We wrapped up our extensive tour of the North American Wild West in Utah. Every state thinks it’s fun. Every state claims to have “something for everyone.” But not every state has 3.5 distinct geographic regions, five national parks, 45 state parks, five national historic sites and trails, and a dozen national monuments and recreation areas. Perfect powder, rugged red rock, alpine lakes and more. According to Utah.com, “If Utah don’t got it, you don’t need it.”
From the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains, to the shores of the Great Salt Lake, Salt Lake City is full of energetic individuals creating the dynamic and unique capital and most populous municipality in the state of Utah. With an estimated population of 190,000, the city is the core of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a population of 1.1 million.
Downtown Salt Lake City is clean and well kept with beautiful plush carpets of green grass accented with pretty flowers and unique trees. The architecture is splendid, including the State Capitol, large homes with well-manicured gardens on the hillside and the Salt Lake Temple.
The temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) is located on Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City. At 253,015 square feet, it is the largest LDS temple by floor area. Dedicated in 1893, it is the sixth temple completed by the church, requiring 40 years to complete, and the fourth temple built since the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1846. The mammoth LDS office building is located next to the temple.
We have cousins from Hawaii, Kalai and Germaine Balutski, who have a second home in the Salt Lake suburb of Murray. We parked the coach at their house, booked studio suites at the brand new and spacious Home 2 Suites and rented a van to drive four hours (each way) to see Bryce Canyon.
Bryce Canyon National Park, a sprawling reserve in southern Utah, is known for crimson-colored hoodoos, which are spire-shaped rock formations. The park’s main road leads past the expansive Bryce Amphitheater, a hoodoo-filled depression lying below the Rim Trail hiking path. It has overlooks at Sunrise Point, Sunset Point, Inspiration Point and Bryce Point. Prime viewing times are around sunup and sundown. We also enjoyed looking over Fairyland Canyon, where you can see the hoodoos up close by taking a short walk down a gravel trail on the edge of the cliff.
Sublime viewpoints are found all along the park’s 18-mile main road which travels from the park’s only entrance in the north along the plateau rim to its highest elevations in the south (over 9,000 ft.). Hiking trails explore the forests of the plateau, connect between viewpoints along the rim of the Bryce Amphitheater, and wander through the hoodoos below. There is also a natural bridge.
Bryce Canyon offers two campground sites (one in winter) and lodging is available at the Bryce Canyon Lodge during the summer season. During winter, hotel rooms are available in the park at the Sunset Hotel. We all enjoyed the spectacular Red Canyon on the way out of town.
No trip to Salt Lake City would be complete without a visit to the Great Salt Lake. Located in the northern part of the city, it’s the largest salt water lake in the Western Hemisphere. In an average year the lake covers an area of around 1,700 square miles, but the lake’s size fluctuates substantially due to its shallowness. For instance, in 1963 it reached its lowest recorded size at 950 square miles, but in 1988 the surface area was at the historic high of 3,300 square miles. In terms of surface area, it is the largest lake in the United States that is not part of the Great Lakes region.
The Great Salt Lake State Park is open sunrise to sunset. Normal visitor center and gift shop hours are 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. This State Park provides boat slips, public viewpoints of Great Salt Lake, sail and motorboat access, and a search and rescue operations center.
The lake, which is two to seven times saltier than the ocean, is also a popular destination for bird watching as it is a major stop for millions of migratory birds. The park’s campground is open year-round and offers RV sites that can accommodate up to a 40′ RV. Campsites have water and electricity.
Walking down to the water, we were taken aback by the armies of tiny black bugs swarming around the rocks and water. We dipped our toes in the warm water and they came out covered in gray mud. Conveniently, there is a foot wash just outside the visitor center, which also has washrooms.
While in Salt Lake City, we had some “down time” the last couple days of the trip and there are always issues that occur while traveling. The extra time was filled by installing a new air conditioning unit on the Yoder’s coach, fixing the adhesive around the windows on the bus and taking the dogs to the vet.
Camping World in Draper handled the issues related to the RV while the dogs visited the Mountain View Animal Hospital to obtain the health certificates required for re-entry to Hawaii. The process of traveling with dogs to Hawaii, even when the dogs reside there, is time-consuming, complicated and expensive. Dr. Moore and the staff were extremely friendly and professional. The vet also prescribed muscle relaxers for Spike, who was suffering with back issues related to “being the equivalent of a 50-year-old-man.”
The mountains that surround the Salt Lake City metropolitan region are very captivating. The people are quite friendly. We enjoyed a simple meal at Mimi’s Cafe with good service from the manager, Mike. We even shopped at the Southtown Mall which reminded me of the malls of my childhood growing up in the 80’s. The stores were full and people milled around the space which seemed to be as much of a gathering place as a shopping destination.
I enjoyed an illy iced latte and a 20-minute chair massage, a relaxing end to the extremely challenging itinerary— especially for Sam who did all the driving round trip from Ohio, a total of almost 8,000 miles in less than three weeks.
We covered an extremely ambitious area of land, primarily concentrated in four states, two countries, two provinces and too many national parks to remember. As the sun set on the last evening, we reflected with gratitude for the time spent making meaningful memories together as a family. 
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