A slight change to our plans as Ruth found a highly recommended B&B in Salt Lake City, rather than at Spanish Fork, a little further away but that would save distance tomorrow. The weather wasn't looking good, we could see heavy clouds over the mountains and the temperature was down to 58F (14C)
Well, we were on the road by 9, down the road past the two arms of the Park that almost envelope Springdale and out into open countryside dropping all the way to Toquerville where we joined Interstate 15 and headed north. It was a fast road, in most places the speed limit was 80mph and it had long straight stretches, initially through yet more desert though that changed further north.
We pulled off the road to visit Kolob Canyons, the north section of Zion NP and despite the heavy cloud cover, it was stunning, sheer walls of red rock and deep canyons, all quite narrow and the road ran across the ends of the mini canyons and up to a lookout. Warnings about many mountain lion sightings in the area, but we didn't see any, sadly.
Back to the I15 and a long drag up to Cedar City at 6,000 feet and easing down the other side and this sort of long roller coaster continued for miles. We noticed a sign for an historic fort and decided to stop there for lunch. Well, the fort had been built, not by the US Army but by a contemporary and disciple of Brigham Young, the second prophet of the Church of the Latter Day Saints, or Mormons. We were met at the car park and invited to take a tour, free of charge, around the fort, Cove Fort; we looked at each other and agreed. The tour was interesting, it had been totally renovated and re-furnished in period style, including genuine pieces from the family. The history of the place was interesting in spite of all the references to the prophets and saints of the Church and it was fascinating to see how people lived around the 1880s, all very hard work.
Anyway, we escaped and found another rest area to have lunch. It was still cool and the wind was getting up and rain clouds were still threatening. Back on the I15, up,through another pass at 6,000 feet and down into a well irrigated farming area, crops and cattle, in the middle of the desert and then through one side of the Great Basin, miles of very flat lands to the west. Eventually we reached the Salt Lake City conurbation, the interstate became 6 lanes wide each way and the volume of traffic increased so that every lane was full and everyone travelling at 70 miles per hour, a bit nerve-wracking. I didn't see much around us as I had to concentrate on navigating the traffic; I think Ruth just closed her eyes!
Salt Lake City itself wasn't nearly as bad, the traffic was well behaved and we managed to find our accommodation without too much trouble. The City is built on a grid system and the streets are all numbered sequentially. The B&B, called 'Wildflowers' was a delight, the house was built in 1874 and beautifully furnished. Our room, 'Primrose' was comfortable and quaint. One of the owners was an artist and her works were all over the house (and for sale), not sure we liked all of her work though.
We ventured back into the city to find dinner. Ruth had found a Spanish restaurant serving tapas, La Finca, and the food was really tasty, well cooked and presented. The bar had Goslings Black Seal rum! A lovely end to the day.
