We had breakfast then loaded the Bus and climbed aboard. I found the best way to do it was to put my right foot on the step, grab the frame handle provided with my right hand, and swing myself up. It was like mounting a horse backwards and upside down. But it worked for me. We left Moab’s Hampton Inn for another national park. Canyonlands is spectacular. All the vistas are grand and VAST, but you can’t really take it in with a phone pic. We stopped at lots of viewing areas and wandered a little. The country is amazing; I recommend visiting, especially if you’re into hiking. We’re a little old for it–or maybe we’re just not that into hiking–so we enjoyed the stops and drove on to Capital Reef National Park. We were puzzled by all the fruit trees, so we stopped at the ranger station to learn about the area. Apparently, Mormons had tried to settle the area. They planted all the trees, built a school, and did their best to make a home. It was just too far from any other settlements, so the area was abandoned. The fruit trees continue to thrive. They were in bloom when we were there, so it was lovely. We stopped to view the petroglyphs left by a native colony that disappeared before the Mormons came. The story is they went to the stars. Maybe they were abducted by aliens, who knows. But nobody could make a go of the place. So now it’s a national park. I’m glad the area is being saved.
We’d had enough parks by that time, so we drove another 3 hours to our next stop. We stayed at a Motel 8. It was the best of the available hotels at Aurora (I think that was the name of the town) but it stood in stark contrast to the Boulderado and the Hampton Inn. It was clean (I think) but the chemical smell was overpowering and unpleasant. I wonder what germs they were trying to kill. It was Sunday night so no restaurants in town were open. Those Mormons take that Day of Rest advisory to heart. One other thing that was different about Utah was the fact that you can have a beer or a glass of wine with dinner, but you can’t see it being poured. They call it the Zion Curtain. Hey, their place, their rules. Anyway, the only place to eat was an Arby’s at the truck stop so we ate with the long-haul truckers. It reminded me of my youth when a truck-stop Arby’s was fine dining for me. Not only were the dinner order numbers being called, shower numbers were yelled out. That was new for me. Truckers take a number for their turn at a shower. After smelling the Motel 8 room I understood why truckers prefer to sleep in their cabs. But it was just for one night. We had coffee and fruit the next morning and set off in The Bus for Salt Lake City.
We had reservations at the Peery Hotel, an historic downtown Salt Lake City hotel, but we couldn’t check in until 3. So, we wandered. We tried to get into the train depot, but it was closed for renovations. We finally found a visitor’s center and the lady there told us if we hurried, we could make the noon organ concert at the Mormon Tabernacle. We ran over and were in time to slide in the back. The organ is HUGE. And the organist was gifted. It was a lovely concert. We walked over to a small auditorium for a short service afterward and listened to a pianist play Clair de Lune. Music is a huge part of the Mormon service. A trainee gave a short sermon which relied solely on the bible–not a peep from the Book of Mormon. Then there was more music. It was a pleasant way to spend an hour. Afterwards, we drove to the capitol building but didn’t go on a tour. We’ve both been there before. We had Thai food down by the old trolley center then decided we needed a nap. We gambled that we could check into the Peery early and won. They checked us in at 2:30. We took a nap then investigated the hotel before looking for someplace for dinner. I love these historic old places with their fine wooden staircases and lovely ceilings. I’m glad Hilton took it over. We went across the street to have a beer. I was suffering from “It’s almost time to go home and I’m sick to my stomach”. I had a locally brewed beer and Gordon had chili as we watched the Lakers get swept by the Nuggets. We had an early night.
The next morning, we had the “free” breakfast provided by the hotel. It was great–much better than the Hampton Inn buffet. We had some time, so we went out to the Great Salt Lake. We were told that it’s down by almost a third. The water that used to end up in the lake is now being diverted for agriculture. There seemed to be some sentiment to change that, but the West has been in a drought for years. Think we all need a wet cycle.
We caught our plane and flew home. Maggie was happy to see us. She survived all by herself. Our neighbor came over and spent time with her, so she didn’t get too lonesome. Thank God for good neighbors. But it was good to be home. I was glad we saw some amazing parks and Gordon got his ‘road-trip’ jones off. Maybe next time we won’t have to horse a bus around.
Canyonlands. Vast. I wanted to include a picture of the petroglyphs, but it didn’t come out.
