Salt Lake City Forever!

So began a 13 week stay in Salt Lake City. Immediately upon arriving in the city after towing the car on a U-Haul dolly, we took the car to the largest Ford dealer in town. We didn't know it at the time, but Ford couldn't decide what to do. Back and forth with the dealer and paying for a rental car the entire time. Don't get me wrong, Salt Lake is a great town, but we certainly didn't anticipate that much time. By the time the car was done, they knew our name well at the dealership. Ford ended up paying for the engine and transmission but not the rental car for the 13 weeks. It turns out that there is a class action suit against Ford on this model and specific transmission. The case was won but now Ford is appealing it and settlement could take up to a year. I am not too fond of Ford.

So what did we do while in SLC? Obviously, we visited the Mormon Temple complex and it was truly impressive. You can't access the actual Temple but the remainder of the buildings are pretty special. I don't think there is any other state like Utah and the impact of a single religion.  The streets are numbered based on their position in reference to the Temple and it goes all the way to and includes the suburbs. The LDS churches are visible in every neighborhood in the city and throughout most of the state. 

Our second stop was the state capital. It was a very traditional building with beautiful finish throughout. 

Our next stop was Antelope Island to actually see the Salt Lake.  The island is now a state park with a tremendous amount of animal life. The lake, on the other hand, was a huge disappointment. We started to walk the about 1/2 mile to the water when we saw a dark line in the sand very close to the water. The smell started as we approached the dark line. What we thought was a dark line in the sand was actually thousands of sand fleas. It was like a gauntlet you had to cross to get to the water. We started across and were soon covered from head to toe in biting fleas.  We never made it to the water and from what we heard it was like swimming in salty jello. We walked back to the car and headed to sightseeing the rest of the island.

The next spot visited was Golden Spike National Monument. Located on the exact spot where the Transcontinental Railroad came together, this monument is truly historical. Replicas of the two trains have been lovingly created and several times each day, they are driven towards each other to meet. The accomplishments of the hundreds of Chinese immigrants moving from the west and the workers coming from the east, Irish, German and Italian immigrants, Civil War veterans from both sides, ex-slaves, and even Native Americans is legendary. At a point in time, when there was little in the way of mechanized construction machinery, men built with their hands what was thought to be impossible. 

On the way back, I stopped at Hill Air Force base.  The base unit is the 75th Air Base Wing.  The 75th ABW provides base operating support for the Ogden Air Logistics Center, the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings, 84th Combat Sustainment Wing, Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, 508th Aerospace Sustainment Wing and 25 associate units. Hill Air Force Base has an extensive museum of the various air craft they have used and sustained throughout the years. It was really something to see.

Next time, on to Nebraska.