Wednesday, April 30th, 2014

Yesterday I just stayed in the campsite in Idaho Falls and did laundry, showered, organized stuff - since Yellowstone is buried under snow, I basically took the day off!
Today, I started out of the campsite, prepared to take I-15 to Great Falls, Montana - but my GPS lady wanted me to go via Hwy 20 - so I threw caution to the winds (okay, I guess caution has never really been one of my priorities . . . ) and went the way less traveled - and windier!  I drove through mountains for most of the time - all six hours of it. The Tetons are magnificent - although I had no burning desire to stop anywhere - lots of snow on the ground, although none near the road - and the temperature was okay - in the high 30's somewhere (fahrenheit, of course!).  Some of the roads were fairly narrow, with overhanging rock -  made me wonder just how much the people who made those roads thought about height.  Sure, cars would have no trouble driving close to the side of the road, but how about taller vehicles?  The rock cliffs do bulge towards the road in many places.  Luckily, there was very little traffic, so no need to hug the cliff side of the road . . .

Still in Idaho

Just zipping past the snow . . .

The Tetons

Into Montana

The road ahead . . . 

Scene from a gas station

Same gas station - just about to get onto the I-15 north, after the scenic route from Idaho Falls

 I'm now happily ensconced in Dick's RV Park in Great Falls, Montana.  Great wifi here - took very little time to upload these pictures - unlike other spots, where it has taken literally hours!  Tomorrow it's off to Cut Bank to see Ron's giant penguin (more about that later . . .)

Monday, April 28th, 2014

Crazy day today! I got up, unhooked, drove out of Salt Lake City towards my destination for tonight - the Grand Tetons - and the Tetonia RV park in particular. I think I've decided that I really don't like mountains very much.  They're incredibly beautiful to look at - and smaller ones - like Bryce Canyon, seen from the top - are fun for awhile - but they just sort of loom over one.  When I drove the Rockies - Banf to Jasper - years ago - I could only stand them for a week and then had to get out of there!  When I visited the Grand Canyon last fall, I had intended to stay for a week, but only lasted 5 days.  I looked at the Grand Tetons with their snow-covered peaks as I was driving along and was filled with dread - weird! Also, I think I react to altitude - in Zion, I started feeling really headachey, pressure on the ears and sinuses. and out of breath.  In Bryce Canyon, this was a whole lot worse - really had trouble catching my breath when walking more than about ten steps - and the same in Salt Lake City.  It's supposed to take 3 or 4 days to adjust to a different altitude, but I've been changing altitudes every day.  It's a lot better now, but I'm at 52 feet!
So - I got to Tetonia and discovered that the RV park is closed - they don't open until May - so I checked the map and consulted my Good Sam book and found an open park in Idaho Falls, an hour back down the highway.  In talking to the owner, I discovered that I am going to have to radically change my route to Calgary! Tomorrow I had planned to see Old Faithful, then go to a park close to the Montana border, then the next day CutBank, Montana, then Calgary. However, the area around Old Faithful is buried under 6 or 7 feet of snow, some roads are closed, and no campgrounds are open yet - or stores, etc.! It looks like Yellowstone - and CutBank - are places to visit another year - and another season! Damn!  I will probably take I-15 all the way to Alberta and just hope to avoid snow and ice as much as possible.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

So . . . today I watched - and listened to - the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!!!  What an experience!  Of course, I've heard their CD's and marvelled at them on tv, but actually being in the same room with them was awesome!  Every Sunday at 9:30 a.m., they perform in the Tabernacle for half an hour.  This performance is recorded and televised - can be live-streamed, in fact. At 8:30 a.m., they rehearse the program, so I got their at 8:30 and watched their rehearsal, then the actual performance at 9:30.  For the actual performance, no picture-taking is allowed, and the audience is asked to be as quiet as possible, so that the microphones don't pick up a lot of crowd sound or flashes.That doesn't apply to the rehearsal, however, so that's when I took my pictures!  One of the drivers of the tour van told me that the best seat in the house was in the balcony - so that's where I sat, front row, dead centre - and she was right!  For the actual performance, the tabernacle was packed!

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The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra!!

The women's section

The men's section

I'm pretty sure I wasn't actually supposed to record this - but oh well! Don't know if it can be seen or heard here!

After the Choir performance, I took another stroll around Temple Square, and went to Brio's restaurant for lunch - finding a place to eat was a challenge - Salt Lake City pretty much closes down on Sunday,

Fountain outside South Temple Centre

Reflecting pool across from the Temple

End view of the Temple

Selfie by the reflecting pool

Busy streets of Salt Lake City on a Sunday

Another view of the hustle and bustle . . . 

"Busy"Sunday brunch in Salt Lake City!  Taken at 12:00 noon.

