Salt Lake City with Suzanne and Russ

View from the guest room window







We arrived at Suzanne's and Russ's for the promised well cooked beef and veggies, and from the moment we arrived it was to become the most organized and homely welcome that any one could wish for. Both Greg and I have come away from Salt Lake City not only with a life long friendship of two lovely people but a more informed understanding of the Mormon way of life.

Saturday morning we were on the run early and into Temple Square
http://www.utah.com/mormon/temple_square.htm
for the tour of the buildings, with the first being the Conference Center with the collection of the most beautiful and famous religious paintings, amazing granite cladding and stonework, exquisite timber paneling and decorations and a collection of incredible sculptures.

The main conference theater was a spectacle in itself, with seating for more than 20,000 people and a wonderful organ keeping a watchful presence over the the the seating area.

Once up onto the roof area we were able to witness the garden and the starting point of the waterfall that cascades over the edge of the building. When we tried to access the building a snow storm descended upon us and set the scene for a white Xmas over the nativity scene adjacent to the area. We then adjoined for a lovely luncheon at the restaurant at the top floor of the Temple Square restaurant.

It was time for the organ recital in the Tabernacle and what a recital it was it was such an experience that it brought tears to my eyes. We were going to get a similar treat tomorrow with the Tabernacle Choir as an added bonus.

The rest of the afternoon on Saturday was spent at the Family History Library where I researched for information on my Great Grandmothers family with the aid of Suzanne a seasoned campaigner in the field of Genealogy. We then found a restaurant for an evening meal on the way home. Slept like a log after an eventful day.

Sunday began with a tempo much the same as the day before with a race to get to the Tabernacle for the radio broadcast of the Choir and then to be followed with the television broadcast. When this was done we were treated to a tour of the history museum and later the meeting hall. It was time for lunch on the move on the way to the church service that filled in the afternoon. Late in the afternoon we were treated to the drive up the canyon to see a favourite family picnic spot and a great fishing spot that Russ loves to use.
Monday morning we were treated to sewing a thread in Suzannes blanket. Greg then set out for Spearfish and Warren was kindly taken to the airport by Russ to fly to San Francisco to spend a week with his wifes cousins.
Warren would rejoin Greg in Chicago in a week.

Las Vegas to Salt Lake City Via Zion and Bryce Canyon

Friday 13th November

The purpose of this day was to arrive in Salt Lake City (SLC) for a pre-arranged meeting to stay with my new friends Suzanne and Russ whom I had met researching my family history. The journey was to be via the Zion national park and the Bryce Canyon and we were to arrive in time for a beef dinner.

Zion was a natural wonder with many and varied formations and to add to the interest there were mountain tunnels and a winding river to follow along the autumn setting.

As we approached Bryce Canyon it began snowing and it was to stay like this all the way to the main route into SLC. Bryce Canyon was marvelous and it had an important meaning for me as my grandson was named after this canyon by his father Martin because he had been impressed with it when he was at the canyon some years before he was married to my daughter Mellisa.

From Bryce we traveled along highway 63, 89, 29 and onto I15 and into SLC. We were tight for time as we had not allowed for the loss of 1 hour from Vegas to SLC and also the snow we had encountered. However we arrived at a reasonable time and Russ had cooked the beef to perfection as promised by Suzanne.

Vegas to Death Valley and return to Vegas

The Side trip to Death Valley took place on the Day before departing from Las Vegas. We started about mid morning and arived at the National Park around Noon. The day was perfect with a light cloud cover to ease the effects of the sun. Soon after entering the valley we stopped to take a Photo of a Coyote the first Warren had seen in the wild.



The roadway wound its way amongst the two ranges of hills and we were in the middle. The road was against the Eastern side of the lake and Eventually we arrived at the deepest part of the lake where the boardwalk was installed to allow visitors the lake bed. There were a great many tourists present and and we were amongst them with Wazza keen to record the event on the portable Garmin GPS and this showed minus 196 feet below sea level. After we left the boardwalk we encountered a track leading to a natural arch in the hills and it was a walk on foot for around two miles to view it. We decided to have a look in case we encountered friends in the future that asked in we saw it. Been there and done it. The journey back to Vegas was to take us until after dark to get back.

The next day was a lay day and we rested and prepared to leave Vegas for the next part of the trip to Salt Lake City.

Williams to Vegas via Hoover Dam

5^th November 2009

Williams to Las Vegas via the Hoover Dam

This was to unfold into a very interesting leg of the journey when we finally rounded the bend that unfolded the view of the Hoover Dam with the new bridge under construction towering above the Dam and the Spillway tunnel. There were flying foxes spanning the gorge to place the materials and the we saw columns reaching into the sky waiting for their road platform to connect. Luckily we were able to stop and park the car and to take a few photos of the new engineering marvel due for completion next year.

The new roadway and bridge will take care of the traffic for some years to come and the USA certainly knows how to build roads and bridges.

At last Las Vegas appeared on the skyline and was visible for miles ahead, and this was to be a stopover for a week. We were also planning to take a side trip to Death Valley during this stopover period.

On the other hand the newer section of Vegas has numerous attractions as well such as:

• http://www.vegas.com/attractions/freeattractions.html

Please have a look at the above site to see some of them.