Visiting Salt Lake City – Sep 2021

I spent about a week in Salt Lake City with an old work friend.  We hadn’t seen each other since he left Boston a few years ago and it was really great catching up.  Although most of my week was inside his condo working, I did get out and do some exploring.
My friend, Lyle, had a very comfortable condo with a beautiful view.

Tree of Utah

I took a trip out to see the Bonneville Salt Flats and stopped at the Tree of Utah on my way.  The Tree of Utah is an 87 foot tall, mostly concrete structure built along route 80 in the Great Salt Lake Desert.  It was constructed by Karl Momen, a Swedish artist, and dedicated in 1986.  It is said he had the inspiration for the structure after having a vision of a tree while driving across the Bonneville Salt Flats.  It is a bizarre thing to be driving along the desert and seeing it in the distance.  A strange looking structure in the middle of nowhere.

“A hymn to our universe,
whose glory and dimension is beyond all
myth and imagination”
– Karl Momen

Bonneville Salt Flats

I thought I’d drive out here, drive across the flatness and go home.  I ended up spending over 3 and a half hours here. What an amazing place. This deserves it’s own blog post (Bonneville Salt Flats blog post).  As barren as this magical place is, I took alot of pictures.
There are no signs on the highway for The Bonneville Salt Flats.  There are signs for a rest area which is how you get onto the flats.  If you didn’t know this ahead of time and missed this rest area, you would have to drive miles to get to the next exit, turn around, head back past the Salt Flats to the next exit and then turn around again, driving back to the rest area. I did not know, but luckily decided to check out the rest area.

Wendover, UT and West Wendover, NV

I explored these two adjacent cities which is more like one city divided by the state line.  There is some history here as it was a place where the Lincoln Highway passed.  It also has a memorial to the Victory Highway which was a memorial to those who fought in WWI.  I bought some tacos for lunch in Utah and ate them in Nevada overlooking the desert.

Temple Square & The Capitol Building

I walked around the capitol building and Temple Square.  Unfortunately, Temple Square and some of the buildings in the square are being renovated and were closed.  I was approached multiple times by young Mormon’s asking if I had any questions about the square.  They were very friendly folk.
I also learned from the beehive sculpture at the capitol building why Utah is known as the beehive state.  I was curious about this as there seemed to be beehive motifs all over the state and their highway route signs have beehives on them.  The beehive symbolizes the Utah community as each person in Utah works together to support and help one another and to create a successful industry, as do bees in a hive.

The Viking Farmer’s Farm

My friend Lyle left MaidPro and Boston to work his father’s farm just outside of Salt Lake City.  His primary crop is hay and he is selling it on Amazon as The Viking Farmer. He has a great reputation and has recently been approached by a top pet food supplier to promote his products on their website. While visiting, we went down to see his farm and I helped him fix the door on his tractor.  It was a great first hand experience and I really enjoyed seeing the farm and sitting in the tractor! I can be such a kid sometimes.

The Armory

I’m not a gun person.  I’ve never owned a gun and probably never will.  Lyle, however, does have a collection.  I enjoyed listening to him talk about his collection.  He owns many old weapons and weapons from other countries. He very much likes the history and to talk about the history of what he has.  He also talks with a ton of knowledge of how the guns are built and operate as a machine.  Since this was all new to me, he took me to his local gun range to try some out.  I had never done this before so thought I would try it.  I like trying new things, especially on my travels. I did enjoy it.

Left to right: with the scope, handgun, AK47

Draper Historic Park

I met Byron, our MaidPro Sandy owner, for coffee one morning next to the Draper Historic Park.  I arrived early so spent some time walking around the park and learning some history of the area.

Driving from Omaha, NE to Kearney, NE

I had the weekend to get from Omaha, NE (G on the map) to Denver, CO (B).  While planning the trip, I decided I’d stop in Kearney, NE (A) for the night.  Lake Hastings Park, one of the top disc golf courses in Nebraska, was near there and just off the route (I).  Kearney (pronounced Car-Knee) also had a course and some live music spots.  It is about half way across Nebraska and would a perfect place to stop for the night.  This turned into a fun, full day of the trip.

Played a quick 9 holes at  my local course in Omaha before heading out to Lincoln, NE.  Lincoln was not originally on my itinerary, but it was on the way and would be a good place to stop for my coffee. I ended up wandering around the capitol building which turned into it’s own little adventure that deserved a separate post! It was an excellent excursion!
Played a round of disc golf at Lake Hasting Park in Hastings, NE.  This was one of my favorite courses on the trip.  It had some a good mix of shots through trees and over/around water.  It was set in a beautiful park.  It was quite hot out that day and I was able to take a dip in the lake to cool off!
Saw this stretched across the highway as I approached Kearney. I had to go see what it was.  The Great Platte River Road Archway Monument is a rest area, monument and museum that houses a historical experience that tells the story of Nebraska and the Platte River Valley in the development of America.  Unfortunately, the museum itself was closed.  I did find the rest area full of history and historical stories.  I enjoyed walking around, reading the plaques and learning more.
Kearney, NE is the sandhill crane capital of the world! Every year between March and April, over 600,000 Sandhill Cranes make a stop in Kearney on their way north.  Unfortunately, I was there after this event but I heard stories about it.  They say the sound itself is pretty amazing.  Maybe I’ll pass this way again during this migration event some day.
 
