Today's New Normal for Continuing to Travel Safely

With a traveler’s soul, we just had to find ways to continue going out to breathe clean fresh air.  As soon as the lockdown was lifted, we began to consider our car as an extension of our home. It is a place we can keep as clean as we want it to be and allow no one else to come in. So we created a bucket list of places where we could go and practice natural social distancing like the state, regional, and national parks around us that remained open. When we didn’t see people on the trails, we got out of the car and walked a little. If not, we just continued driving.

Going Home and Staying There

Because of coronavirus, we cut short our annual Mazatlan vacation last March by ten days. The statistics were pretty grim when we left Mexico. The US had become the new epicenter, and the Canadian and Mexican borders were closed to non-essential travel. It took us two days, driving eight hours each day to get home. What was surprising was it took us no time at the Mariposa Border on both the Mexico and US sides. There was not the usual inspection done. But what was scary was that there was no testing done. 

socially distanced queue at the Visitor Center 

But home is the best place to do self-isolation, not on a cruise ship out at sea or a hotel room in a foreign country. We happily completed our 14-day period of self-isolation when the authorities declared a lockdown until the end of April. I wouldn’t say it was welcome news but it was also not a problem. There were a few things we have learned to do to make it a more meaningful pause. And we gradually gracefully adapted to what they have started to call as the new normal.

our Zoom Party, playing Bingo and Trivia, at Viewpoint

It included things like online shopping, grocery pick-ups, substituting ingredients in cooking, exercising with videos, cleaning at new levels, and watching movies on demand. Zoom also exploded, providing online activities to replace physical interactions. I had a one-hour session with my grandkids, ages 4-6, and another one for the two teenagers to help my daughters. There were also meetings with alumni associations and parties with Viewpoint residents. And then, as before, I found another flagship project that made the time more productive. Thus, my second book is in copy-edit mode now, on schedule for an October-November launch.

masked, even while hiking

New Ways of Traveling

The operative principle was to distance ourselves from others, but not from nature. Road trips had become the preferred mode of travel. As a matter of fact, the travel magazine I write for twice a month had started to direct articles to be about road trips in the domestic USA. In the process, we also discovered small Arizona towns that had lots of character. And, because you don’t have to choose hotels or AirBnbs for lodging, RVs had become even more popular. We miss our old RV.

In July, the resurgence of coronavirus cases overwhelmed Arizona just as we had already been terribly missing family. We decided that we could not wait anymore. We thought that we could actually go from our higher-risk home to lower-risk areas near our children in states that accepted us. 

Western Idaho didn’t. Alaska and Australia, on the other hand, would necessitate airplane travel which we felt was still too risky. We chose three mountain retreats in Utah, Colorado, and California and invited our children from the latter two to meet with us there. And we just met with another one halfway between Utah and Idaho to meet for a picnic at the Shoshone Falls in the eastern part of Idaho.

New Rules for Interacting with Others

in separate rooms but dining together

foot-operated hand sanitizer dispenser

But since they were not part of our bubble— the people you live with and share daily activities with, like Bill and I are for each other— we developed certain rules to follow when we were with them. Those rules follow the principles of avoiding crowds, social distancing, staying outdoors, hand washing, and the wearing of masks. And these principles were designed because of the simple science behind Covid-19. The number of virus particles we get determines the gravity of the potential infection And the number is influenced by our proximity to the source, the length of exposure to it, and the quality of our immune system. Each one of us can control of all these three factors.  

For the foreseeable future, especially when we are still under the threat of viral diseases, we will follow these practices, especially numbers one to five. We can see a time when those rules would be somehow relaxed but we hope we can do away with number six as soon as we can.

1.        Go to areas with lower incidences of Covid-19. It is good that there is plenty of data to drill down to even up to zip codes. We have selected restaurants, groceries, mountain retreats, towns, counties, states, in this way.

2.        Meet only in uncrowded open-air spaces. Stick to patio seating for eating out, drive-in theaters for watching movies, outdoor services for worship, and hiking at off-the-beaten-path trails as a preferred activity.

3.        Do not spend an unreasonably long time with others. They say more than 15 minutes is too long. But, as long as we are masked up and/or are socially distanced to six feet, we have extended this to a maximum of two hours.

digital menus for scanning

4.        Do not ride with others in the same vehicle. This makes us stick to our car as our preferred mode of travel. We are currently eliminating planes, ships, and trains as trip options.

