It felt like a ‘tidy up’ day as there were a couple of things I was keen to do and also wanted to benefit from a good hotel laundry. Unlike on board cruise ships, there have been no facilities for sending washing to be done overnight and, equally, today there was no crush for the washing machines!

First things first. Apparently some people come to Salt Lake City and never visit the vast lake itself. Not us, but I have to confess it was something of a surreal experience. The visitors’ centre and the harbour were officially closed as they were without electricity, apparently because of a fire. You could drive through the barriers. you could walk along the lake shore, paddle and presumably swim, but you couldn’t get any information, buy a drink, or a souvenir, or use the rest rooms!  We walked the shore right up to the waters edge but the salt flats which make up the ‘beach’ were teeming with thousands of tiny flies. With each step, clouds of them flew up, magnified by their shadows from the brilliant sunshine. Offputting? Definitely. There was no way I was going in that water and was keen to return to the concrete-based car park. The flies are part of the appeal for wildlife. The lake is far too salty for fish, so there are none at all here, and the only organisms that can tolerate the environment are brine shrimp, brine flies and bacteria. The shrimp and flies eat the algae and keep the lake clean and, in turn, they are eaten by nesting and breeding birds. I just wasn’t up for being eaten by anything, so back to the City.

We did a bit of a tour and found ourselves wandering around the very grand Capitol buildings. You just wouldn’t have the freedom to wander around our public sites like that and the whole complex was truly magnificent, as was looking down on the city from overlooks amongst some very lovely (and luxurious) homes.

By this time, we were very much in need of coffee, so took ourselves off to a truly beautiful shopping mall. Amazing…fountains that dance to music, water jet areas where children try to stop the water and water arches surrounded by flowers. All this and an Apple shop to boot!

Ah well, time for domestic endeavours.  We now have suitcases once again full of clean clothes but in exchange for our ‘working’ afternoon (hardly!), we took ourselves to an evening of live jazz and great food.  Back on the road tomorrow and off to Twin Falls. 

Carolyn’s Curios & Curiosities

Tomorrow is National Cheeseburger Day and, apparently, 50 billion cheeseburgers are eaten in the U.S. each year! Tonight I had one. Actually, it was a very tasty Wagyu Burger at Gracie’s. Washed down with a local beer, listening to live jazz and watching American Football (Seahawks @ Bears) – very American and a very pleasant evening. 

Our day today was always planned – I like plans – to be a restful day but we, needless to say, did ‘stuff’. A leisurely breakfast followed by a drive to the Great Salt Lake where, as Kath said, the Visitors’ Centre and Rest Rooms were closed because of a recent fire. That worked ok for us in that we could still go and the charges were waived. Free always works well for us!

At first, we were disappointed that the ‘tide had gone out’(there isn’t a tide!) as the water was quite some way from the shore. Moving further down the lakeside, we achieved our goal and got to the water’s edge. Fascinating. 

Next? The Capitol Building which is very impressive but has steps. The climb reminded us that we are at the height of Ben Nevis above sea level with temperatures high and humidity low. We felt a little breathless but it was worth the journey. However, it wasn’t a high enough view for one of us [aka Kath!]! On and up we drove until the best ‘aerial’ view was achieved amidst very salubrious private roads and very expensive grand houses. 

Then,… coffee and shopping. The City Creek Center (sic) is the most attractive shopping centre I’ve seen. Greenery, musical water displays, outdoor and indoor spaces and even a retractable roof. Parking was free for two hours and moving around the area was easy with escalators and lifts – clean, well-serviced – big tick ✔️

The Apple shop was the planned destination – both of us looking to take advantage of Apple’s selling policy of setting prices at the same numeric level for dollar and sterling purchases. Great value for us… and we took advantage of it.

Then back to the hotel where the plan changed. It was intended that we were going to have a swim in the pool here but, late housekeeping for the room and Kath kindly supervising the washing whilst I idled updating my improved ‘phone, changed that. Despite some problems, I know I had the best of deal! I did ensure that Kath was rewarded with a couple of fresh cookies, though!

And so, tomorrow appears on the spreadsheet as 293 miles but a detour is intended to Bonneville Salt Flats which was always the idea so the journey distance and time will be a little more. Onwards but now northwards towards Seattle and Vanvouver.