#SaltLakeCity

We really liked Salt Lake City - the capital of Utah. A quality place - probably a great place to live - but of course a long way from the sea - too far for me personally - and no Ruddles either maybe the clincher !

Salt Lake City has a population of 200000 and a hinterland population of 1.3 million. It is a city  established by Mormons led by Brigham Young and Mormons are probably what you think of when anyone mentions Salt Lake City. However the followers of  the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are no longer in the majority but clearly they still have a massive influence on the nature of the City and it's success. On our trip we met quite a few people from the Amish community who happened to be travelling on our train. Their ethos/religion is not to particularly interact with the wider population (although they were friendly enough) but to maintain their old ways. They do not embrace technology. For instance they do not use cameras. The Mormons on the other hand evangelise seeking more followers and fully embrace technology. They dress as everyone else unlike the Amish. Temple Square - dedicated to the Mormon faith is right in the centre of Salt Lake City and dominates. Currently their principal church is being refurbished but we entered their stunning Tabernacle and listened to an half hour organ recital played on one of the biggest organs in the USA. The acoustics were amazing. Even though I am not religious it felt a special place to be and the whole atmosphere was gentle and kind.

SLC is a successful place and up together but not hectic in any way. The City Creek shopping centre is very up market for instance. People are nice. Everything appears to work. It is clean. There is a pride in the place. The city is laid out on a wide grid system and is known as "the crossroads of the west" because it is a transport hub and the intersection of several major highways. It takes its name from its proximity to the Great Salt Lake and it is in fact set in a semi arid valley. As such the Mormon's had to work hard to establish a viable community here - including much irrigation work. To this day and adequate water supply remains an issue. 

Salt Lake City is a major tourist centre - both for outdoor activities and of course as site of the Mormon religion. It is surrounded by mountains - allegedly some of the best snow in the world for skiing. It held the Winter Olympics in 2002 and will hold them again in 2034. Scenery is spectacular - the vistas enormous and space to die for. One to get your head around however is SLC is very prone to earthquake activity with several major fault lines in the area ! Further large earthquakes are certain - but timing is unknown. The extensive work on the Mormon Cathedral is an attempt to make it more earthquake resilient.

As I said we really enjoyed our time in SLC. We hired a car for a couple of days.

We had a memorable visit to the Bonneville Salt Flats - about a 2 hour drive, It was a magical landscape made all the more beautiful by the fact we seemed to have the area to ourselves.

The Flats are about 12 miles (19 km) long and 5 miles (8 km) wide, with a crust almost 5 ft (1.5m) thick at the center and less than one inch (2.5 cm) towards the edges. It is estimated to hold 147 million tons of salt, about 90% of which is common table salt.

Land speed records and Land speed racing records have been set many times on the Bonneville Salt Flats. The record for wheel-driven vehicles (449 MPH) was set there in 2018, and for rocket or jet propelled vehicles (630 MPH; since superseded) in 1970.

On another day we did a long trail walk up the Little Cottonwood Canyon. Recommended. This was especially fun because the bruvs had a wildlife photographing rivalry/competition. See the results below !

Travel can be a wonderful thing. It stimulate interest. SLC city is an interesting place. I am glad I have been there.

Here are some mob photos to confirm memories :-

The Mormon Tabernacle - see the massive organ pipes

The Mormon cathedral being earthquake proofed.

The Tabernacle

A modern installation outside the modern art museum

Bonneville Flats

Little Cottonwood Canyon trail walk

Deer taken by me with a mob camera !

Mike

Mike's winner also with a mob

My little bird

Taken by me with a mob camera - ha!

#GlenwoodSprings and crossing the Rockies.

Glenwood Springs is a long established resort town dating back to the wild west days. It is famous for its geothermal spring baths and offers a lot more to visitors. It is a ski resort town - but doubles up as a place to enjoy the outdoors year round and the x factor - natural hot springs. It is at the confluence of the River Colorado and The Roaring Fork River.

Our time was limited but we hired bikes for one day and cycled up the Rio Grande Trail alongside the Roaring Fork (Crystal River) valley in the direction of Aspen. When we got to 16 miles we turned and cycled back. It was a lovely day - and great scenery - especially Mt Sopris at 12995 which dominated.

Our favourite watering hole was a dive bar called The Doc Holiday. Doc Holiday (qualified as a dentist) is a name you will know I expect - a legendary character from the wild west. He was one of the lead characters - with his longtime friend Wyatt Earp - that fought out the most famous gunfight ever - the gunfight at the OK Corral !  Doc suffered from tuberculosis and he came to live in Glenwood Springs to use the life affirming hot springs and benefit from the clean Glenwood air. He died in the Glenwood Hotel and was buried in the town. Tourists are able to visit his burial place.

We really enjoyed using the spring baths. They are huge and naturally fed by geothermal water from deep under the mountains. The pools are graded in temperature and some are very hot indeed. There is a slight whiff of sulphur that you get with geothermal water - but not unpleasant. The baths are set in the river gorge so you are surrounded by the steep mountains that form the ski resort. We loved it. Totally relaxing and pleasant and we felt better for it ! Xx

To get to Glenwood Springs from Denver you have to cross the Rockies. We did so on the Californian Zephyr. The distance as the crow flies is less than 150 miles but the train took over 8 hours because of the gradients and tight bends through the cuttings and canyons. There is a constant risk of rockfalls and apparently the rails have monitors for blockages. The upside of the slow deliberate train journey is the opportunity to enjoy the scenery from the viewing coaches of these big trains. It is constant pressure to capture the next vista but eventually you just have to enjoy it for what it is. You can't really can it ! See mob photos below !

Just a bit about the Rockies. The Rocky Mountains are a chain of mountains approx 3000 miles long. They run in a line from British Columbia (Canada)  to New Mexico. The width is between 70 and 300 miles. Heights vary considerably but the highest peaks are in Colorado and go to over 14000 feet. They were formed between 80 million and 55 million years ago by tectonic plate collision. The Rockies are not of uniform construction  - the rock is varied - because for instance some of the Rockies was once the sea bed. Over millions of years the Rockies have been shaped to the dramatic peaks and colours we now see. Much of the Rockies remain an important wilderness used for recreation rather than agriculture. They are not densely populated.

It was thrilling to cross the Rockies by slow train. The views were often stunning, spectacular and beautiful. They were also often fleeting with the train movement and changes of light. (a tip for the photographer - take a forward facing seat). Certainly a photographers challenge. It was a privilege to do this journey. xxx 

Here are some mob photos - a bit random I am afraid :

Glenwood Springs geothermal spa's

Our favourite dive bar - Doc Holidays

 

Is it a bison ?