 

5.         Do not share rooms with people not in your bubble. We no longer stay in our children’s homes and no longer book multi-bedroom units but keep to separate units.  We also stick to our timeshares. As owners, we have an influence on how the property is sanitized and keep to physical safety guidelines.

6.        Do not shake hands or hug, although during rare times we touched elbows (with sleeves) or toes (in shoes) for a second.

We canceled our trips in April-May but resumed our travels in July. We intend to still go to Mexico for our annual vacation in January, still driving to Mazatlan. Self-isolation helped flatten the curve for our community and the world when we had to do it. Creative ideas helped us become productive during lockdown. But, with these new rules that we have developed, we have found how to continue to travel and still be safe. 

parking lots had alternate spaces open in Big Bear Lake

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Revisiting Livermore: Lovely Watershed, Upsdale Lodging, and Celebrations

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Revisiting Livermore: Lovely Watershed, Upscale Lodging, and Celebrations

We had just enjoyed our mountain retreats in Utah (From High to Low Risk: Cruising while on Quarantine), Colorado In the Heart of the Colorado Rockies: a New Normal for Family Reunions and California (Adventures in Big Bear Lake, a 4-Season Mountain City Resort) visiting with Bill’s son in Boise, his daughter in Denver, and my millennial granddaughters in Big Bear Lake. Just more than six hours from the last one, in Livermore, Califonia, lives the only daughter I could see this year. Our other children can only be reached by plane and right now we still view that mode of travel as unsafe. Besides, the borders to Canada and Australia are still closed to Americans.

Family Celebrations

The first hour of our drive was lovely and scenic, going down CA-18, the zigzag road down to the California valley. We booked ourselves at a good hotel rather than stay with my daughter, as we used to do, so we can minimize the risk of heavy interactions. The first night was a celebration of my second granddaughter’s 24^th birthday at their patio which she had meticulously decorated and turned into a great party area. It was a Korean BBQ celebration and I ate too much.  

The next day we drove another forty minutes to Antioch, California where a niece of mine and her husband (Bill was one of their wedding sponsors) had bought their home the year before. It was a lovely drive with hilly sunburnt fields punctuated by many turbines that harness the power of the abundant winds in the area for alternative energy. After a tour of their lovely home and the sumptuous Thai lunch they served, we asked them where we could go for some sightseeing as we had some three hours to spare. They pointed us to one of the lovely watersheds of the area.

Los Vaqueros Reservoir

The South Entrance is easily accessible via the Los Vaqueros Road that crosses Vasco connecting Livermore and Antioch. It leads directly to the Marina and four piers with a view of the 192-feet earthen dam that is nearer the North Entrance. The watershed, constructed in 1998 to improve the quality of the water in the county, has 1,400 acres of water surrounded by 19,300 acres of open space. There are 55 miles of hiking trails and plenty of shores from which to fish for just $6 per angler. It would be awesome to fish there—the fishing limits per kind of fish are quite high. There are also electric rental boats for recreation and better fishing near the dam.

The watershed is also currently hosting rare species of wildlife including bald and golden eagles, whip snakes, pond turtles, tiger salamanders, red-legged frogs, wit foxes, and wood rats. I had a great time photographing the many sights the desert paradise offers, including a view of the wind turbines from the lake, the beautiful marina, the low earthen dam, and the droves of white birds resting on the lake.

Purple Orchid Winery Country Resort and Spa

Then we went to the second birthday celebration at the Purple Orchid Wine Country Resort and Spa. My second granddaughter deserves all the kudos. She is a gem, a scientist at a pioneer biotech firm in the Bay area, and an essential worker producing test kits for coronavirus at the company laboratory. This was hosted by my son-in-law’s older sister who had booked her stay at the upscale lodging option. And she had a full Mediterranean fare, delivered by a select restaurant, for all of us.

With an expansive vineyard landscape often used as a concert venue, a wine tasting experience of special wines every afternoon, and renowned rejuvenating spa treatments, it competes with its Napa and Sonoma Valley counterparts. There are ten well-appointed suites, each equipped with a private fireplace. Full complimentary breakfast always precedes a stroll in the lovely garden full of roses surrounding a nature-inspired pool. With occupancy now regulated at 40% and promotional rates after its recent reopening, it is the luxury relaxation many would truly enjoy.

Before leaving the next morning, my daughter treated us to a lovely breakfast at her home. The drive home was more than eleven hours but the sunburnt fields that line I-580 kept me company all the way to I-5. We opted to break the drive with a fabulous stay in Fairfield Inn by Marriott in Indio, California for an unbelievable special Hotels.com rate of $89. At noon on the second day, we were home to another self-quarantine period of 14 days amid a much lower incidence of coronavirus cases than when we left.

