Remember that Salt Lake City is not as conservative as you think. Today it proved it. The Gay Pride parade down State Street included the mayor, several city councilmen and other elected officials as well as representatives of major churchs (including a very small contingent from the LDS church) and lots of interest groups and cute young things.
We thoroughly enjoyed the parade but did not go to the Festival itself. We just aren't into fairs like that.
Instead we headed out of the city to see Antelope Island and the Great Salt Lake. The island is about 30 miles north of the city and a state park with strong controls and few roads. We took a picnic and enjoyed the barely 60F temperatures. The scent of brine shrimp, the major food for the gulls, is quite strong, to say the least, on the causeway out to the island.
We also made a quick stop at the This is the Place Monument.
Erastus Snow, one of Brigham Young's apostles and founder of the southern Utah town of St George, and daughter Anne's ancestor, is prominent on the monument, which is now the center of a theme park. No!
We took a recommendation from Anne, the Red Iguana, for real Mexican food. It's in a non-descript industrial neighborhood, does not take recommendations but does have a license...and the food was exquisite. I started with a peppered marguerita, rimmed with salt and very good. We nibbled on home-made taco chips with lovely hot salsa and then to the main courses. Ben had scallops cooked in a white wine, olive oil and light jalapeno pepper sauce with white rice, black beans and sauteed veges. I was a bit more traditional, a mole with stuffed roast loin of pork. The stuffing was mangoes and very kinds of raisins and currents. Served with the traditional refried beans and rice. We have enough leftovers for lunch today! Including tortillas for Ben to dip into the leftover wine sauce. Mmmmm.
We need to add an aside about the Stewart Ranch in the Uintas. We saw a most magnificent crane amidst the aspen. The black birds were attacking it, but it seems unmindful. A glorious feathered creature of brown feathers with red trim. Wingspan must have been at least six feet.
Tomorrow, Monday, we head to the Tetons and Yellowstone. It's been chilly here, completely like the 100F weather on the East Coast. We can look forward to temperatures below freezing at night and highs in the low 40s for the next couple of days.
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We have a mated pair of sandhill cranes who nest in the beaver dams at the north of the valley. I have one of their discarded feathers that I found up there.
I'm surprised the blackbirds were bothering it - they must have been bored. Usually they save their attention for the red tailed hawks up there.
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