Made it into Kearney later in the day and explored downtown a bit.


Everyone was very into the
University of Nebraska volleyball game
Explored Yanney Park and enjoyed the sunset from there.  The park had a little lake, a bunch of waling trails and a lookout tower.  The new “Gardens of Yanney Park” was under construction and should be a beautiful place to walk around when it’s done.
Went to Cunningham’s Journal for some live music before calling it a night.

Lincoln, NE Capitol Building Excursion – Aug 2021

I headed out early from Omaha (G on he map) and although it was not on my original itinerary, I decided Lincoln, NE (H) would be a good place to stop for my morning coffee.  It was on the route heading west, is the capital of the state and would be a good break after knocking out about an hour of driving.

Although quite hot, it was a beautiful day and I headed towards the Capitol building. Definitely a different looking building than other capital buildings I’ve seen.  You know, the ones with big marble pillars, two wings and a large dome in the middle.  This was a tower with a dome on top.

I was walking the sidewalk around the block looking across the lawns and admiring it up on the hill when a car pulled up next to me.  A woman rolled down her window and yelled out, “I think it’s open today!”.  I had to look around to see if she was talking to me!  I thanked her and she drove on. 


Well that was weird, but, I guess I have to go see if it’s open.  

Loved the big Bison head door handle


It was open, so I went in.

I found a creepy elevator. 

I pressed “B”.  It went down.  And there I was.  Who knew that at some point in my life, I’d find myself wandering around the basement of the capitol building in Lincoln, Nebraska. Very cool brick work with the curved ceiling.  It had very cool acoustics as I walked a bit through the halls reading the senator names on the office doors.

I went back in and pressed the top button. I went to the top and I found there was an outdoor walkway around the top.  I gazed out across Nebraska.  It’s flat.

What a fun, unexpected excursion! 


I got my coffee.  Explored a little of the area.  And headed on my way.

(I was not the only one in the Capitol building. Top to bottom, there were other tourists and tours and I felt it to be a safe environment)

Exploring Des Moines – Day One – Aug 2021

I really enjoyed Des Moines, IA.  There are some good disc golf courses in the area, excellent food and some fun places to walk around.


Des Mones, IA
It was my first full day in Des Moines.  After working the morning at my AirBnB, I headed up to Smokey D’s BBQ for lunch.  This place was recommended to my by our Des Moines MaidPro owner.  Unfortunately, he was not in town while I was there.

Smokey D’s boasts being the winner of over 90 State BBQ championships and over 1000 local, regional, and national awards.  I ordered my lunch to go and ate it back at my Des Moines home so I could get more work done.  The MaidPro owner had specifically recommended the mac and cheese which I did include in my order and he was right.  It’s hard to go wrong with mac and cheese, but this was outstanding.  Along with the Texas toast that was included and the burnt ends I ordered, it was an excellent lunch.   My AirBnB host said she was jealous and I believe ended up going there for dinner.

Smokey D’s BBQ
At the end of my work day, I headed out to play Ewing Park Disc Golf course located in the southern area of Des Moines.  It was in the mid 90’s with full humidity, but I had to play the course.  It was a very pretty course that played around a lilac arboretum.  Too bad they weren’t in bloom.  I enjoyed the course which had some nice challenges around trees but also some big open shots.  I guess most people were staying in and out of the heat.  There was no one else there.  It was so quiet and peaceful

One of the tee pads

You can see the basket
between the trees at the
bottom of the hill

And I played well!

After the round I decided to head into Des Moines to see the capitol building and explore that area.

Shattering Silence Monument


Des Moines in the background of the Shattering Silence Monument

“The sculpture is adjacent to the building that houses the Iowa Supreme Court and at the top of the hill overlooking the Des Moines skyline. It is in commemoration of the 170th anniversary of the landmark 1839 Iowa Territorial Supreme Court ruling that prohibited slave Ralph Montgomery from being extradited back to Missouri after he failed to raise the $550 he promised to pay to buy his freedom. The Iowa Art Council’s newsletter describes the art as a commemoration of “those moments when Iowa has been at the forefront of breaking the silence of inequality and commemorates those Iowans who refused to stand by silently when they saw injustice.” – Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation

I finished my day eating dinner at Jethro’s BBQ.  This place was recommended to me by the bar tender at the Meskwaki Casino.  I had stayed at the casino the final night before getting to Des Moines and we had a nice conversation.  She enjoyed hearing about my trip and had a few places she thought I should visit while here.  She said the wings at Jethro’s were her favorite.  I sat outside, drank a local beer, watched football and ate the wings.  It was another successful recommendation and a great day in Des Moines.