At the time of this publication, we had completed our quarantine period without problems. We are happy that we had safely traveled for a summer month during the pandemic of 2020, seen more of our lovely country, experienced greatly, and even visited loved ones. In the next post, I will share with all of you the new rules we developed for traveling safely during this time of Covid-19.

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Adventures in Big Bear Lake, a 4-Season Mountain City Resort

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Adventures in Big Bear Lake, a Four-Season Mountain City Resort

In Utah’s Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch Mountains, we enjoyed the private and sprawling Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort. In Colorado, we experienced nature at its best in the Rocky Mountain National Park, Granby Lake, and Hot Sulphur Springs. Our third mountain retreat was spent in Big Bear Lake,  a city resort in California’s San Bernardino Mountains along the south shore of Big Bear Lake that is surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest.

Accessible in under two hours from Los Angeles because of great roads, the town is as popular at the height of summer as it is during winter. In fact, it is billed as a four-season destination. The greater Big Bear Valley area regularly hosts over 100,000 visitors many weekends of the year. And, even in this age of the pandemic, the crowds were there. So we didn’t feel it to be quite as safe as our mountain retreats in Utah and Colorado. 

But, my two millennial granddaughters, ages 27 and 24, and the fiancé of the older one joined us for two days and two nights. This made our little vacation together immensely, although more cautiously, enjoyable.

Big Bear Alpine Zoo

In the last ten years, I have not been to zoos or aquariums. I have increasingly felt that you’ve seen one and you’ve seen them all. But my granddaughters are animal lovers. We all decided to not miss the Big Bear Alpine Zoo experience because it 1) is not really a traditional zoo but a rehabilitation facility for injured animals, 2) specializes in wildlife used to alpine habitats of around 7-10,000 feet above sea level, and 3) features the snow leopard which is on the vulnerable list with less than 10,000 are surviving around the world. There were grizzly and black bears, bobcats, and mountain lions but the two resident snow leopards stole the show.

Woodland Trail

Before my millennial guests arrived, we hiked the Woodland Trail which was recommended to us at the Visitor Center. It is a 1.5-mile loop of dry woodlands with 16 interpretive stops explaining the plants, wildlife, and geology of the area. A $5 Adventure Pass was required to park at the trailhead and to use the restrooms available there. The trail was very different from the wet woodlands of Utah and Colorado and, although very nice, took only about 45 minutes to hike.

East Boat Ramp

Just across the road from the trail, we found the East Boat Ramp from where many boats and kayaks that ply the calm lake waters are launched. There were some families having fun picnicking at the grounds and when we told our guests, they thought it would be great fun. When we came back the following day with the girls, after the Alpine Zoo, it was teeming with people because it was a Saturday. Still, we were able to have a great picnic at the very spot we identified the day before.  

While we were there, we had fun witnessing a garden wedding being held at a small promontory. Many ground squirrels were roaming around and we had a highlight of a moment when we spotted a swarm of white geese that were flying in formation. And we were entertained by the small private planes coming from the small airport nearby and touring the wide vista of the lake. After finishing the food, we walked around the boat ramps and the beach areas.

The Village

Afterward, we headed on to The Village, the two-block urban area of shops, restaurants, and bars. Again, we had scouted it before they arrived, too. We took them to The Bone Yard Grill which we loved for their classic sundae for just $2.99, much cheaper than Ben & Jerry’s single cone at $5. Besides, we were all safely seated at the unique long-rail area at their front porch facing the street. We watched all the action happening on the road, including the cute carriages brightly lit and carrying excited tourists about town at night.

Big Bear Lake

But, of course, the best time we had during our weekend vacation was spent at the lake. It is Southern California's largest recreation lake, about seven miles long and about a mile at its widest, at 7,000 feet above sea level. We had reserved a 22-foot pontoon boat that we could all use with safe distancing. On the morning of our second day, we headed out to the Pine Knot Landing area. My granddaughter’s fiancé was taught how to drive the pontoon boat. We had photos taken at the Dome and the little dam at the other end of the lake. We were fascinated by the floating outhouses available to anyone who needed them. The girls (including me) had long photo sessions on the boat, imagining ourselves to be celebrities. Our one-hour went by very quickly.  

