PartIi - Aug 7: Salt Lake City, Utah

On Wednesday, I attended an organ recital at the Morman Tabernacle.  What a glorious sound that organ makes.  Wow. A very enjoyable recital.

Had a chance to be up close and  learn more about the organ.  There are a total of 337 keys, and the organist could be playing twelve at once.  There are 5 levels of keys for the hands and 3 for the feet.  While he played, his hands and feet were constantly moving.   There are 5 organists on staff here, and 4 of them have their doctorates in organ music (5th will soon).  The big pipes you see are just facades, the real pipes are behind them, and in the back of the building.   A total of 11,623 pipes in all.  One of the largest organs  in the world.

By the way, I forgot to include the  pictures of Assembly Hall yesterday, part of the Temple Square, which we toured Tuesday evening.

After the concert we left Salt Lake City and traveled to Antelope Island. 

 It is across a causeway  over the Salt Lake.

  It is now a State Park, but had ranches operating previously. Really gives you an understanding of what the pioneers must have felt when they first arrived here - as it was practically a desert.  But it is beautiful .  

 The island also has a significant herd of bison, as well as antelope, mule deer, and big horn sheep.   We at first saw only 5 bison, but then saw multiple herds.  We saw a mule deer and antelope, but couldn't get the cameras out fast enough. 

The bison are lactually laying on the salt that is the 'beach' of Salt Lake. 

We traveled to the far end of the island (it is 15 miles long) to see the original ranch, built in 1848.  

The ranch house above, the room to the left, was the original building. 

And there are horses there now.   It is next to a spring, which is nestled in the trees.

As we drove back out of the park, a bison decided to stroll across the road - right in front of us! 

It was pretty amazing seeing the bison that close.  And he was very close!

We finished our day in Ogden Utah, as we wanted a very early start in the morning, and the plane is hangered in Ogden.  Had dinner at a nice bistro - crab cake appetizer and then salads.

Oh, and did I mention the Fuzzy Peach dessert?  Sorry no pictures.  We ate it way too fast!

Next stop:  Omaha, Nebraska