Saturday, June 9, 2018
Goodbye Tetons! We grabbed our Starbucks fix, but before leaving town we stopped at the Native jewelry shop, where we had seen a moose necklace that looked like a chai while strolling the streets the night before. The one in the window was made with yellow and white gold, but I walked out of the store with my cute, silver moose. It was made by a local artist, so I doubt he designed it with the chai in mind but that’s what got the sale. It is a ‘Moose Chai’ or a ‘Chai Moose’; i.e., “LIFE”.
Rather than travel the highway we took side roads through some beautiful mountains and valleys in Wyoming, Idaho and Utah. While passing through the town of Afton, Wyoming we were welcomed by a pair of dueling elk. It is the home of the Butch Cassidy Museum that we didn’t stop to see. In the town of Paris, Idaho we did stop at the Mormon Tabernacle built in 1888. Two young women approached us when we stopped to investigate what it was we were looking at. They asked if we would like a tour, and since neither of us said no, off we went. Made from local sandstone it was built by pioneers sent by the Church to establish new Mormon communities. They thought they were in Utah but discovered years later that they were in Idaho. Of course, there was a little proselytizing, but even the girls weren’t entirely comfortable doing it. So, we were only slightly Mormonized.
The tabernacle is located in an area called the Bear Lake Valley. Bear Lake is a pristine, Mediterranean blue lake that is miles long (70,000 acres of water) in both Idaho and Utah. In winter, Bear Lake is known for its ice fishing. The lake wasn’t very developed on the Idaho side, but there was a lot of boating and swimming activities on the Utah side. There wasn’t much more to see as we made our way to Salt Lake City. Fortunately, even though it was close to rush hour the traffic was moving.
Very close to the city there are miles of industrial gas producing factories. It looked a lot like New Jersey on the drive from Washington, DC to New York. Very close to all of this industry lies downtown Salt Lake City. We are staying in a B&B called ‘Inn on the Hill’ in a lovely residential area. The 26-room mansion was built in 1906 for a Dr. D. Woodruff and his family. I need to pay more attention to my surroundings tomorrow morning because apparently it has Maxfield Parrish Tiffany glass windows and leather covered walls which I failed to notice when checking in. It also has the reputation of being one of the 10 most haunted homes in Salt Lake City. We are looking forward to their breakfast which is ordered the night before for a specific time and prepared by a chef. As of now given the rooms and other amenities such as a pool table room; amazing sitting rooms, etc. we would highly recommend staying at this place.
The B&B is located walking distance from the State Capitol building and much of downtown Salt Lake City, including the Temple Square, the headquarters for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS). Despite the 96-degree temperatures and strong winds, we walked to Temple Square which is a huge complex made up of religious and administrative buildings, including a conference center that seats 21,000 people.
Two young women served as our tour guides of the Tabernacle, Assembly Hall, and the visitors center. I had told one of the women that Dan and I had visited the Mormon temple in Washington, DC before it was consecrated. She asked me to repeat what I had told her about I had learned about the room of mirrors where couples were married for eternity, and the baptismal where one could Baptize those relatives who have passed away. When she asked who would like a copy of the Book of Mormon, who else but Dan raised his hand? According to Dan, we have always been married for eternity.
(Of special note, the stained glass windows on all four sides of the Assembly Hall building were Jewish stars.)
A short distance from the Square is a new shopping center/mall area. We found a place called the Blue Lemon, an upscale cafeteria style place. After dinner we climbed the hill back to our haunted mansion. Tomorrow morning as mentioned we are looking forward to breakfast at 7:45am and then off to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at 8:30am. Afterwards we leave for the Northern Rim of the Grand Canyon.
BY THE WAY WITH WENDY & DAN 