July 2009 Salt Lake City

From July 11 to 18, we traveled to Utah. We are staying at the Iron Blosam resort near Alta in high altitude territory. Alta was a raucous silver mining town in the 1860's however the devaluation of silver in 1873, put an end to the area's heyday. In 1940, the first ski resort was built revitalizing the area.

We stopped at Fort Bridger State Park in Wyoming on the way into Utah reliving some history between the pioneers and Indians. The Mormons bought the fort in the 1860's and used it for rest and safety as they neared "their Promised Land".

July 13, we visited Temple Square in Salt Lake City. Temple Square is a 35 acre, three block area containing the most prominent buildings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints. The buildings were erected in the mid to later 1800's some taking as many as 40 years to build. The Temple is an impressive structure, but is closed to the public. We toured the Tabernacle and were able to listen to an organ concert on the 11,623 pipe organ.

While at the Mormon Tabernacle we learned that though the Mormon temples are rarely open to the public, the new Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple is open to the public for two months. After a new Temple is built, the LDS members open the temple to the public so everyone can see the inside of a temple. It was impressive - no expense was spared in the three story structure. The baptismal font was most impressive, but we weren't allowed to take pictures inside. The font rests on the back of twelve oxen symbolically representing the twelve tribes of Israel. In this font, baptisms are performed in behalf of deceased forebearers.