to enjoy it. The KOA is in a light commercial area adjacent to the state fairgrounds - lots of big asphalt parking lots, aging strip malls, car washes, generally unappealing.

By the time we got back, hot and unimpressed with our first experience of Salt Lake City, we both had the same thought: "If we hadn't already paid for three days, I'd be ready to leave tomorrow." We spent the remainder of the day parked in front of the TV, watching Tiger Woods limp through the U.S. Open and work his magic on the back 9.

We were up early this morning to get out and explore downtown SLC before the heat of the day. We drove to Library Square, where we parked and began a walking tour.

The award-winning SLC Public Library building.

Of course the library wasn't open at 8:30 on Sunday morning, but we wandered through the garden and park. No one was around, everything was clean and manicured, very appealing.

This is the entrance to the library. What looks like a reflection on the glass surface is actually a continuation of the wall you see on the far right of the photo. I pressed my nose up to the door, peering inside at the huge, sunlit foyer. Too bad it was closed!

Then we were off and walking. Salt Lake City is laid out on a grid of exceptionally wide streets. Looking north up State Street, we could see the State Capitol building way up at the top of a hill. We set that as our goal, which would take us through the deserted downtown and past Temple Square - the site of the Mormon Tabernacle and the historical buildings of SLC's Mormon founders.

Odel demonstrates the Pedestrian Flag.

I have a pet peeve about walking in Sacramento: cars rule! Here in Salt Lake City, they use an aid we have seen in other places, the "pedestrian visibility flag". Crosswalks are frequent on these wide downtown streets. On each end of the crosswalk, a bucket holds a handful of bright orange flags. Pick one up, step out into the crosswalk, and cars yield to pedestrians, even in the busy downtown area. We like that! Drop your flag in the bucket on the other side, and off you go, unscathed.

The photos ops in Salt Lake City are unlimited -it is a scenic, clean city with great views and substantial buildings. I'll spare you the City/County building, the Mormon Temple, the Tabernacle, the historical this and historical that. We passed parks and gardens large and small, heading steadily up, up, up to the capitol building.

I couldn't resist this shot, since I recently took an almost identical one in the Capitol of California in Sacramento. The painting in the top of the dome is of blue sky and clouds, and the murals around the dome depict the history of the founding of SLC.

The entire building appears to be marble, inside and out. The floor and walls inside are smooth, light gray marble. I couldn't help but think how easy it would be to hose the whole thing down when it needed cleaning!

Remember that I mentioned that the capitol is on top of a hill? Great views in all directions, including the snow-capped Wasatch Mountains to the east.

We retraced our steps, made a quick stop at the grocery store, and are now watching Tiger struggle painfully through the last day of the U.S. Open. I can hardly bear to watch as he grimaces in pain every time he tees off, especially when the commentators show his shot in slow-mo, drawing circles and arrows to show us all exactly when the injured knee torques and hyper-extends. Ouch, ouch, ouch!