Yellowstone 8/10/18 (The Tour Begins- SLC)
Today is the official first day of the our 7 day tour, with most of the tour group arriving today. We were scheduled to meet the bus at 2:45pm at the hotel.
After eating the hotel breakfast buffet, we headed out to complete a few errands before the temperature got too hot. The afternoon high was predicted to be again over 100 degrees. First stop was a UPS store to ship home the sleep pads from the train ride and a few dirty clothes we won’t be needing again, making our luggage about 10 pounds lighter....and leaving room for new items! Next stop was a drug store were the objective was to grab a few snack items and bottled water.
By the time we returned to the hotel, Glenda and Howard, fellow travelers from Del Webb, and Howard’s sister Bea, were in the first of the tour groups to arrive at the hotel. After they checked in and a brief chat with the tour director, Deb Howard, we headed off to Benihana for their express lunch. Returning to the hotel, we had a little time to rest while waiting for the remainder of the travelers and the bus to arrive.
The flow of the afternoon tour was a little disconnected, as some flights were delayed and we returned to the hotel in order to pick up folks that had newly arrived. Every attempt was made to maximize the experience for everyone with access to only one vehicle, closed roads due to a local bike race and rush hour.
A local tour director, Deb, provided both directions to the bus driver and information to us for the next few hours. We visited This is the Place State Park, where Brigham Young announced to a band of about 150 followers that the new home of the Mormon Church would be in the valley that is now Salt Lake City. The park also had an original pony express post and memorials to the Mormon brigade.
Our local guide, Deb, has a great background for leading tours. She was raised on a farm in a very small town (approximately 65 people) and now lives on a ranch raising cattle and other livestock. She spent the first part of her career traveling with Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. She then married a military pilot and lived all over the world before he retired and they then moved to the ranch in Utah.
Our next stop was the Utah State Capital, a building that has been used as a stand in for the national Capitol building in Washington DC. Around 2004, the building was renovated so it could withstand a 7.3 earthquake. The installation of a base isolation system required jacking up the entire building and installing a series of structural elements that allows the building to be decoupled from the supporting structure during an earthquake. The system will allow the building to move up to 24 inches in any direction without any damage.
Our next stop was Temple Square where Deb handed us off to two Morman sisters. They provided both a tour of the grounds and information about the Morman religion. We visited the Tabernacle and learned about the majestic organ, the choir and acoustics of the building. The tour ended at the John Smith House where we enjoyed our opening tour diner. After dinner, we were free to wander the square a little longer, but we opted to walk the few blocks back to the hotel. We wanted to make sure we were ready for the early morning start the next day.
Pictures 8/10/18
After eating the hotel breakfast buffet, we headed out to complete a few errands before the temperature got too hot. The afternoon high was predicted to be again over 100 degrees. First stop was a UPS store to ship home the sleep pads from the train ride and a few dirty clothes we won’t be needing again, making our luggage about 10 pounds lighter....and leaving room for new items! Next stop was a drug store were the objective was to grab a few snack items and bottled water.
By the time we returned to the hotel, Glenda and Howard, fellow travelers from Del Webb, and Howard’s sister Bea, were in the first of the tour groups to arrive at the hotel. After they checked in and a brief chat with the tour director, Deb Howard, we headed off to Benihana for their express lunch. Returning to the hotel, we had a little time to rest while waiting for the remainder of the travelers and the bus to arrive.
The flow of the afternoon tour was a little disconnected, as some flights were delayed and we returned to the hotel in order to pick up folks that had newly arrived. Every attempt was made to maximize the experience for everyone with access to only one vehicle, closed roads due to a local bike race and rush hour.
A local tour director, Deb, provided both directions to the bus driver and information to us for the next few hours. We visited This is the Place State Park, where Brigham Young announced to a band of about 150 followers that the new home of the Mormon Church would be in the valley that is now Salt Lake City. The park also had an original pony express post and memorials to the Mormon brigade.
Our local guide, Deb, has a great background for leading tours. She was raised on a farm in a very small town (approximately 65 people) and now lives on a ranch raising cattle and other livestock. She spent the first part of her career traveling with Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. She then married a military pilot and lived all over the world before he retired and they then moved to the ranch in Utah.
Our next stop was the Utah State Capital, a building that has been used as a stand in for the national Capitol building in Washington DC. Around 2004, the building was renovated so it could withstand a 7.3 earthquake. The installation of a base isolation system required jacking up the entire building and installing a series of structural elements that allows the building to be decoupled from the supporting structure during an earthquake. The system will allow the building to move up to 24 inches in any direction without any damage.
Our next stop was Temple Square where Deb handed us off to two Morman sisters. They provided both a tour of the grounds and information about the Morman religion. We visited the Tabernacle and learned about the majestic organ, the choir and acoustics of the building. The tour ended at the John Smith House where we enjoyed our opening tour diner. After dinner, we were free to wander the square a little longer, but we opted to walk the few blocks back to the hotel. We wanted to make sure we were ready for the early morning start the next day.
Pictures 8/10/18
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