Utah State House | Temple Square | Cafe Molise

Salt Lake City, Utah - The weather has improved a bit overnight. We had sun peaking through the clouds most of the day. Because of the weather, we decided to do our "inside" touring today. Our day started at the State Capitol Building. (I don't know if it's because I grew up in Salem, Oregon - or what - but I always want to visit the State Capitol.) The Utah Capitol Building is especially lovely. We took the 30-minute tour, with one other couple - and learned many things about Utah.

Massassoit statue at Utah Capitol Building

The House was holding a special session this afternoon, so there was a lot of activity. Small groups of people huddled together - deep in hushed discussion on tonight's budget session. The building was constructed in 1912, when building began with seed money from a five-percent inheritance tax from the estate of railroad magnate E.H. Harriman - $800,000. The rotunda is 165 feet high, and is covered in WPA-era murals depicting important scenes in the state's early history - expeditions, trade, Mormon pioneers and the miracle of the gulls. The State Bird of Utah is the seagull because the first wheat crop was being consumed by crickets, when thousands of seagulls arrived to eat the crickets, thereby saving the crop. There are several paintings and a larger-than-life statue of Mormon leader, Brigham Young. We also saw the Gold Room - an incredibly ornate "receiving room" decorated in the European style with furniture from France, England and Scotland. The woodwork is gilded in 23-karat gold. The Governor of Utah is the popular Michael Leavitt. He is on his third-term and the legislature is thinking of re-writing the Constitution (also on display) to allow Leavitt a 4th term.

Capitol Rotunda

We also learned about the population of Utah - just over 2 million, with 1.7 million living in the area from Ogden to Provo. The view from the steps of the Capitol Building is very pretty - you can see all of Salt Lake City, across to the Great Salt Lake and the Kennicott Copper Mine. Our guide told us the copper mine is so huge - the "hole" can be seen from space.
 
After this nice tour, we drove up South Temple Street to see the Governor's Mansion and the beautiful, and HUGE, brick homes lining the broad avenues of Salt Lake City. Brigham Young his-own-self outlined the streets and nearly every street is 4-6 lanes wide. Next, we visited the University of Utah. The University is built on the edge of town, up against the base of the Wasatch Mountains. The campus is beautiful and stretches for miles. In addition to the usual campus buildings, there is a golf course, and a huge medical school and hospital. The Rice-Eccles football stadium (Home of the Ute's) is built into the side of the hill. Pretty sorority houses line the streets.
 
And what visit to Salt Lake City would be complete without a visit to Temple Square? The Salt Lake Temple, topped with a 14-foot gold angel, is recognized by Latter-day Saints throughout the world. The Temple can only be visited by active church members. Weddings are conducted in the Temple and we saw no less than 6 brides this afternoon. Notice the circular cement step at the bottom of the photo below - this is where countless brides and grooms pose for their wedding photo.

The Salt Lake Temple

We also visited the Tabernacle, home of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. There was an organ concert just finishing, so we only heard the final tones as we entered the building. Guides (Sisters) were outside the Tabernacle, wearing badges showing which languages they spoke - tours are conducted in 30 different languages. The organ has a little bit of a Las Vegas-style lighting - purples and pinks. Temple Square is also covered in beautiful gardens, has two visitor centers (with small private rooms to "counsel" visitors!), a church history museum, the famous Family History Building and Brigham Young's home, Beehive House.

Organ in the Tabernacle

We needed lunch after all this touring, so crossed the street to the ZCMI Mall. ZCMI, Zion's Cooperative Mercantile Institution, was founded in the late 1800s in an attempt to provide everything required by a Mormon family and eliminate the need to trade with non-Mormon companies. (I think Brigham Young would turn over in his grave if he knew the ZCMI has now been replaced by the very-Jewish May Co.!) We had a nice lunch at Cafe Nordstrom and shopped at the Mormon Handicraft Market. (The quilting department is just fabulous.)

For our late afternoon entertainment, we drove out to the Great Salt Lake. I am here to tell you, the Great Salt Lake stinks greatly. Absolutely reeks. Smells so awful, it makes you sick to your stomach. We stopped at a marina, the air was wonderful, and I asked a construction worker there, "Why?" He said brine shrimp live in the lake, die, and wash-up on shore - and together with the mineral deposits - cause the stench. The marina has no shore, so - no stench. He told us when you are out on the lake sailing, it is absolutely lovely. The ocean is 3% salt, Great Salt Lake is 27% salt. Besides the brine shrimp, nothing lives in the water. Salt Lake is the largest lake west of the Mississippi, covers 2,100 square miles, with an average depth of 13 feet. We stopped at a small shop, which at one time had been part of a huge resort and purchased - what else - SALT - from the salt flats of Utah.

DT at The Great Salt Lake

Tonight we went to an Italian restaurant listed in all of our guidebooks and highly recommended on CitySearch.com, Cafe Molise. The restaurant is downtown, across the street from the ZCMI Mall. There was a wait, but we had a good time chatting up the microbiologists from the big convention in town. They test water on an Indian reservation in the Palm Springs area. (Hey, it's a job.) While we were waiting, Utah basketball coach, Rick Majerus, came in with the head coach of Ripon College in Wisconsin. (Goodness, there's a match, eh?) Coach Majerus was quite friendly, a regular at Cafe Molise, and loved to talk basketball. SOMEHOW I brought GW basketball into the conversation, but he just wanted to talk about the Ducks - though he was interested in any information on Karl Hobbs. During dinner, he came over to our table, asked our names, shook our hands..., and recommended ANOTHER Italian restaurant for tomorrow night - hey, he's working the crowd.
 
The restaurant was very nice. Plain and simple, with an interesting menu. There was a notation on the bottom of the menu reading, "Please ask to see our alcohol menu"... something quite common in Utah. Most restaurants in Utah will not ask you if you would like a cocktail; you must ask first. I think it's a Mormon thing. We were so excited to see the table next to us had a bottle of DT's all-time favorite wine, Peppoli, on their table - but alas - they had brought it from home! DT was forced to drink something by the glass, as was I, as we have a mixed (red v. white wine) marriage. I had a very nice Pinot Grigio. We tried their special appetizer: wild mushroom ravioli with a tomato sauce and had roasted polenta triangles in a spicy tomato sauce. We were served simple tossed greens. DT had the special Halibut and I tried the chicken breast with sun-dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts. It was very nice, our server was friendly - she is an artist, you know - and the atmosphere at Cafe Molise was quite relaxing. If you are in Salt Lake City, I would suggest Cafe Molise for a decent meal.

RV Park: Salt Lake City KOA