Mormon Country

After an uneventful and frankly boring drive, (although still in high country – elevation averaging 4200-4800 feet, info thanks to my GPS system) I enter Utah and eventually Salt Lake City. I get in around 7 pm, so it’s still daylight, but fading fast. I drive a little around downtown to get a feel for the city, Temple Square and all, then check in to my hotel. Starving (again) at this point. After a nice upgrade to the executive floor, I am disappointed that the executive lounge (where there is normally appetizers and cocktails at this hour) is closed on Saturdays. Wha?!?!?

I walk around and have dinner at this Chinese/Thai restaurant where the Pad King I got was surprisingly good. (I was expecting the "white" version of Thai food, but it was actually good!) Back to my hotel to chill for a while, and plan my Saturday night on the town.

First of all, the grid numbering system of this city is too mathematical. Second, the city blocks are huge! According to the map, the club I was going to was just 8 blocks or so away. So I decide to walk it (after the cop incident of the night before). It was a nice walk, got to see some of the city, but it was a long eight blocks! I get to the club early (around 10:30) and the place was still pretty dead. Oh, and this whole private club thing they have in Utah: I still don’t get it. You pay $5 cover and you get in. I thought the cover was only if you were not a member, but after I met some people, they said the paid the same $5 too, and they were members. So, wth does private club mean??? I’m not gonna rail on the system here in Utah, but there were some weird things I noticed.

Observations: I saw the same tshirt again that was in Boise! "That was you?!" They measure all the drinks to the last drop. And apparently it's illegal to order a double. People were walking around with these huge (i swear 16 or 20 oz) plastic tumblers of drinks. I thought at first they were soft drinks because of the no alcohol mormon thing. But it turns out they were mixed drinks. Maybe they have to compensate for the lack of alcohol by making the drinks huge? I don't know. I had a sip of someone's long island ice tea, and it tasted like juice. Another cool tshirt I saw: "Hi. You'll do." Funny. Overheard: "Are you done for the night? Hell no. Good, I'd hate to insult you." Crowd was of all ages. There was this couple in their sixties holding their drinks and just getting down grooving. She even had the latest dance moves down pat! The best cure for sitting in a car for 5 hours straignt, is dancing your a** off for five hours straight!

After a few drinks and some dancing (okay, okay a lot of drinks and a lot of dancing), we decide to leave. My newfound friend offered me a ride as apparently it is illegal to hail a cab on the streets of Salt Lake (?!??). You have to call for one. And lo and behold, he had a bottle of whiskey and a 2-liter bottle of diet Pepsi in his car. What are we to do?? So I suggest he come up to my room and we drink the drinks.

The next day, figuring I have to at least see the Great Salt Lake, I drive an hour out of my way to see the lake.

(In case you're wondering what that was, standing tall and proud, I was too. Or maybe it's just been too long. I think it's part of the salt mining operation.)

Finally, at 3 pm I’m off and head to Yellowstone, Montana. Five hours or so later, I’m at elevation 6500 feet and the sun is setting to the west (uhm, duh… where else?) I meant, to my left. It was gorgeous over the trees, but did not quite translate well into pictures. Maybe because I was driving at 70 mph while taking the pics.

Food for thought: Can a brown-skinned Filipino be a redneck? I think I sun-burnt my neck while driving yesterday. Oh well. Enough of the cities. It's off to nature for the next few days.

Oh, I finally succumbed to the scourge of the roadtrip: I had my first fast food meal at Arby’s. And yes, I had pancakes (twice) this morning.