June 17-19

June 17, 2016

When we had driven in to Ogden yesterday, we were amazed at the size of Salt Lake.  It looked like an ocean, from our perspective.  Today, we drove into Salt Lake City, about 30 miles south of Ogden.  I was surprised that the eastern side of the city is flanked by a tall mountain range.  It must be very high because there is still snow at the peaks. Roger found a very pristine campground that had wifi.   So we spent the day paying bills on line, down loading pictures and posting on the blog.  

June 18, 2016

Summer has finally found us.  It says 88 degrees on one of the bank marques.  But at least the humidity is nothing like at home.  We spent a couple of hours trying to find out the exact location for our next site.  We went to a local library and got help from the lady at the information desk.  She even called the visitors center for us.  There was some place in the area where the California, Mormon and Pony Express Trails all converged.  The librarian finally referred us to a place called “This is the Place Heritage Park”. 

The first four words were those spoken by the Mormon who had led his fellow believers to settle in Salt lake City, Utah.   When we arrived at the park, we walked around the grounds.  There are several bronze statues through out the park, mostly related to the Mormon settlement.  Another smaller area is set apart for a huge sculpture depicting the Pony Express Rider and the Station Attendant who cared for the horses.  There was even a replica of the small wooden building that represented the pony express station.

The radio band was very noisy, so Roger had some trouble getting contacts.  After a couple of hours, we drove to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church for 5p.m. Mass.  Then we headed south to our next site: Timpanogos Cave National Monument.

We were glad that our route took us away from the city and toward the mountains, hoping for cooler temperatures.  Shortly, it became clear that we had gotten our wish, as we climbed to an elevation of almost 5000 feet.  The visitor’s center was closed, but we were able to get a map from a park ranger who was giving a class.  It showed us the location of several campsites.  The first one had a sign that said “full”.  The next one we drove through was also full and/or had reserved signs posted.  Fortunately, in the third campground, just before dark, we found a “double site” with just one young family. 

We got out and talked to them.  They said we were welcome to stay, if we did not have any dogs.  They had two dogs that don’t get along with other dogs.  One of the dogs was  big enough to be a pony, with long white hair.  The other was still a good sized dog.  But both were very friendly.  Shawn is in the National Guard and Alyssa is a stay at home Mom.  Their little girl is about 4 and her name was McKenna.  The site was very nice, though there was no electricity.  There was a small creek, with swift running water that was right beside the RV.  When the attendant came to collect the fee for the site, Roger paid for the whole site.  They were most appreciative.

June 19, 2016

It was a beautiful morning with clear skies.  The stream must come from several streams converging from higher elevations, where the snow is still melting.   Butter flies are flying all around the park.  They are yellow with black edges around their wings.  After saying good-bye to our campmates, we drove back down the mountain to get a campsite in the first campground.  We selected one and paid for it.  Then Roger drove back into the city hoping to get the oil changed.  Almost every place he tried was closed on Sunday.  Finally called Pep Boys and they were open.  But when we arrived, the RV was too high to fit in their building.  So Roger bought the oil filter and oil to have it when we find a place later in the week.  

Roger returned to “This is the Place” National Monument Park, because the radio band conditions were so much better today.  He was able to talk to 75 stations in less than an hour, a considerable improvement on yesterday.  When he finished, we drove back to our campsite, arriving about 6p.m.  It was so much nicer than last night.  We were on a paved parking area, with a nice picnic table and a brick fire pit.  Roger found some wood and we plan enjoy a fire later.  We were still next to the rushing stream and put our feet in the water to check the temperature.  It was pretty cold.

We took a short walk on a paved path around the back side of the stream.  On our way back, a Mexican family invited us to share their meal with them.  There were two sets of parents with two children, each, and grandparents.  They were so courteous and were very interested in our travels.  We talked for a long time and thanked them for their wonderful hospitality.

Both Bill and Tricia had called Roger and wished him happy Father’s Day, earlier in the day.  So we count this as another blessed day!