I had been to Salt Lake City once before to visit the parents of a friend when I was about 20 years old, and I remembered it as being a beautiful city, with wide avenues and flowers on every street corner, so I was looking forward to finding out if it had changed much.  I’m so happy to report that SLC is much as it ever was, perhaps grown a bit larger, but still one of the nicest cities I’ve ever been to.

I started my day by going to Temple Square, the worldwide headquarters of the Mormon church.  I’ve always found my Mormon friends to be some of the kindest and most generous people I’ve known, and I found the same reception at Temple Square.  I first walked around on my own for a bit, and enjoyed the peacefulness and the flower gardens that were everywhere.

I viewed the Tabernacle from the outside, and it looked lovely in the morning light.  Everything is so well kept here, you certainly wouldn’t know that they get millions of visitors every year.

I enquired at an information booth about seeing inside the buildings, and was told that a free tour was just about to start, and I was welcome to join them if I didn’t mind being with strangers.  Since my last few months have been all with strangers, that certainly wasn’t an issue, so I joined the group.  Our guides were two young lady missionaries who were very enthusiastic about their faith and very excited to show us around.  I asked if there were any places we shouldn’t take pictures, but they said no, that pictures were allowed and even encouraged everywhere to show the world how lovely Temple Square is.  Inside the Tabernacle we saw the large organ — 15th largest in the world — and they gave us a demonstration of how sound travels by ripping newspaper and dropping pins near the front, which we could hear clearly from our seats in the middle pews.  They kept calling this as a miracle, although I would have thought acoustic engineering was a more accurate term… semantics, I suppose….

We viewed the Temple from the outside, as it’s not open to the public, but it’s a beautiful castle of a building!

The Assembly Hall was also a lovely building, and seemed to be where more regular meetings were held, while the Temple was reserved for special celebrations and sacraments.

Inside the Assembly Hall was another large organ, and we met with other tour groups speaking many different languages.

Although I’m not clear on the exact details, it seems that the first Mormon pioneers were able to survive their first year here because the Native Americans in the area showed them how to prepare the roots of a native lily plant as food.  They showed their thankfulness for this gift by incorporating flower symbolism everywhere in the Assembly Hall, and especially in the stunning ceiling roses!

When our slightly preachy, but still enjoyable, tour ended, I went wandering off on my own again, and mainly enjoyed the gardens and the pervading sense of peace there.

Before I left I did two more things that made the morning special.  First, I sat in on an organ recital in the Tabernacle, which was lovely.  I would have liked to have heard the choir too, but it wasn’t possible that day.  Second, I picked up a copy of the Book of Mormon — an old friend had given me a copy when we were studying for our MBAs together, but I lost it when someone borrowed and didn’t return it.  I don’t know if I’ll ever actually read it, and it can’t exactly replace the one from my friend, but it will remind me of him, and that’s as close as I can get.

Another place that I wanted to revisit from my previous trip was the Rio Tinto copper mine in the mountains, a huge pit mine that I remember as being very impressive.  I did drive there, and as you can see from the picture, there’s clearly extensive mining in the area, but the mine visitor’s center is no longer open and there’s no longer any public access.  Still, lovely day for a drive to the mountains.

So I headed back to the city and stopped on the shores of the Great Salt Lake.  I walked out onto the salt pan, which appeared to be mainly a sand and salt mixture that perhaps is flooded in wetter seasons.

The salt seemed to be extruded or crystalized on the surface, and yes, of course I tasted it…. rather unsurprisingly, it tasted like dirty salt.

I also drove out to the marina, where I could see the remaining water in the lake more clearly.

There were a surprising number of large boats there, both in the water and out!

My overall impression of Salt Lake City, and of Utah in general, is that it’s one of the most underrated places in the US.  The mountains are stunning, the city is clean and accessible, the people are friendly and welcoming, and the two times I’ve been there even the weather has been perfect.  But another thing that’s worthy of mention is the road infrastructure, which is probably the best I’ve seen anywhere in the world.  The highways are easy to drive, uncrowded, and in beautiful condition, and the city streets are the same, only lined with flowers in many places as well!

Even outside the city, Utah is a beautiful and peaceful place to be, and to drive through.  I think a ski trip back here might be in order some day soon!!