SL:UT - Salt Lake (City) in Utah (who thought something different here ...)

With a "new" car and in the hope that the new one will last long enough for us to return it in Las Vegas, we make our way to an "overlook" of Salt Lake City, the Ensign Peak, in the morning.

The great view of the city and the slightly snow-covered mountains in the background make for a great panorama. On the way to the "overlook", we drive uphill through well-kept neighborhoods. Beautiful houses, clean streets, and fantastic locations.

Our next stop took us to the Capitol of Utah in Salt Lake City. An impressive building, which is of course smaller, but very similar to the Capitol in Washington. Opposite is the Council Hall, which is also a beautiful architectural style. In general, there are many beautiful buildings in the city and above all one thing: cleanliness everywhere.

Also, you don't see any homeless people here - at least we didn't see them. We suspect that this is related to the religious orientation of the city (no alcohol, no cigarettes, no drugs).

Salt Lake City was founded in 1847 by 148 Mormons and is still considered the center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Mormon Church is classified as a sect. The powerful administrative building stands out from the city skyline. The imposing temple of the Mormons is currently rather unimpressive due to the complete scaffolding. What a pity ...

As a Mormon, there are many rules to follow. For example, you are not allowed to eat or drink anything for 24 hours once a month. The money saved must be donated to the church, and 10 percent of the monthly income must also be given to the church. Young Mormons must engage in missionary work. Men for two years, women for 18 months. Then you go abroad and have to recruit new members. The costs must be borne partly by oneself. It is only allowed to call the family twice a year. At Christmas and on Mother's Day - and not for more than 30 minutes ... Hmmm ... and yes, the management cannot be criticized ... The list of 'prohibitions' is a little longer ...

Oh, one more thing: The wealth of the sect was estimated at 35 billion dollars in 2012.

Before we continue on our way to Yellowstone National Park, we visited the City Creek (Shopping) Center. Very nicely laid out with a stream running through the entire area.

So, now it's back on the road - another 240 miles lie ahead of us. The next stop is Rexburg, about 80 miles from the entrance to Yellowstone National Park. We stayed here because it was still affordable. With every mile closer to Yellowstone, the prices for accommodations increase disproportionately ... 😊

By the way, a little tip: take a look at the map here in the blog. You can follow the travel route ...