We drove north from Zion along Route 15, stopping at Cove Fort, a Mormon outpost between Fillmore and Beaver, built in 1867 to provide protection during the Black Hawk War and also to provide lodging and food to travelers. The fort provided us with a rest during our day’s drive to Salt Lake City. We also stopped south of Provo, at the Springville Museum of Art, which has a large collection of Soviet Realism art.

Salt Lake is a city of contrasts. Within the walls of Temple Square, everything is Mormon and seems regimented. The highlight in the square was an organ concert in the Mormon Tabernacle, with a resounding interpretation of Mussorgsky’s “Great Gate of Kiev” from Pictures at an Exhibition.

Outside the walls, Salt Lake City is modern and diverse. We ate dinner at the Red Iguana, a Mexican restaurant that Dan thought one of the best at which he’d eaten, and the next night, at Lamb’s Grill, the oldest restaurant in Utah. The two old Jewish synagogue buildings still stand, though their uses have changed: one is occupied by a design firm; the other is a Greek Orthodox church. Streets were originally constructed to be broad enough for oxen and their carts to make u-turns. Today some of the streets include a trolley system and/or bicycle lanes. Salt Lake City has been designated a BIcycle Friendly Community (bronze level) by the League of American Bicyclists. Downtown Salt Lake City works to keep the city vibrant, and many buildings are currently under construction, with the project dubbed “Downtown Rising.”

Accommodations: Carlton Hotel