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Today, we headed to Salt Lake City … the last part of my journey.  So, I sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the 6 hour drive to SLC.  The nice thing about the long ride is whenever we needed a “potty stop” (I did it again, Al) or stop for lunch, it was right behind us.  But, for some reason, I could never remember it was back there!

We stayed at a RV Resort Campground – with full hook-ups, nice showers, TV and internet service – life is good!  Reen and Al went off to do food shopping and I stayed back and relaxed.  I worked hard helping to set-up … I swept and vacuumed the carpets!

Thursday, we spent the day being tourists and I didn’t have to wear my hiking sneakers!  Temple Square:  The Tabernacle - home of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir; Assembly Hall – a Gothic-style building with stained glass windows, constructed by Mormon pioneers in 1877; Salt Lake Temple - a sacred building constructed by Mormon pioneers from 1853-1893; South Visitor Center – has interactive exhibits on Strengthening Families and Building the Salt Lake Temple and a replica of the interior of the Temple; North Visitor Center – has an 11-foot marble “Christus” statue, interactive map of Jerusalem, as well as interactive exhibits on scripture and revelations, films on The Testaments, etc.; Gardens – surround the 35 acres of the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  The Joseph Smith Memorial Building, formerly Hotel Utah, houses the Family Search Center for beginners interested in exploring their family history; Lion House – once the residence of Brigham Young; Beehive House – built-in 1854, the official residence and office of Brigham Young.

Off to lunch at the Red Iguana, authentic Mexican food – great!  After lunch we went to the Bingham Canyon Copper Mine.  This mine has produced more copper than any mine in history – about 19 million tons.  The mine is 2-3/4 miles across at the top and 3/4 of a mile deep.  While we were there, they were preparing to do a “blast”.  It was neat to watch but it went quick!

Friday, we went to Antelope Island State Park.  Antelope Island, with an area of 42 sq. miles, is the largest island of 10 islands located within the Great Salt Lake.  On the island is the Fielding Garr Ranch.  In the 1920s, the ranch was home to one of the first mechanized sheep ranching operations in the western United States.  We then headed to the “beach” to check out the Great Salt Lake.  It was very pretty but I don’t think I would swim in it … to many brine shrimp and brine flies.

My last might in Utah, we went to the Gateway Mall for some Ben & Jerry ice cream.  A large stone version of the snowflake logo from the 2002 Winter Olympics forms the shape of a ground-level fountain, with shooting jets of water synchronized to God Bless America. The ‘water dance’ goes off every 30 minutes, for 10 minutes at a stretch.  It was cute to watch the little kids, big ones too, running through the water fully dressed!  Then, back to the trailer and pack.

Then there was Hurricane Irene to deal with.  Weather forecast was she would hit the Philadelphia area Saturday evening and continue up the coast.  I knew there would not be a problem getting out of Salt Lake City, but I had a connecting flight from Detroit to Philadelphia.  All went well and I landed in Philly at 6:00 p.m. and my flight was one of the last ones to arrive before they closed the airport.  Home safe and sound.

Thanks to my great daughter and son-in-law, I had a wonderful journey and fond memories of my visit to Utah!  I love you, both!

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