Letter 12 Utah

The campground where we stayed in Twin Falls Idaho was

Rock Creek County Park. Not only was it a convenient location but had the prettiest walking trail of this trip. We found out later that this little valley with a river running through it had been rescued from its former life as a dump yard. Somehow this picture didn’t make the last entry. If you are passing this way we recommend staying here.

Friday, August 24 we pulled into the Salt Lake City area and found a mobile home park that had RV spots. The price was nice and so was our shady spot.

Saturday, August 25 we drove into Salt Lake City to the LDS library. The Mormons have the largest genealogy library in the world and their headquarters are here in Salt Lake. Their files are so extensive they have a huge cave in the mountains where they keep the originals. We were here to work on the Harrington family. We looked at all the county books for Coweta Co, GA. We did find the church that James Valentine and Sarah Harrington attended. Maybe that will be a clue to future research.

After four hours we were ready to find a famous restaurant in this town. We saw it on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. The 

 

Red Iquana specializing in “Killer Mexican Food." We arrived around three oclock and while it was

almost full we were able to be seated immediately.

Olivia tried some of all of Triple D’s recommendations:  

mole, charizo tacos, & avocado sauce, while Fred ordered a combination plate. While it was very good, we decided if we were to return we would order our favorite Mexican food. We do recommend it.

  

Sunday, August 26 we were lazy in the morning, had pedicures and Fred a manicure, then took a drive out to Antelope Island. While it was a surprise to come across a small ocean in the middle of the desert, it was just as astonishing to find a causeway leading to this island. When we were in SLC 5 years ago we hunted unsuccessfully for a place to experience the Great Salt Lake, America’s Dead Sea.

Bridger Bay Beach would have been our place to “float” in the salt water. We did see a few people wading in the water.

Water flows into this lake but only evaporates out, causing the water to be five times saltier than the oceans. Only brine shrimp, brine flies and several types of algae can survive in the lake waters. The lake is habitat for over 250 species of birds and is a critical link in the Pacific Flyway. It’s amazing the tiny shrimp and flies are enough food for that many birds.

About 250 

buffalo call this island home and this one was blocking the view of the six mile causeway to the shore. Look over his tale of the causeway.

As we came out of the visitor center,

barn swallows caught Olivia’s eye. These three babies were very alert to any adult bird flying in the nest area. As you can see those three mouths opened wide immediately. 

 

Monday, August 28 we were still waiting for a cold front to come through. Temperatures are getting to high 90’s and tempers are up there too.

We drove back into Salt Lake City and the LDS library where we hunted some more for Fred’s illusive great, great, great grandfather. He reported on all paperwork that he was born in South Carolina in 1815, but no report of where or who created him. We did find he and his wife belonging to the New Hope Baptist Church in Coweta County, GA. This is the best clue we have found. Guess we will have to go to Georgia to find more illusive clues.

We kept getting more clues, visited with LDS volunteers and ended up staying to closing at 5:00 pm. Exhaused, you bet, hungry, yes, yes. So we went back to the Red Iguana for another dose of

“Killer Mexican Food.” this time Olivia tried a special layered chicken enchilada and Fred went with two enchiladas. The waiter treated us to a sample of all seven Mole sauces they specialized in. We liked all but the chocolate and avocado Moles. Their salsa was very spicy since their dishes weren’t. Of course, we liked the spice. Like Saturday we came away with leftovers for a future dinner in the trailer.

Tuesday, August 28 our friend Jill Brady, whom Olivia worked with in Duncanville, has a son stationed here in Layton. We looked up his fiancée  

Alexis working at the Sweet Tooth Fairy bakery. This bakery has been on Rachel Ray and other TV shows and we could see why. Delish! Alex was very nice to open the door just before their regular hours.

We had been tempted with enough information to go back to the LDS Library for the day, so off we went to try again. Unfortunately we only found that we probably need to go back to Texas and Georgia, then South Carolina to dig some more. Next year’s trip???

  

Wednesday, August 29 we packed up and headed south down interstate 15 through Salt Lake City noticing the

shelf along the mountain. This shelf was probably the shore line for the prehistoric Bonneville Lake.

At Provo we turned southeast toward Colorado stopping in Price, Utah. This area has lots of  

mesa’s, bluffs, and colored mountains surrounding the roads. Our home for the night was not a desirable place to stay so we decided to move on tomorrow.

Thursday, August 30 we pushed on to Colorado stopping in Grand Junction.

Surprised this is a short blog entry. We were hoping to find cooler weather for September in Colorado. We will let you know in the next blog.

Let us hear from you. How has your summer been? What are your plans for the fall?

Our emails are olivia@bobheck.com or fredharrington@yahoo.com