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Mormon

This Week on the Road - March 19th-25th

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This Week on the Road - March 19th-25th

Hello Everyone. It’s been a pleasant and reasonably slow week here in Utah. The temperatures have definitely gone up significantly and it feels like we are jumping right from winter to summer out here. I’ve spent plenty of time in Utah in summer in my life, so I know that’s not exactly true, but going from 40°F to 85°F is still a significant jump in a week. I’ve spent most of the week in the Greater Salt Lake City area, an area I’ve spent a decent amount of time in in the past but have never really had an opportunity to explore. I went to an amazing American Indian Powwow, learned more about the Mormon faith and history and generally enjoyed my time out in the Salt Lake Valley. This may have been my last full week here in Utah, and closing out my time in a state is always bittersweet. I’ve really enjoyed these last 5 weeks in the Beehive State, and I’ve certainly learned a lot about what makes it tick. That being said, the warmer temperatures are going to push me north and into the mountains, which is what I’ve been looking forward to all winter. Anyways, I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, so let’s get right into how I spent my week here in north-central Utah.

After finishing up this post last week I used the rest of the daylight to cruise on up the road to Delta. Along the way I was excited to visit the town of Harding (my last name), but it turned out to only be a crossroads – no sign, no buildings, no nothing. That was disappointing, but the sun was already down when I got there, so I continued on and had a quiet night when I got to Delta. On Thursday morning I started my day with a visit to the Topaz Museum in the heart of downtown Delta. I got there right when the museum was opening and the docent who was there was a former Delta schoolteacher who spent a nice bit of time introducing me to museum.

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This Week on the Road - February 12th-18th

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This Week on the Road - February 12th-18th

Hello Everyone!

It’s been an interesting first week here in Utah. I’ve visited some absolutely beautiful places, learned some fascinating history, and generally had a really good time. Utah is a tremendous contrast to Nevada in so many ways. The landscape is on a smaller scale with more canyons and valleys, buttes and mesas and fewer vast stretches of open desert surrounded by imposing mountain ranges. Culturally, Utah is a predominantly Mormon state so it is more modest and conservative than Nevada (in a cultural sense, not necessarily a political one as Utah is also very conservative politically). Mormons are also very serious about preserving their culture and history, especially from the pioneer days which they consider pre-1869 which was when the railroad across Utah was completed. Because of this there is a tremendous amount of information available and the Daughters of Utah Pioneers have some wonderful museums to display items from Utah’s history. Bars are few and far between and with the exception of a few drinks on Mardi Gras Day, I’ve been sober since I arrived in the Beehive State which is a good thing. But also, I haven’t been bored as there are actually things to do at night here which don’t involve alcohol which I’ve really been enjoying. The weather has gone from hot and sunny to blustery and snowy and I haven’t traveled in more than about 60 miles from the border where I entered the state. All in all, it’s been a fascinating week which has really reinvigorated my journey, so let me tell you all about it.

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