Pop and Meemee on the road: Salt Lake City

We said goodbye to Moab Monday morning and headed north on 191 where we jumped on I-70 for about 50 miles.When we turned onto I-70 I was surprised to see the speed limit being 80mph. We moved over in our customary right hand lane, set the cruise on 62 and waved at them as they passed and blew their horn at us! When you're pulling 15,000 pounds behind a pickup truck, you tend to be a little more conservative! We exited back on 191 and picked up highway 6 in the town of Castle Gate and rode it to I-15 to Salt Lake City. It was a good trip of about 240 miles until we hit I-15 near Provo. The traffic on I-15 was pretty bad. There were 4 or 5 lanes in each direction, and most of them were full. It's about 45 miles from Provo to Salt Lake City and one would never know when they left one city and entered the other as it is solid development the whole distance. The Oquirrh Mountain Range is close to I-15 and runs parallel with it. We did see some snow on the higher elevations, We are camped at the Salt Lake City KOA campground which is a pretty large park with decent sites. Probably a notch above typical KOA's. We're paying $125 for 3 nights which includes our 10% discount and points of $25.

Salt Lake City is a beautiful city that sits at the foot of the Wasatch Mountain Range and is home to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, better known as the Mormon Church. There are several city blocks downtown that are all church related properties. In, fact the city has pretty much evolved around the church as the early Mormons were the first settlers in this area in the 1800's.

We have been on the go since arriving here with trips into the Wasatch National Forest, Antelope Island on the Great Salt Lake, exploring Temple Square, the Capital area, and a trip to Wally World thrown in to reload on supplies.

Tomorrow (8-18) we're back on the road heading into Victor, Idaho for 5 days. This area is close to the Grand Teton Mountain Range and Jackson Hole, Wy, one of our favorite areas.

Shot of Salt Lake City from I-15. You can see how close the city is to the Wasatch Mountains.

Our Camp site, #1020

Back shot of our site.

Day trip into the Wasatch Mountains. There are two world class ski resorts in the mountains, Brighton and Solitude with full accommodations.

View from top of one of the mountains at 10,000 feet above sea level.

Anybody know what this is? They were all along the road into the mountains. I assumed it was some type of warning system or possibly some device to trigger avalanches as there were avalanche warning signs in the same area.

According to Google and Trip Advisor, the best location to see the Great Salt Lake in this area is Antelope Island State Park.

Panoramic shot of road leading into the park. This road was absolutely flat as a pancake. You can see the salt deposits on both sides of the road as well as mountains in the background.

Sign Entering the park.

Deer statue at Visitor's Center that sits on top of a hill.

Panoramic shot from Visitor's Center showing lake on both sides of road. The water on the right side of the road had a foul odor that was very obnoxious. That part of the lake is very shallow with large areas of salt beds. There is no outlet for water that enters the lake. Evaporation keeps the lake level stable.

Bird house at Visitor's Center. I thought this was a pretty good shot with the road, lake and mountains in the background.

Telephoto shot of road taken from Visitor's Center.

There is a beach in the park, but it's a pretty good hike from the parking lot through soft sand and 95 degree temperature. We had planned to wade in the lake so we could say we did, but chickened out!

There is a big herd of buffalo in the park.

This ranch was there before it became a state park. If you look closely over the sign, you can see Salt Lake City.

Here it is at full zoom.

A lot of Pronghorn or Antelope in the park.

Family History Library which is part of Temple Square Campus.

Inside the Tabernacle Building which is home of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The pipe organ has 11,623 pipes and is the 12th largest in the world. We were treated to an organ recital after our tour.

The two young ladies in the photo were demonstrating the perfect acoustics in the building by dropping a pin which could be heard at the back of the church. The ceiling is a rounded elongated dome with no support system other than the ceiling structure itself. Quite a feat in that period of time. The building was finished in 1875.

We requested a tour of Temple Square but somehow was lost in the system. The church graciously provided us with 2 of their sister missionaries to give us a personal tour. The young lady on the left is Sister Hug from Switzerland and the young lady on the right is Sister McFarland from Alaska. They were extremely kind and gracious.

Assembly Hall. It's still a place of worship but is also used for meetings and gatherings.

Inside of Assembly Hall.

Model of main Temple inside south Visitor's Center

Main Temple as seen from south Visitor's Center.

Assmbly Hall with skyscapper in background.

Third floor of Family History Library. The facility is there for families to research their family ancestry and have extensive records and databases. We had an associate show us how to research our family history there, or on on line. It's a wonderful service they provide. The library is very large with five stories and hundrds of computer terminals.