2S2G* - Plans Subject to Change - Day 12, Tues., June 24

*2S2G = Two Susans to Go

For an older motel, the Rodeway Inn by the airport in Boise, Idaho was a good one. The beds were comfortable and our shower had exceptionally good water pressure.

Breakfast (included) at our motel was very good. The eggs were freshly scrambled and a cook would make fresh fried eggs if you wanted them. Also included were juice, waffles, mini muffins, fruit, biscuits and gravy, and sausage.

At breakfast we discussed how short the drive was to Salt Lake City (SLC). We figured we could knock out a 5K capital walk and continue on to Moab, UT for our next night instead of staying in SLC. This necessitated canceling our cave tour reservations at Timpanogos Cave National Monument outside SLC. The cancel fee was only $1.50, no problem.

The car was loaded and we hopped in for the drive to SLC, Utah.

I called the Airport Inn in SLC that morning to cancel our reservation for that night, only to be told their cancellation policy was 24 hours and they would not cancel our reservation. (Most MAJOR hotels will let you cancel by 4 or 6 p.m. on the day of arrival.) That sucked and made us determined not to spend any extra time or money in SLC.

We arrived in SLC around 2:30 p.m. and tried to park the car near the Volksmarch starting point in the heart of downtown. On-street parking had central meters you had to pay for with cash or credit card. While Susan M. was trying to pay with her c.c., a lady came up to me, as I was changing from flip flops into walking shoes at the side of the car, and said, "Maybe you can help me with something." I told her I didn't know anything because I wasn't from SLC. She then started in with a story about having been in an accident a couple of weeks ago. I stopped her and said, "I'm not going to give you any money." (I was already ticked off about losing out on a night's hotel stay.) She mumbled, "Have a good day" and continued on her way.

Meanwhile, the parking meter machine wasn't working and Susan had to call the help number for the parking meter company to find out why and what she could do about it.  All this took about 20 minutes.

When we walked over to the motel start point, there was no walk box. Susan called the point of contact for the walk only to find out the walk box had been moved to another motel with plenty of free parking. Grr. So far SLC was not our favorite city.

The motel with the walk box was within a short driving distance. We signed in for the walk and took off on a 5K walk in the heat of the afternoon (3:15 p.m., 93 degrees, ugh!).

The shady side of the street was our friend in downtown SLC. Most of the walk was on busy city streets...lots of traffic noise.

First point of interest, the Mormon church grounds to see the exterior of the tabernacle and temple.

Temple

Tabernacle

Looking toward convention center fountain

Beautiful landscaping on the tabernacle grounds

From the Mormon facility, we took off up the main street in SLC. The road climbed up a hill to the state capital. 

Love this gorgeous home on the way to the capital.

Utah's Capitol

Old City Hall, now a Visitor Center and historic shrine.

Click to read about Old City Hall.

Another view of the Capitol.

From the state capital we turned downhill and had a wonderful vista encompassing the Wasatch Mountain range.

Wasatch Mountains and east Salt Lake City

Below is a stunning home very close to the capital. It looked like there was a business run from the home for some type of renovation/design/construction. But you could tell it was someone's home because wet suits were hung to dry on the balcony upstairs.

Beautiful home/business

Interesting plant.

Another gorgeous home on "capital hill."

We continued downhill and had another view of the temple.

Temple spires and angel Moroni

We then turned east and headed up to Memory Grove Park to see SLC's replica of the Liberty Bell. 

We turned around at the Liberty Bell replica and headed back to our start point. Along the way, we passed the Eagle Gate Monument (more of an arch than a gate). The original Eagle Gate was erected in 1859 and commemorated the entrance to Brigham Young's property at the mouth of City Creek Canyon. At that time, the eagle was wood, carved by Ralph Ramsay, and the base of the "gate" was narrow.

The original Eagle Gate was remodeled and enlarged in the early 1890s by Brigham Young's architect son, Don Carlos. The wooden eagle was rebuilt and fortified.

By the 1960s, State Street had to be widened. The prior monument, including Ramsay's eagle, had to be removed and replaced with a much larger and wider third generation Eagle Gate. This new gate was designed by Brigham Young's grandson, George Cannon Young. A new 4,000 lb. bronze eagle with a 10' long body and 20' wingspan perched atop a beehive was created by Dr. Grant Fairbanks to replaace the old wooden eagle. The new arch is 76' tall.

Eagle Gate Monument

Eagle Gate Monument below Capitol.

As we were finishing our SLC walk, a stately building came into view. No signs identified the building we were looking at. I asked a woman standing across the street what the building was. She said it is the City and County Building. Wow!

City and County Building

City and County Building, SLC, Utah

After we finished our 5K (3.1 mile) walk in two hours (slow for us!) it was 5:15 p.m. and rush hour. We decided to get out of the city and head for Moab. We had to be at our motel by 11:00 p.m. We took turns driving and pulled into our motel, the Rustic Inn, at 10:00 p.m. We were in bed by 11:00 p.m. and up again at 6:00 a.m. Susan M. snored. I did not sleep well, so spent time on the computer.

Another day sped by. Travel Bug out.