Salt Lake City and Mormon Land

We got up on Wednesday Morning with the alternator of the 'stang showing some unusual symptoms. Sparky is a very good mechanic and watches the gauges carefully. The gauge that is the indicator for the alternator, (I'm speaking of what I do not truly understand) was acting funny. Sparky was hesitant to leave town without checking it out. We found an AutoZone (thanks to an iPhone app) and went there to have the alternator tested. It passed all tests so Sparky felt comfortable with hitting the road. Thanks to all who prayed for us.

Not long out of Las Vegas, on Interstate 15, we went through a very steep mountain pass. The mountains around us were higher than any I had ever seen. It was pretty amazing.

I took this picture out the car window looking straight up.

The road out if front, after we got through the highest of the hills.

Storm brewing.

Yet another hail storm. We found out later that there were actually a couple of tornadoes that touched down in southern Utah and northern Arizona. They weren't really close to us but the same storm system.

This was somewhere in Utah. There were several clues that we were in Mormon Country in this area. We stopped at a convenience store in this area. They had card games about the "prophets" and I'm not talking Old Testament prophets. They had a t-shirt that said "Lips that touch liquor will never touch mine." While that is not altogether a bad sentiment, it's not usually something you see on a t-shirt.

The names of the cities in this area also give you a clue that you are in Mormon territory. Names like Nephi, Orem, Ephraim and Manti. We also saw a billboard about polygamy. I think it was anit-polygamy but the way it was worded it was hard to tell. Never seen anything like that in Alabama.

A bright patch in the clouds. Sparky said there were huge mountains behind those clouds.

The Great Salt Lake

It had rained pretty much all day, so when we got to the Salt Lake, it was very overcast. Sparky said that when the sun shines on it, it sparkles like the sun.

Sparky at the Salt Lake.

This mountain interested me because of the red streak near the bottom. If you look closely you can see a streak of red clay. I found that curious.

We drove downtown to visit Temple Square. This is where the Mormon Tabernacle is located. I had no idea that the temple was behind a concrete wall. I've always wanted to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing. It is an incredible choir. The temple is supposedly built on the "blueprint" given in Revelation. It is four square. All the streets around the temple and actually pretty far into the city, are numbered as to their distance from the temple. The temple sits in the center and the streets around it are E100, W100, S100 and N100. Then E200, W200 and so forth.

According to Sparky, women are allowed inside the walls and into some parts of the temple but there are areas where women are not allowed to go.

I'm curious as to why it is behind big concrete walls.

Storms and clouds on the mountains surrounding Salt Lake.

This is the mountain "pass" on Interstate 80 that leads out of Salt Lake. There were a couple of things that I found interesting here. First, that this was not all rock. There was quite a bit of green on this mountain while most of the others were rock. Second, as we went through here, I couldn't help but think of the "pioneers" who first came through here in covered wagons. This one picture only show one small section but this pass went on for several miles. Imagine finding a way around or through these mountains on foot. Sorry. That's the way my mind works.