A Tale of Two Salt Lake Cities

In our last update, we had been in Flaming Gorge on the Wyoming side. Not much “civilization” there, but our next stop was our first real "big" city. As we braced ourselves for the misery of returning to civilization (at least one of us is trending feral), we had a trailer tire blow out on the way into Utah and SLC. Now we understand with absolute clarity why there are two axles on our trailer! There was never the slightest hint of losing control, and our Ram 3500 performed magnificently. After several attempts at mastering a persnickety jack, we got the spare trailer tire on while the trailer visibly rocked whenever semis blew by us on the shoulder of I-80. Unfortunately, we discovered that our propane lines had been damaged by the shredded rubber coming off the tire, and we were going to need some additional repairs. Prior to heading in to SLC, Dean had done a bunch of research and found Clay’s Power Sports and RV where we already had an appointment to have solar panels installed on top of the YOFOHome. We wanted to be able to camp without plugging in…hence the need for solar. In a quick phone call to Clay’s we discovered they had the ability to fix our gas lines (and a few other repairs) and agreed to work us into their schedule. When we arrived at Clay’s, they asked for the insurance claim number so they could work with the insurance company for the repairs. We stammered a bit before admitting we had not contacted them yet. We just figured the damage from a blowout was our responsibility. After earning a tactful “damn rookies” look from the associate from Clay’s, we got on the phone with Progressive. Long story short – it was certainly not an experience we want to repeat, but Progressive Insurance and Clay’s RV were phenomenal throughout the process. They both bent over backwards to get us back in our home as soon as possible. And we love our new solar panels!

The main reason we were heading in to SLC (besides the solar fun) was so that we could fly back to NYC for Dean’s niece’s wedding. Ellie was a beautiful bride, and the ceremony and reception were great fun. It was good to catch back up with family for the weekend, and we gained a great new family member in Ellie’s husband Jon. Unfortunately, we also lost a beloved family member that weekend. Murphy, our trusty sidekick for the past 14 years, lost movement in his hind legs and was in pain. It’s never easy to make that kind of decision and it was definitely harder being away and not getting to rub his noggin one last time and tell him that he was a good dog.

Because of the time needed for the additional repair work on the YOFOHome, we returned to SLC but could not immediately pick up our snail shell. So we headed west to the Bonneville Salt Flats and tent camped on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) Land, literally in the middle of nowhere (actually, the Silver Island Mountains, but if you’d seen it…). We visited the race track the next morning, where despite waking up with an “I-slept-on-the-hard-ground” back, Dean sprinted for a new land speed record (fastest 57 year-old that day…uh…that hour, for the 25 yard dash!). Dawn did not make an attempt, which OBVIOUSLY would also have been successful, but instead satisfied herself with yelling “Run, Forrest, Run” as Crazy Legs streaked by (again, not literally).

Still homeless, we headed out to the east of SLC and the Little Cottonwood Creek area near Alma. We tent camped at Tapper Flats and slept soundly to the sound of a nearby burbling creek. That day’s hike up Mount Superior was both awesome and an awesome bust. Several miles into the hike, after climbing several thousand feet, we slowly and sadly realized that our late afternoon start and slow progress up the steep climb had left us insufficient time to finish the hike in daylight. There were some very steep and some sheer exposures on this hike so we pulled the plug on our hike less than a half mile from the summit. Tough decision for sure, but, “up is optional, down is mandatory.” After that experience, we’ll be sure to throw food and headlamps in our packs if we’re getting out the door late…or better yet, leave plenty of time for the steeper climbs. The next day more than made up for it as we hiked up Bearclaw Fork Trail in Big Cottonwood Canyon. The trail led up for a couple thousand feet through some beautiful Aspen glens and wildflower fields. We were lamenting the lack of wildlife as we neared the trail’s high point at about 10,000 feet, and were suddenly interrupted by snorting from very large bull moose about 40 yards away who posed for photos while munching happily on some aspen leaves. On the advice of a couple locals that we ran into at the top of the trail, we added a loop onto the normal hike and circled down to Lake Desolation on some game trails.

As the YOFOHome repair work neared completion, we spent a few nights in civilization back in SLC. We got some excellent restaurant recommendations from Jess. If you’re ever in SLC (and it’s definitely worth a visit), Jess, and now we, recommend The Pie for some superb pizza (be sure to also order some cheesy pull-aparts), Hines Big H for the root beer floats and burgers, Aristos for Greek, and The Red Iguana for Mexican. Their mole sauces (yes, plural) were exceptional. Be sure to go by Red Butte Gardens as well – wandering around the botanical specimens is a fantastic way to spend a few hours and if you’re lucky you can catch a concert in their outdoor venue.

BLAB (bottom line at bottom): given all that happened on the front end of SLC, we should’ve despised the place. We didn’t. It ranks up there in the “places we’d seriously consider living” category and we barely scratched the surface of all of the great things to see and do and eat.