Salt Lake City itself is a little of a disappointing capital. Salt Lake citizens must like their cars spotless clean, I have never seen so many do-it-yourself car washes anywhere in the US - and they are all full! The city has been jazzied up a bit in 2002 for the Winter Olympics, outfitted with a new open-air commercial center with trendy shops and restaurants. Everything revolves around Temple Square, headquarter of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints - we are in mormon country. We were talked into a tour of the temple and church with two sisters, both young missionaries from California and Korea who tried to instill in us the precepts of their religious beliefs. They left us with a booklet on their prophet Joseph Smith who in 1820 had a vision and founded this church, guided by the angel Moroni. The two sisters chanted for us at the end of the tour, and asked for our address in order to send us a DVD on the life of Jesus Christ the Savior.
The rest of the downtown is nothing expectional, a few high-class hotels and a huge Delta Center towards the railroad station. I guess in the end the only thing SLC has going for is its location - the backdrop of mountains left and right is simply spectacular, and the colors are a whole pallet of reds and yellows and greens and browns. Just 50 miles away from many world-class ski resorts... We need to come back here in the winter, oh yeah!
We are staying at a KOA kampground tonight, for the first time since we left. They are pricey compared to other RV parks but they have great Wi-Fi coverage, full hookups, cable TV and a whirlpool, which we took advantage of after returning to kamp. But not before we detoured the Vespa to a supermarket to get a bar of dark chocolate!! We spent the evening making detailed plans about the next few days, and I prepared a map for a possible bike trip tomorrow morning, provided it doesn't rain as forecasted when we get up.
Petr was buying groceries in town, I could not resist the giant cowboy across the street.
A Casino in Windover, the town is half in Nevada (the sinful half) and half in Utah (the holy half).
The Bonneville Salt Flats where in 1973 the Blue Flame set a record of 600 mph.
Somewhere down there is the racetrack, amidst all the salt.
Salt Lake City: the Mormon Chapel in Temple Square.
The Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City.
A statue of Jesus. We had to sit in front of it to hear a recorded voice dispensing some good advice on how to be better people.
The Gateway Center in Salt Lake City.
A street at night.
And another.