The Pines Lakefront

Before our millennial guests drove down the mountains to go back home, we had an early dinner at the only lakefront dining place in the whole town. My younger granddaughter was celebrating her 24^th birthday the following day and she gave us a blow-out, a practice in Filipino culture. With cool breeze ensuring a clean airflow at the open deck, we recalled the two wonderful days we spent together over two large pizzas and drinks.

The pandemic certainly did not dampen our spirits. Our hotel rooms were adjacent to each other and had a common entry area. So our breakfasts inside were celebrated from two dining tables across two rooms with windows of both rooms wide open and the ceiling fans in full blast for better airflow. We drove around in two separate cars. Masks and hand sanitizers were required all the time. And we rejected places with crowds. That is why we did not do the popular Alpine Slide at the Magic Mountain.

Because we only had two days, we could not do the other usual activities like fishing, mountain biking, and horse riding. During winter, Big Bear Lake transforms into a skiing and snowboarding destination with two ski resorts: Snow Summit and Bear Mountain. The town also has hosted the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival since 1999. Nevertheless, we loved our stay. Our very protective millennial granddaughters and future grandson-in-law made sure we had safe fun.

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In the Heart of the Colorado Rockies: a New Normal for Family Reunions

From Snowbird, Utah, we proceeded to Granby, Colorado for a reunion with Bill’s eldest daughter and her family who live in Denver, about two hours away. Being in the southwestern rim of the Rocky Mountain National Park, we considered it a safe way to have a reunion. To further minimize risks, they stayed at a 2-BR unit at our timeshare location in town and we stayed at a studio in the Inn at Silvercreek. 

The Mountain Town of Granby

boats on Granby Lake

Adam's Falls

Granby, Colorado is a small mountain town, about 8,000 feet in elevation, with a population of 1864. It is a great skiing area during winter especially at the Granby Ranch where our hotel was situated. But it was closed early during the last winter season due to the pandemic. But the town was also a great place for summer fun. Just twenty minutes from our base was the Granby Lake where boats can be rented, ospreys flew and nested, and a cute little town offered options for lunch. We went to one that had a great gumbo meal and beef po’boy sandwich which we all shared. On the patio restaurant was a giant chair that I enjoyed hogging.

Adams Falls 

From there we found the trail to Adams Falls, just up the hills from the lake. It was a moderately difficult but short trail (0.3 miles one-way). We even hiked farther to its source, the clear stream that navigated the rocks and tumbled to become the waterfall after some hundred feet. It was interesting to see all the pine trees felled by the tiny beetle that ravaged the area in the early 2000s. I was told it was the worst-hit area in all of Colorado. But it was also nice to note that a lot of new greens were growing but it would take 30-40 years before they fully replace what was lost. And there were many points along the trail where the lake was in full view and was full of Canadian geese.

Rocky Mountain National Park

streams like this are the beginnings of mighty Colorado River

Go farther from the lake and you will reach the Rocky Mountain National Park. Being very close to Denver, Colorado—just an hour and a half away—makes it the third most-visited national park in the country. And it is huge, with many hiking trails, campgrounds, lots of wildlife, and streams which are the origins of the Colorado River. The Park is currently on a timed-entry permit to control the flow of visitors and prevent overcrowding. Online reservations are required from 6 am-5pm to enter the park. But the wait is long and we did not know early enough about this requirement. Because the sun doesn’t set until 8:30 pm in the area anyway, we went at 5 pm.

Our main purpose was to hike and find some wildlife. The short and easy Coyote Trail beside a Colorado River mountain stream yielded no success. When we transferred to the Holzwarth Historic Site, we were immediately rewarded with a moose feeding quietly near the old cottages, the homestead of the family. But it was on the main park road as we were going back to Granby where we saw a lot of them. We stopped several times as did many other cars. And we all had our heydays taking photos of deer and moose. That was such a great experience. Only the darkness of the night got us to stop and go back to our bases.

Hot Sulphur Springs

Hot Sulphur Springs Resort

Another fun outdoor activity for the family was at the Hot Sulphur Springs about thirty minutes away in the opposite direction from our base. The resort featured twenty-three separate mineral springs on a hillside for just one, a couple, or a family. I could not handle the hottest one which registered 117 degrees Fahrenheit. The coolest one was at 102. We enjoyed one big one for the whole family at 104 degrees outdoors. But when we got tired of the sun, we transferred to a much bigger one with the highest magnesium content protected by a roof, also at 104 degrees.

just by the Park main road

the strip mall at Winter Park

The Upscale Town of Winter Park

On our last day, we went to a more upscale town, Winter Park, about 30 minutes away, and there found the Nepalese-Indian Restaurant, Durbar, a Colorado chain, with the patio seating we required. We had some very tasty plain and garlic naans served with the shrimp tikka masala, tandoori chicken, chicken korma, vegetable curry, and lamb rogan josh. The water infused with a lot of oranges and mint was also very refreshing. The restaurant was located at a strip mall with several shopping outlets for mountain outfits, souvenirs, home décor, and sports gear. And I got stuck at the section for Roxy and bought two tops. We also looked for thrift stores but one was too full of people to be safe and the other was closed.

