Monday, June 10 As this would be our only full day in SLC, we planned carefully. By chance, we left the KOA (at a respectable 7:30!) and passed right by the Utah Department of Natural Resources headquarters! And, they were open! Tom was able to get good directions and maps of Antelope Island, our destination for today. I browsed the extensive bookstore, wishing that I had not sworn off large, beautiful coffee-table books and illustrated reads. There would not be enough room in the Silvermine for every book I would want to buy . . . thank goodness for Kindle and internet websites! As we drove out of SLC I searched on Amazon Music and found several Mormon Tabernacle Choir albums. Glorious music to listen to while heading up and out of the basin and past the surrounding mountains. . . I’ve never heard “Climb Every Mountain” quite like that! Sitting in the Great Salt Lake is Antelope Island -- home to free-roaming herds of bison, bighorn sheep, mule deer and pronghorn antelope. . . . and 250 species of nesting birds! The island roads provide spectacular view of Great Salt Lake and the Wasatch Mountains. As we drove over the causeway onto the island there was a flashing billboard sign advertising that the local gnats had just hatched! We attempted several of the walks, but within a few minutes gave up from the gnat siege. They are vicious! They swarm your face and ears, get trapped in your hair, and just about drive you crazy in 5 minutes! Most of our tour of Antelope Island was destined to be a beautiful drive around the island and a visit to the Visitor Center! There is a campground on the island – praise be that we weren’t able to get reservations! It is out in the open with lots of scrub shrubs and no shade, and gazillions of those little no-seeums hanging in the air. Back at the Silvermine we took an afternoon siesta outside under the awning . . . the first for this trip! Leaving at 3:00 pm our afternoon excursion was to visit Emigration Canyon. It was here high on a mountain, overlooking the Salt Lake Valley , that Brigham Young proclaimed, “This is the place!” Heritage Park commemorates the spot where Brigham Young declared that the search was over for the Mormon Zion. The location also commemorates the Pony Express route which went right through the area. We drove the rest of the 12-mile Emigration Canyon road to the summit – the route that the Mormons (and other settlers) followed down the steep, steep, trail into the valley below. Today it is a beautiful drive with intermittent home settlements and a heavily used bicycle path. Finishing the day we chose a Mexican restaurant for dinner – well, it was kind of Mexican! It served tacos – but they were combinations we had never heard of! For an appetizer we ordered the guacamole with sweet corn dip and chips. Tom had the Carne Asada tacos, and I had simple cheese quesadillas with a very wonderful dip. We were back at the Silvermine by 7:00 with time to write and post the blog of a great day!
1 Comment
Mike
6/11/2019 04:51:47 am
No-see’ums. Haven’t enjoyed them booger’s for years. Appears y’all are having a blast.
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October 2021
We don’t go camping any more . . . we go ‘streamin’ ! The “SIlvermine and His” is our 2018 25' Airstream Serenity with Salsa interior and front twin beds., and ‘streamin’ is the name we use to describe our adventures. Stream along as we document everything from weekend trips to longer summer excursions and full-blown vacations. You know what they say: if you’re not in an Airstream – you’re just camping!
Tom & Ella Brown |