Exploring Salt Lake City

Two weeks in Salt Lake is not enough.  There is a lot to see in and around the city. We did not get to do as much as we would have done pre-COVID, but we still got out to explore. Looking out at the surrounding mountains never got old.

We were also lucky to have found a great Airbnb centrally located with great hosts and Google Fiber. Our Airbnb was right by the highway making it easy to get around. It is a charming two-bedroom basement unit with a living area and a kitchenette. It felt spacious after the last few places we stayed.

Our hosts Laura and Louiza are fun and friendly. We hung out with them a few times and they cooked us some amazing meals.  They are from Brazil. They cooked the best meats on their outdoor barbecue. The food just kept coming and coming. It was nice to sit and talk with them. We, like so many other people, have been isolated. Social interaction feels like a treat.

Laura and Louiza taught Henry how to make brigadeiros, which are delicious chocolate bites popular in Brazil.  Henry’s aunt AC, who is from Brazil, made them a couple of years ago at Thanksgiving, and Henry fell in love. He has been talking about them ever since. We have never seen Henry so excited to learn how to cook. It is amazing how kids will take on new challenges with such electric energy when it is something they choose to do. He even got out a notebook to write down the recipe and right now writing is not a big interest for him.

A cool place that we got to explore was the Hill Aerospace Museum. The Museum has more than 70 aircraft on display inside and outside. It is rich in the history of aviation of the United States Air Force, Hill Air Force Base, and the State of Utah. There was an exhibit about the Vietnam war and interesting facts about the planes.  Many planes were open or exposed so we could see inside and the wiring of the planes.

Michael’s career has been in aviation, so he was excited to see all of the exhibits. Lucas is building drones for his self-directed project this semester. He thought it was cool to see the airforce drones. Henry was not as excited, but he was still awed by the larger airplanes.

Another adventure precipitated by Michael was going to find unmarked hot springs. A friend of Laura and Louiza told Michael about a group of hot springs up north. Her directions to him were to drive north to a certain exit, go right, drive for a while until you see a long bridge or pipe hanging between two mountains. Park right after that and then hike to the hot springs. There are no signs and you cannot see the hot springs from the road.

I have to admit I was skeptical, but we ended up finding it and having a great time. I am thankful that Michael likes to go out and find adventure and that I have learned to just say yes. His hair-brained schemes work out more times than not and we have amazing experiences when we say yes.

Some of the hot springs were too hot, but we found one that was just right. There were other people spread out in the different hot springs.  The hot springs are next to a river. The boys would hop out of the hot tub and take a dip in the cold river to cool off.

We were also able to fit in a dental cleaning. One thing about a nomadic lifestyle is that it can be tricky to keep up with things like teeth cleaning and regular checkups.  We are glad we were able to fit the cleaning in, in Utah because the dentists in Montana do not take our dental insurance. Overall, Salt Lake City was a success.  We were able to get a few more ski days in at Park City, and also enjoy warm spring days in and around Salt Lake. It is a city we would like to come back to someday.