When we were not out and about, we were at the timeshare resort. We spent time at the patio where we could gather, drink, and get updated with each other. We also walked around the golf course, discovering birds, unusual plants, covered bridges, and retention ponds. It really was a great way to visit with family during the time of coronavirus. We discovered the new normal for reunions: outdoors.

a covered bridge at the timeshare resort

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From High to Low Risk: Cruising on Quarantine

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From High to Low Risk, Cruising while on Quarantine

During summer, we usually go on a long cruising trip on the road to escape the Phoenix heat, visit our children, and celebrate our anniversary. But, since there is a ban on non-essential travel between the US and Canada and my middle daughter lives in Calgary, we won’t be able to go there. Even Ada County in Idaho—including Boise where Bill’s son lives—is imposing a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine for people from states with high community spread of Covid-19 like Arizona. So we will not be able to go there either.

Instead, we are doing two shorter road trips to visit family and celebrate in areas where there are, in fact, lower risks for Covid-19 than staying at home. We will soon be in Granby, Colorado to visit Bill’s eldest daughter. Then in August, we visit my eldest daughter in Livermore, California. Before Colorado, Bill and I have chosen to spend a week in The Cliff Lodge Summer and Ski Resort in Snowbird, Utah. Before Livermore, we are spending another week in Snow Lake Lodge in Big Bear Lake, California. Both are part of celebrating our 12^th year wedding anniversary. This post is about the Utah celebration. 

Shoshone Falls

Bill drove all of 11 hours from Viewpoint to The Cliff Lodge, plus two 30-minute rest stops. After a much-needed rest for the night, Bill again drove the following day to Twin Falls, Idaho—four hours each way. It was our only chance to have a picnic with his eldest son and his family since that part of Idaho is not restricted. They chose a spectacular location for a picnic: the Shoshone Falls, "The Niagara of the West." Standing 212 feet tall and 900 feet wide, it is one of the largest natural waterfalls in the US, higher than, but not as wide as, Niagara. I really don’t know why its application as a national park was rejected. It should be one.

Located on the Snake River, it carves its way through a deep basalt canyon to meet the Columbia River below. Its flow is dependent on many variables. The best time to see it is in spring when the snow begins to melt in the mountains. In the summer months, a part of the river is diverted for use in irrigating 500,000 acres of farmland so the flow is somewhat reduced. But I thought it was still pretty spectacular, even in July. The worst time to visit is during fall when the water is used to recharge the reservoir system upstream. 

The Cliff Lodge at Snowbird

After another night of rest, we woke up to the beauty of our 1,500 square feet one-bedroom suite of the Cliff Club, an up-scale timeshare property located within the Ski & Summer Resort in Sandy, Utah nestled in the lovely little Cottonwood Canyon. The bedroom had an oh-so-comfy king bed, a lounge area with a sofa bed, an office desk, and a bar set-up, a bathroom suite with a walk-in closet/washing machine area, and a balcony. The living area had a sofa bed and armchair, a bar with stools, a complete kitchen, another office desk area, a bathroom suite, and another balcony equipped with a jacuzzi kept at 104 degrees Fahrenheit 24x7. We certainly  founda lot of use for it.  

The two balconies both looked out to the green wonderland of the Wasatch Mountains. It offers great ski slopes during the winter but in spring and summer, there are wonderful displays of wildflowers amid lots of firs, pines, and aspens. We could even see parts of the little Snowbird Village like the aerial tram, the chairlifts, the mountain coaster, and the stream that made the constant hum of nature calling. The Snowbird Center on the Village features other lodging facilities, shopping outlets, and more activity areas like the huge trampoline, the alpine slide, summer tubing, the vertical drop, a tree climb, and gemstone mining. In the whole resort, there are a total of nine shopping outlets, five fine dining and eleven casual dining restaurants, a high-end Spa at the top of The Cliff Lodge, another swimming pool and hot tubs at ground level and get this: 11 lower mountain, ten mid/upper mountain, and six Mineral Basin Trails for hiking and biking. 

