We started off bright and 8am early in Boulder today, slipping into a Starbuck's that was en route and narrowly avoiding a crazy man in a red truck before popping onto I-70 and heading back down towards Denver and eventually Utah. I-70 took a little more time, but honestly, I'm not sure how much of that time was distance, or both of us going, "Oh, look at that MOUNTAIN." They do not make mountains like the Rockies back home, that's for sure. EK and I made fools of ourselves for a couple of hours before stopping in Silverthorne, CO to eat breakfast at the Sunshine Cafe. Somewhat of a spur of the moment decision, but more than worth it. There was admittedly also a certain novelty in the fact that it was barely above freezing, and there was still snow everywhere.
After some more freaking out about Mountains and Snow and the like, we wended our way further into the mountains, and eventually downward, watching the snow and the scraggly pines and cedar disappear as we followed alongside the Colorado River until finally the mountains began to flatten out into mesas and scrub and dirt took over. We managed to get some photos of some incredible scenery as Colorado slowly turned into Utah. We stayed on I-70 for the bulk of our trip before hitting Hwy 6 and cruising north towards Salt Lake City. We traveled through parts of the Uinta National Forest, and more amazing mountains and scenery before hitting Spanish Valley and being startled by the blades of gigantic wind turbines.
Salt Lake City itself was nicer than I had expected, though what I had expected was pretty well limited to Mormons and a desert. We checked into our hostel, The Avenues, and were pleasantly surprised to find that it was in an older neighborhood, and within walking distance of the Temple Square. After we got settled, EK and I figured, why not and began the trek down to the cultural/religious/geographical (this last, if only because it's the progenitor of SLC's roads) center of the city.
Whatever you think of Mormonism or the west, or even Utah, SLC is beautiful. There are mountains surrounding the city, and a lot of the architecture is beautifully done. There's a lot of emphasis on transit, biking, and walkability, as well as several underground parking decks, excellent landscaping (especially within Temple Square), and a decent amount of greenspace on downtown buildings. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see much more than the Temple District, due to being on foot, and the impending evening.
We made it back to the Avenues without incident, and decided that our somewhat meager dinner could stand to be supplemented, so we walked the four blocks to the neighborhood Smith's (kind of like a smaller Publix), and picked up a snack, some bread for breakfast the next day, and snagged a build-your-own six pack, filled with local beers. So far, the Wasatch Apricot Hefeweizen was delicious, and the honey beer that EK tried was pretty decent as well (though I'll have to double check on the make and model of that one). We finished off the night with terrible movies, and with me being too exhausted to finish up this entry on time, sadly.
Our route for May 4th.
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