Salt Lake City to Great Salt Lake

In glorious sun
with warm temperatures, we
discovered Utah

~ carliewired

A tour around Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah
Row 1 - Tabernacle, pipe organ in Tabernacle, Assembly Hall, spring flowers

Row 2 -Temple (west end), Temple (east end), “Joyous Moment”, The Capital Building

The drive around Antelope Island, northwest of Salt Lake City, Utah
Row 3 - view from the causeway, the causeway seen from visitors' center, bison, bison herd

Row 4 - pronghorn, western meadowlark, coyote, causeway seen from the southern hill

We've had superlative weather for our visit to Salt Lake City. Today was prime. We managed to find a parking space right beside Temple Square and loaded the parking meter for two hours. Once inside the Square we soon encountered two young ladies, Mormon volunteers, one from Tonga and one from Samoa. These young people donate a year and a half of their time to help out in Temple Square. D and I joined their tour and we were on our way.

We listened to the last organ presentation in the Tabernacle. The pipe organ is tremendous. It actually rumbled the seats we were sitting on. We spent a little time in the south visitors' center which gave us a video tour of the Temple. We stopped in to see the Assembly Hall, once the first Mormon church in the Square and now used as a theatre/stage/conference center. The spring flowers were in full bloom all around the square – tulips, daffodils, hyacinth, forget-me-nots. The colour was amazing everywhere. All the many borders are cared for by volunteers.

The Temple is not open for the public to view. As we walked around the Square we were able to view it from all directions. The Square includes many bronze sculptures; some are religious in nature, some are historical, some present family values. There are walkways, benches and fountains. Combined with the beautiful landscaping and floral borders, the Square is an enjoyable place to visit. If you step out onto State Street, as I did, and look north up the hill, you will see the State Capital building.

We made it back to the vehicle before the meter ran out, reset the GPS and were on our way to Antelope Island, northwest of the city center. The island is owned by the state and one portion is designated as a state park. It is the largest of the islands in Great Salt Lake. You pay your $10 at the entrance and are on your way down the causeway to the island.

We paused mid way on the causeway to observe some of the other islands nearby. They appeared rather mystical as they were reflected in the lake. Once on the island, we drove to the visitor center where we had a very pleasant chat with the fellow behind the desk. He encouraged us to head out in search of the bison which roam free on the island. He explained that the bison had been moved onto the island by ferry in 1893 as a way to preserve some bison that were dying out in other parts of the US. These 12 bison have had many descendants. The herd averages 500 in number these days with an annual cull done each fall to keep the numbers in check. The bison we encountered were very calm and docile. At one point we had to stop while they crossed the road ahead of us. We caught sight of other wildlife from the park road; pronghorn, coyote and meadowlarks.

It was a fabulous day!!!