We bought the Bird Bundle pass that is good for three hours and did everything that we could finish during that time. We tried both the Peruvian Lift and the Aerial Tram to get photos of all the spectacular views from up there at 11,000 feet above sea level. We took the Chickadee chairlift up to ride down the winding Alpine Slide twice and rode the rollicking mountain coaster twice. And my vocal cords exploded to Bill's utter embarrassment. They were our favorites so we did not get to experience the others.

The Resort, which opened only on July 1, required masks at all indoor and outdoor gathering areas. There were hand sanitizer dispensers everywhere. Everything we touched was sanitized after use. Contact tracing logs had to be filled up wherever we went  Reservations, menus, and forms were all digital.  Employees were health-checked every day. The resort was only operating at 40% capacity. Each facility was restricted by capacity, too. Most restaurants had patio seating sections. There was hardly a soul inside the Lodge. There was no need for air-conditioning so there were no common airflows. We just opened the sliding doors during the day.  The only bad experience was the initial adjustment to the altitude and the dry air. Two humidifiers were available for our suite. 

The Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island

We must have passed Salt Lake City several times but I had never visited The Great Salt Lake. So we went down to visit the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere. Its size fluctuates a lot because the lake is shallow. It has recorded the lowest at 950 and the largest at 3,300 square miles. Three major tributaries deposit approximately 1.1 million tons of minerals in it each year. Because there is no outlet for the water besides evaporation, the lake water is far saltier than seawater. In fact, it is the eighth saltiest body of water in the world, just behind the Dead Sea, at 30% salinity. Thus, you naturally float.  

Antelope Island, with an area of 42 square miles, is the largest of ten islands in the Great Salt Lake. When the lake is at its low levels, it actually becomes a peninsula. We drove across the causeway, a narrow two-lane road connecting the mainland to the island. It was a great place to see the beauty of the Great Salt Lake and witness the variety of scenes from white salt beaches, to white salt lakes, to everything in between. It is also home to the wildlife which grows well since there are no predators on the island: pronghorn, bighorn sheep, American bison, porcupine, badger, coyote, bobcat, mule deer, and millions of waterfowl.

After covering the areas around the Visitor Center, the Park Headquarters, and the two campgrounds, and having some burgers and onion rings at the Island Grille on the northwestern section of the island, I was lamenting not being able to spot any wildlife. But, as we were driving to the southeast side, we chanced upon a herd of maybe fifty bison down by the lakeside on Bill’s side of the car. When Bill stopped to let me out and take photos, lo and behold, there were ten of them on the hillside beside me.  I had heyday taking their photos especially when they rushed down the hill, crossed the road, and joined the herd.

We did not forget to visit the Fielding Garr Ranch located on the southernmost part of the road. The house is known for being the oldest continually inhabited Anglo home in the state of Utah (1848 to 1981) and the oldest Anglo built house in Utah still on its original foundation. It was quite interesting to see the old barn, stand-alone cottages, stockyard, dining room, bedroom, kitchen, grain silo, and farm implements. The stables had a few horses, too.

The Great Salt Lake State Park

The Great Salt Lake State Park is nearer the city but is quite small. It consists of the only easily accessible and swimmable part of the lake, the Great Salt Lake Yacht Club and Marina, and a Visitor Center. There are great views of the lake, Antelope Island, the Black Rock, and Saltair Resort. The latter is a modern-day remnant and symbol of the original Saltair built on pilings over the shore area of Great Salt Lake. The new resort offers concerts and a concession service for souvenirs. This was opened as a state park in 1928. And in 1980, the marina was enlarged with new boat docks.

The Utah State Capitol

The Club is just 25 miles from Historic Temple Square in Salt Lake City. The beautiful mountain resort thus gives its guests a lovely mountain escape with great access to city life and an international airport. We have passed through the city many times as we visited Bill’s children, to and from Idaho and Colorado. We had been to Temple Square before so we went to see the State Capitol  has been instead. It isois of the state’s most prominent landmarks since 1916 and underwent one of the largest historical preservation projects in the US in 2004-8. It renovated the building against the risk of an earthquake and restored the original beauty and artwork. However, it was closed to visitors. Outside is the wonderful monument to Salt Lake City's founder and Utah's first governor, Brigham Young.

We have been to many timeshare properties but this is one we would definitely go back to and maybe experience it during other seasons.  And Salt Lake City offers a lot for visitors. I wouldn’t mind photographing Antelope Island during sunset and maybe spend more time at the Temple Square.

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What If We Can No Longer Travel?

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