Salt Lake City, Utah

As we left Bryce and continued to drive another 265 miles north through Utah, we left the bright red colors and desert environment that had so charmed us.

Gradually, we began to see green pastures and small streams, evidences of water which we had not seen for about a week. We saw herds of cattle, and tiny calves jumping after their moms. We saw beautiful horses and two of the sweetest little colts, one almost white and one a rich red brown. A beautiful lavender farm was named Young Living Farms. This is one of about eight farms owned by Young Living. Gary Young, who passed away in 2008, is credited with founding the modern-day essential oils movement and the headquarters for his Young Living corporation is here in Utah. Regardless of your opinion on the validity of essential oils, a lavender farm is a beautiful sight to behold.

And then we saw the first glimpses of the majestic Rocky Mountains. A few glaciers were visible among the crevasse, a brilliant white among the green and brown. These mountains were not the sharp angles and bright colors we had seen, and those were magnificent, but these Rocky Mountains were majestic and calming. John Muir, who is credited with being the father of our national parks, once said, “oh these vast calm mountain days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us God”. Surely he was in these mountains where every vista is astounding. Parts are lush with trees, in other places magnificent rock displays are seen, and then other areas are capped with snow. The closer we get to Salt Lake City, the more snow we see and the more beautiful the mountains appear.

As we approached Salt Lake City, we came to the town of Provo, an up and coming area with lots of commerce, restaurants, homes and most of all, shopping areas. We wanted lunch and spotted signs for the Black Bear Diner. Being accustomed to the diners in Pennsylvania, we assumed this was a local eatery. It was so charming with carvings of bears everywhere. After we ordered, we discovered that this is actually a local chain of about 8 restaurants, so technically it didn’t fit our criteria, but it had that local flavor and, frankly, we were hungry. The menu boasted of turkey roasted in-house for their turkey sandwiches, and roasted turkey is so superior to deli turkey. So Jim ordered the turkey club and a side of slaw, I tried the Gobler. My late brother and his wife, Patti, had introduced me to this idea of a large sandwich with cranberry sauce. I can’t remember the name of the fantastic sandwich shop in Newark, Delaware, but perhaps Patti will add a comment to this post and then we’ll all know. But I digress here, so back to the Gobler. It was a masterpiece of a sandwich with mayo, lettuce, tomato, a generous portion of roast turkey, avocado, and yes, cranberry sauce on whole-grain bread. Don’t make that face – it was delicious.

After lunch, we finished the drive from Provo to Salt Lake City, although it was difficult to tell where one ended and the next began. Salt Lake City is a rapidly growing area, located at the foot of the Rockies. This is the home of my dear cousin, Elaine and her husband, Dave. When Elaine learned that we were going to be in the area we made a date for dinner, and she found an incredible place for us to try. She knew it well because she had worked there for a while. They drove us through a magnificent canyon of winding roads to the Silver Fork Lodge. The area was originally settled by silver miners, and this lodge is a nod to that past. Out in front of the lodge was a huge wooden sculpture of a Big Foot that looked amazingly like Harry of Harry and the Henderson’s fame. We sat on the back deck where we could view the mountains and the little hummingbirds as they flitted between the pine trees and the feeders. Dinner was equally as impressive.

Our friendly waiter, Evan, brought us carafes of cold water (it was 100 degrees) and encouraged us to try the specials. Elaine and I tried the scallops, deliciously sautéed and topped with a lime chile sauce, Dave tried the salmon and pasta special, but Jim wanted to try the ribs. Evan explained that you can order 4 or 6 but suggested Jim might want 6. What arrived was the most enormous plate of ribs we had ever seen! They were delicious – tender and well-seasoned. The staff here is friendly and the chef obviously very skilled.

As we drove home, the sun was setting behind the mountains. What a perfect evening. Thank you so much, Elaine and Dave.