Utah - Not Just For Mormons

After our days in Wyoming, I was anxious to get to Utah. I wasn't sure what to expect but I knew that it had to be more stimulating than the hours of nothingness as we drove across Wyoming.

Salt Lake City is very close to where were were staying, only a two hour drive. We decided to make a stop at Park City and I'm so glad that we did. What a lovely place. Of course, we weren't there when it was snowing or during the Sundance Movie Festival or when it was crowded with people. We decided to go and see Olympic Park which was the venue for some of the 2002 Winter Olympic events. It was incredibly cool - the ski jumps and bobsled courses are still there and easy to see as they weren't covered with snow. The area is now used to train athletes and, while we were there, freestyle skiers were practicing their jumps. They would go down the ski jump, do some aerials and then land in a pool of water. It was great to watch. Of course, the views were breathtaking as well.

We had lunch in a small deli on Main Street and spent some time walking up and down the long streets of shops, galleries and restaurants. Park City is definitely on our list of places to return.

We arrived in Salt Lake City later in the afternoon and rested up for Thursday's touring. I was surprised at how close the mountains look and how incredibly majestic they are, covered with snow even though it is June. We got up early at went to the University of Utah which was where we could see the Olympic Cauldron. Why all this interest in the 2002 Olympics? Sheldon was nominated by his students and chosen to carry the Olympic Torch for this Olympics. It truly was one of the highlights of his life and it was important for us to see where the flame ended up. We got to see the actual cauldron as well as view a great movie about the Games and go through a small gallery of photographs. It really was emotional to see it all and a highlight of our trip.

Our next stop was downtown. The streets are fascinating here. They are mostly numbered. The north and south streets run east and west, while the east and west streets run north and south. Are you with me? Everything starts at Temple Square and spreads out. Once you figure it out, it is very easy to get around but it takes some work. Temple Square is so beautiful. There are many buildings so it is almost impossible to see it all in one day. We decided to do a walk around and then head to the Family History Library. Of course, we were not allowed into the Temple as we are not members of LDS, but we were able to see the outside and enjoyed the many wedding couples who were taking pictures. We went into the Joseph Smith Memorial Building which houses a small genealogy center. They suggested we do our research at the larger library but, first, we went to the 10th floor to take in the sweeping views of the City. In the lobby, you could see the beautiful Tiffany ceiling and listen to the antique Steinway piano being played by a woman in period dress. In fact, all of the guides were dressed as though it were the turn of the century.

As wonderful as all of this was, I couldn't wait to get to the history library. My parents are from England and their parents came from Russia. We have had very little luck finding information about my grandparents and I wanted to see what help I might receive. It was a real revelation! I was able to go into the room for the British Isles and look up census information. There, in black and white handwriting, was the information for both my mother's and my father's family...their names, ages, professions and where they lived. We spent several hours there and I could have spent many more but we were happy to find out that we will be able to continue our research at the LDS Temple in Redlands, where we live. We had lunch in a home where Joseph Smith, founder of the LDS church, once lived.

Today was another catch-up day for us. All of this traveling is pretty tiring! We went to see the movie, Super 8, which we really enjoyed. If you go to see the movie, be sure to stay for the credits. Then we went to visit a local bookstore, The King's English and a needlework store. After dinner, we got ready to leave Salt Lake and make our way to our last stop, Las Vegas.

Remember to check our Facebook page to see pictures from our experiences.