Lighting the fire within

Let's see, so much to write about. It's funny, when you set out on a trip and intend to do one of these blogs you figure you'll make an entry pretty much every day. What we've found is that you find yourself otherwise occupied during the day and pretty tired at night. Nonetheless, here is what could be the final entry before we get home.

The first day in Salt Lake was pretty low-key. We were so late getting in we just crashed in the hotel until about noon, then picked up the rental car. We went downtown and had lunch at a cool brew pub called Squatter's in SLC. The thing about SLC is that you can only get a drink at a few places. Brewpubs serve beer as long as you order food. If you want to just get a drink you have to go to a private club and pay a membership fee.

After lunch we went to a few Mormon places (family history library and Temple Square). They were interesting for a few minutes. We intended to go to a recital of the tabernacle choir, but they're out on tour. For dinner we ate at the Melting Pot, which is definitely not in the normal budget (thanks, Ms. Karen).

Friday morning we got up and drove through Big Cottonwood Canyon and over the Guardman Pass (elev. 10,000 ft) into Park City. This was a breathtaking drive and really the whole stay in Park City was amazing. Everywhere you look you have mountain peaks and lakes. We were lucky enough to have a gracious host in Sally Rajamaki who treated us to a home-cooked meal, something we really needed after eating in restaurants for a week and a half. After dinner we took a sauna (pronounced sow-na, not saw-na)

Today Sally hooked us up with lift passes and we braved the ski lifts all the way to the top of Bald Eagle Mountain (9400 feet). From there we could see all over the valley and to mountain peaks miles away.

After that we went over to Olympic Park and took in the sights there. We got to watch junior olympians training for freestyle aerials and others taking people on bobsled rides. There was also a museum of Utah Skiing and a large exhibit on the 2002 Winter Games that were held in the SLC area (mostly in Park City).

That's pretty much the high points. Big thanks to the Rajamakis for being such great hosts and making us feel so welcome.

---

---