What an incredible day... I want to get it down before I forget any bit of it!
The girl at the front desk at the Hampton Inn was so cute. When I told her, "Ive had such an incredible day!", she thought I was being sarcastic! I suppose it isn't often that people check into a hotel (especially a working man's hotel) in such a spectacular mood!
The day started out at 4am when the alarm went off. I was out the door by 4:30 and at OIA by 5:45. After a short coffee in the Delta Sky Lounge, I boarded my flight, 1st class, to SLC. Before I left I already had in mind what I wanted to do for my adventure on this trip. Sometimes it's going to a certain restaurant, or a specific shopping area or a tourist attraction... well, this time I had a plan already laid out. Who knew it was going to be better than expected?!
My plan for the day was to see the Great Salt Lake then possibly the Bonneville Salt Flats then I found a little town on the map called Alta. Gee, my Grandmother's name was Alta so I just had to go there! Also, my doctor suggested going to Little Cottonwood Canyon.
Since my plane landed at 10am and I had worked the weekend prepping for this training I thought I might be able to justify my jaunt and fit all that in... maybe.
So, it is gray, cloudy and rainy today in Salt Lake City. The sky isn't the crystal blue I had hoped for but, hey, that's ok.
First I headed to the Great Salt Lake. Not far west on I80 I came across the Salt Lake Yacht Club. I stopped and got out to take a look around. There were only about 50 small sailboats at the Yacht Club but it was absolutely beautiful there. One of the groundskeepers, a man named Pahoe, warmly welcomed me and gave me a boatload of statistics about the Great Salt Lake. He told me the salinity of the water and the salinity in how it compares to the Dead Sea. I recall 16% somewhere in there. He told me a story of a couple who tried to swim to a certain point, not realizing it was 18 miles away and they had to be rescued. I learned that the salt in the water will quickly dehydrate you. Oh, and Pahoe introduced me to the Club's mascot, an Aussie named Taz, who loves everyone.
After the Great Salt Lake I thought, what the heck, I'll drive the 100 miles to see the Bonneville Salt Flats. I'm so glad I did. There is a rest stop on the north side of I80 that is perfect for spectating. Not that it is much of a spectator sport but, the view is absolutely breathtaking! The water was calm so the reflection of the mountains was like a reflection in a mirror. I even drove out on the "jetty" to the end. What a wondrous sight!
Having checked those two off the list I decided to tackle the other two. My little town of Alta just happens to be in Little Cottonwood Canyon... how convenient! On the way I got a good tour of town. Well, I started up 190 and, oh, my... I want a house in Little Cottonwood Canyon. I don't care which one, any of them will do. Heck, I'll take someone's garage!!! What a beautiful area. It was like a storybook village. Each home was prettier and more magnificent that the last.
Well, I headed up this "hill" on my way to Alta. Remember, the only reason I want to go there is because it was my Grandma's name. Well, the road got steeper and steeper and steeper. Did I mention it was cloudy and overcast in Salt Lake City? Well, as I got higher and higher it turned into the most beautiful snow! *This is a special treat for a Floridian! Alta is a ski resort at the top of the mountain! There may be a town up there, I don't know. By the time I started heading back down the snow was coming down hard!
I white knuckled it to the bottom of the mountain and breathed a sigh of relief. What an incredible day!
Oh, and what does this have to do with dogs and agility? Well, nothing really, other than I'm supposed to be at agility practice at home right now. Oops.
I miss my dog!