The model showing the inside of the Temple

This is the statue at the top of the Temple - it's the angel Moroni, who talked to Joseph Smith 

At 2:00 p.m., I came back to the Tabernacle for the Organ Recital - another free concert put on every Sunday.It was awesome - but soo few people attended!  Cool organ - shown off very well by guest organist Ikuko Weller, who played Simon Preston's Alleluyas and Rachmininoff's Vocalise, amongst other pieces. The organ has 206 ranks,11,623 pipes. It was built originally by Joseph H. Ridge in the 1860's, then rebuilt and enlarged in 1948 by the Aolian/Skinner Company of Boston. Before the recital, Ikuko did the famous "pin drop" thing:  dropped a pin into a bowl to show us how audible this is everywhere in the Tabernacle, and how phenomenal the acoustics are!  On my tour yesterday, I discovered that the organ in one of the chapels was built by our own Casavant Freres of Montreal!!

Saturday, April 26th, 2014

It was wet and cold and dreary all day today - bummer, since this was my one day to explore Temple Square.  I took the free shuttle to the Square and had a personal guided tour by two missionaries - one from Singapore and one from the U.S. It was very cool to see all the historical buildings, artifacts, etc. - very interesting place.  The proselytizing was secondary (well, to me, anyway) and not really that hard to deflect - I mean, quoting bible verses to me really doesn't work - my father read the Bible aloud from beginning to end at the breakfast table from the time I can remember to the time when we just read a few verses and then  a commentary. We went through the whole Bible twice and nothing surprises me - you just can't impress me with scriptural knowledge - but I do enjoy listening to people who are totally committed to their chosen belief system.  The Celestial Room was absolutely awesome - so peaceful and contemplative! I had lunch at the Lion House Pantry - great pot roast - and then went to the Family History Library, where I researched my family's history for an hour and a half - absolutely fascinating, and I'll continue the research from my own computer!

Cool organ

Cool kids playhouse-looking structures with aninated films about the LDS beliefs

The Temple itself - no one but Mormons allowed inside

A model of the inside of the Temple

Model of Jerusalem - explained below

Walls of the Celestial Room

Huge statue of Jesus in the Celestial Room - includes short audio commentary with biblical quotes

Friday, April 25th, 2014

Today was just a driving day - got up late, finally got started around 11:30, drove through beautiful country to Salt Lake City KOA campground.  I chose this park because it's right downtown and will give me easy access to the places I want to see - mainly Temple Square and everything in it!  I've always wanted to visit Salt Lake City, so I'm spending the weekend here and hope to get a chance to hear the Mormon Tabernacel Choir!

The Bryce Canyon campground - lots of sites scattered throughout the woods

On the way to Salt Lake City

A roadside pee break - one of the perks of living in an rv!

From a Wendy's where I stopped for lunch - check out the Rockie-like snow-covered peaks!

Thursday, April 24th, 2014

On Wednesday I finally left Las Vegas and travelled north to St. George RV Park near Zion National Park.  The drive was beautiful - lots of rocky hills - maybe small mountains - I drove through three states and changed time zones twice.  I'm so confused - who knows what the time is in Ottawa?  The campground I found in my Passport America book from 2013, but it's now a KOA, so instead of costing $17.50. it cost $41 - ouch!  Also no wifi - they took $3 off because of that, then added tax . . . KOA just took this park over in February, so the staff is trying to cope.  Pretty venue - gravel sites - stunning backdrop! I didn't get to Zion National Park at all - I had misjudged the distance from the park and the complete lack of transportation - didn't want to drive my motorhome there.  Also, time is a little more constrictive, since I spent two extra days at the Las Vegas park. The people here told me that the wind was absolutely brutal yesterday, though, so I'm glad I decided not to drive then.

Cool cactus-y plant in the park.

Just down from my rv

Across the street from the park

From inside the park

Rose growing along the path to the pool

Swimming pool - very small and full of children . . . 

Ruins dating back to Brigham Young era

My site!

Got up Thursday to drive to Bryce Canyon - quite spectacular scenery all around me - and two hours of winding two lane roads through the  mountains.  It wasn't exactly hairy, but very difficult to look at the scenery and stay on the road at the same time.  I chose staying on the road, so missed a lot - but I'm alive.

Yep - that's ice - I'd almost forgotten . . . 

Red Rock Canyon

Natural tunnel formed by the rock

And a second one!

 When I got to the Bryce Canyon RV Park, I was surprised to see the kind of setup which surrounds the entrance to the Grand Canyon - tourist shops, a shuttle system to the canyon (not running now, though - just in the summer) - and lots of maps indicating particular lookouts.  I registered and then drove the road winding up to the highest point - Rainbow Peak.  It was all quite extraordinary - I had no idea what an amazing place Bryce Canyon is!

All breathtaking scenery!!

Yep - snow

Hmmm - lightning storms????

Yes - I was there!