Want to know how far it is from Layton, UT (north of Salt Lake City) to Cedar City? Just ask my bottom.....it is far!
We had to make a couple of stops looking for contact lenses....I know that I did not mention this earlier, as it just opens me, "The Queen of Planning & Bringing EVERYTHING" up to ridicule. See, I packed everything except spare contacts.....and as Murphy is my not-so-Guardian Angel, I got something in my eye Monday night and managed to not only wipe my contact out of my eye, I tore the darn thing in half! Tuesday was a full day on snowmobiling so I waited until Wednesday to call Carol at Dr. Murrell's office and have her fax my prescription......and then I visited an optical and was told "that is an older brand....we don't stock it." Several other opticals later, I ended up at, where else, WalMart! Got the new eyes in less than 20 minutes and I was back in the land of 20/20 vision! Off we were south-bound on I-15.
You think Houston has road construction? HA! Salt Lake City must have gotten a windfall and spent it all on major road construction.....orange barrels and cones line the roads. First stops were the Utah State Capitol then Council Hall and then onto Temple Square in downtown SLC. Council Hall is now home to several State offices - one of which is the Utah Film Commission. Did you know that Thelma & Louise, High School Musical and 127 Hours were filmed in Utah? n Neither did I - we both learned something today!
We've been to Temple Square before, but it was in November 2007 and wanted to see if they looked different at the end of winter as opposed to the end of fall.....and it does not.....pansies were still planted and blooming all around, miniature irises as well. There were no leaves on the trees, and bushes had been pruned for their Spring Debut. As the MercyMe song goes "I can only Imagine" what this place would be mid-Spring. No wonder there are more than 20 weddings here most spring weekends....no kidding!
We toured the Assembly Hall (built between 1877 and 1882) as well as the South Visitors Center and the Tabernacle - yes, the very one that has a choir named after it! There was a performance by that very same choir tonight, but since TQoP&BE (see above - The Queen of Planning & Bringing EVERYTHING) was not aprised of the schedule, we were not able to fit it in....
After Temple Square we set Garmina to guide us to the next stamp possibility - Timpanogos Cave Monument in the Uinta National Forest. As we were making our way there, we saw a sign that I made Chuck back up to so that I could take a picture of it -- it is a white sign with dark (maroon?) letters on it that say "Texas Longhorn Meat" and has the logo of the Dirty Spur Cattle Company. I looked at Chuck and said "Wow, an Aggie has made his way up here and is grilling BEVO!" I can't wait until our friends Dave and Karen see it -- they will WHOOP it up!
Back to the cave stuff.....we could not get in to the cave as it was closed for the season (how did I not know this? My crown will rust for sure......) but we met a ranger named Karissa whose father lives in Houston and she was so nice to allow us to use her stamp and stamp our Passport! We even got to feel one piece of a stalactite from the cave. Glassy smooth, and not as wet as those that are in the cave! There was a sign on the road as we were driving through the forest that indicated that for the next one mile, we could possibly see big horn sheep - but they must have gone south for the winter as they were not seen. Beautiful views though from the lookout at American Fork Canyon.
Making our way back to I-15, we questioned the kids about how they liked the hotel that we stayed in last night, (TownePlace Suites by Marriott - two bedroom unit) and Ryan responded "I could have done without Sissy".....Chuck and I almost choked....he has come out with some really funny sayings this week and it makes me wonder how he is when he is not around us. Seems that he got the best of both of senses of humor!
Click here to see the shots of the Utah State Capitol, Temple Square and some really pretty shots from the National Forest....last one is of the setting sun as we motored on south to Cedar City ....
Tomorrow we head to either Bryce Canyon or Zion National Park and possibly even Cedar Breaks National Monument. Since the full moon is Saturday night, there is a good chance we will have a shot at rising moon photos - I can't wait!
Have a great rest of the week - I know we will!
The Frolicking Featherstons.....
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