Salt Lake City, UT

Salt Lake City was a pleasant surprise - we were a bit rushed during that part of the trip and almost skipped it to catch up, but when we asked our facebook friends whether we should skip it or go, the response was an overwhelming "GO!" So glad we listened!

Even the drive in was a fun adventure: we had to go through numerous and lengthy "steep grade" sections where semis slowed down to a caterpillar crawl, and we could coast for miles on the down slopes (yay for free MPGs!).

The city skyline had a gorgeous mountain backdrop. In town, we focused our exploring around the Temple Square area. We did miss one of the main attractions - the Salt Lake Temple - due to construction, but here is what we saw: the Temple Square North Visitors' Center was a fun stop - it was really more of a museum. We took the opportunity to browse the paintings, which could have just as easily been taken from the Christian Bible. We also were grateful to be in an air conditioned building for a while and to refill our water bottles - it was super hot and dry out. [Amanda's notes: I especially loved the adorable Mormon girls who were doing tours through the Visitor Center. If you don't already know how adorable Mormon girls can be, see here, here, and here for proof.]

We also caught a free Temple Square organ recitals. They generally take place twice a day and we went to a recital at the Conference Center, not the Tabernacle. The music and the venue were quite stunning!

We did squeeze in a short hike on the second day in town, and it was a hot mess! I think, we couldn't figure out if parking would be readily available at the foot of the Ensign Peak, so we walked an additional 2 miles before climbing up a VERY steep hill. I mean, we debated stopping and turning around many times, and had to pause and catch our breath every few minutes. I think the 5,000ft elevation plus the dry heat in the 100s got the best of us. But we persevered and made it up to a beautiful lookout, showcasing the entire city below. It's pretty cool that Brigham Young climbed this very hill to survey the land and plan the city!

Noteworthy: the whole city is super clean. Not sure I'd eat lunch from the sidewalk, but it was almost that spotless everywhere we went. And speaking of lunch, we hardly ate out at restaurants in SLC and nourished ourselves primarily from the nearby Whole Foods (a detox was in order!). What did we miss? What SLC restaurants do you like?

-Taras

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