23rd April 2015 – Salt Lake City

This morning we have an historical tour of the city with our guide Glenn who picks us up from our hotel in a mini bus. Glenn drives us around the city, past Temple Square and tells us about the Mormon pioneers who settled the city in the middle of the desert as they were looking for a new home due to being persecuted where they were living. When they arrived they had to harness the water that flowed down from the mountains into the lake before it reached the lake as the lake is more salty than the ocean. These pioneers walked thousands of miles with their wagons beside them to reach Salt Lake City. Once They had irrigated the land and grown their crops they then set about building this lovely city. We drive up a wide boulevard where there are beautiful old mansions that have been built by previous residents of the city, some who have made their money from mining, banking and the railroad. We drive through the grounds of the state university and see the Olympic village that was built for the 2002 Winter Olympics. We are taken to a pioneer settlement on top of a hill where we look around at the various buildings and watch a family of Canadian geese. We are then driven back to Temple Square where we visit the Tabernacle for an organ recital. On the way in we meet an Australian girl from Perth who is here for 18 months as a trainee, so she’s working as a volunteer. There are young people from all over the world here as this is the headquarters of the Mormon church. The Tabernacle has incredible acoustics, the sound of a pin dropped is magnified through the great hall. The pipe organ is magnificent and is highlighted by different coloured back lights above the the pipes and across the domed ceiling.The pieces that are played, some that we recognize, demonstrate the beautiful sound that the organ is capable of. After the organ recital we go to lunch in Lion House, then we spend some time wandering around Temple Square and the most beautiful gardens. Next we go to Constitution Hill and visit the State of Utah Government building which is all marble in side and very opulent.The view from the top of the steps over the city and the 2 mountain ranges is just lovely.