Road trippin'

I never would have guessed that I'd fall in love with Salt Lake City, Utah, but I have! I just returned from a road trip with Cooper from San Francisco to Denver - we had a fantastic time and the trip went great. Our expectations were low as I have driven through Nevada before - it's flat, boring, and seemingly endless. But that is the Northern part of the state - our route was beautiful.

Our first day was rather short, only three hours of driving and then we spent the night in Lake Tahoe with friends Daphne and Mike. We set out early for Salt Lake City but took our time during the day. We stopped in Elko, NV for some Basque food - who would have guessed there is a Basque restaurant in Elko, NV? Unfortunately we missed the 4 hour window in which they are open and had to settle for what might have been the worst Mexican food I've ever tasted.

When we arrived in Salt Lake City we checked into our Bed & Breakfast, Haxton Manor. It was a lovely place with a great inn-keeper, Buffy. She proudly showed us the place that hosted the English Olympics team in 2002. Our room was beautifully decorated and had a nice Jacuzzi tub, perfect after a day of driving. We enjoyed dinner at a Thai restaurant and then called it an early night.

Rather than leaving early in the morning, we decided to check out more of the city - which is when I fell in love! It reminds me very much of Missoula, but the central location makes it perfect! The views of the mountains are delightful and the people are very friendly. We toured the Joseph Smith memorial building for a view of the Mormon temple. This was perhaps the most interesting part of our trip. A docent invited us in and took our picture with a statue of Joseph Smith that must have been about 8 feet tall. We took the elevator to the top floor to enjoy a panoramic view of the city.

We approached a kind looking man with a stack of bibles and literature to ask the purpose of the metal roofed building (it is the tabernacle). In addition to an answer to our question, he gave us a condensed (yet surprisingly detailed) history of the religion. He was the sweetest gentleman, but we unfortunately had to cut it short after about 20 minutes.

Our third and final day was filled with even more great views of the Utah desert and the Colorado Rockies, ending in Denver at Cooper's parents' house. I said goodbye and flew back to San Francisco, happy I had the chance to spend a few days with my dear friend before she moves to Malawi, Africa!