It’s about time. Last summer, I spent a few days in the mountains and a smattering of days at the beach. A quick trip to Denver for a concert and 2017 closed out without a real opportunity to roam. A year ago, though, the idea to try and visit the Big 5 national parks in Utah started to percolate. We decided to make it a go and plans started to come together. Tickets were bought, reservations made, and routes mapped. Earlier this year, an opportunity to see a concert popped up and I made a change to come in to Salt Lake City a couple of days ahead of the rest of the crowd. Ethel decided she’d like to come so we spent the rest of the winter and spring looking forward to the show.
Wouldn’t you know it? The concert was canceled a week before the show. For reasons that are completely understandable the headliner had to fly back to England to tend to a family issue. I, however, was left with two tickets to Utah and two nights in a hotel. Making the changes would’ve cost too much, so we came on anyway determined to salvage two days in Salt Lake. Our flights from Raleigh through Denver and to Salt Lake were fine. We took the light rail from the airport into town and checked into our hotel, Homewood Suites Downtown. I chose this hotel for its proximity to the concert venue. This ended up not mattering. What I didn’t know, is that the hotel is right around the corner from what is widely known as the worst homeless shelter in the city. There are a large number of folks who use this facility in the surrounding area making it feel a bit uncomfortable, especially if you have children. After checking in, we headed out to find some food. We ended up at Zest Cafe and Bar. The restaurant is gluten free and vegan. I was excited to go in and have some food. This is where I encountered Utah’s very interesting laws regarding alcohol. Due to the status of the establishment, it is a 21+ restaurant. We got some take out to salvage the walk. I learned from the guy there, that in Utah, kids can’t be in a bar. Even if they serve food. Depending on the set up of the place, depending on about 50 other things as far as I can tell. I also learned that you can’t just duck into a store and buy a six pack or bottle of wine. No, no. You have to buy those at state run stores. Unless you want less than 4% beer. Other beer is referred to as full strength. This place has weird laws.
Anyway, we got our food and headed back to the hotel. We chowed down while watching Ant Man and called it a night. We had all day yesterday to knock around town. Bright and early we headed out to do a hike I had heard about. We took an Uber to the trailhead for the Living Room Trail. Rated as a moderate trail, Ethel and I have decided it is moderate+. Coming from essentially sea level to 4000 feet takes a toll as you hike. This is something I think I underestimated. Casually we walked up the hill stopping to take photos on the way. Eventually we made it to the end of the trail, sat around for a bit, and enjoyed the view. After a bit, the only thing to do was to head down. Another Uber shuttled us to Temple Square where we briefly visited the Salt Lake Temple area. The visitor’s center explained the building of the temple and we were able to go into the Tabernacle. We read some of the plaques around the property. Before long, though, we were ready to head on out. We walked through town and back to the hotel. After dropping our stuff, we went to the Megaplex to see the Incredibles 2. The movie theater has definitely seen its better days. In fact the whole area made me a bit sad. It looked as if at one point, this was a happening little area. I think that unless they relocate the shelter directly adjacent to the theater, the addition of Dave and Buster’s will do little to revitalize the area.
After the movie, we came back to the hotel. Given the area, we decided that we would not venture back out as it was pretty clear that my travel buddy was a bit anxious. I ordered up some PF Chang’s courtesy of Grubhub and while we waited we went to the pool. This time we watched Winter Soldier as we ate and took it easy. After another good night’s sleep we headed to breakfast and have begun the process of heading out to go get the rental car to pick up the rest of the clan.
I’m ready to get out of Salt Lake City. The whole purpose of this trip is to get to the national parks. I am really looking forward to that. The purpose of coming in early was to hit a concert. Even though that didn’t happen, I think we salvaged our time in this, um, interesting city.
