Utah and Salt Lake City

The California Zephyr rolled into Salt Lake City 2 1/2 hours late because one of the engines overheated in the Rockys and a freight engine was dispatched to rescue us . My couchsurfing host Erin was kind enough to pick me up circa 5.30 in the morning and we drove back to her place picking up some breakfast along the way . Erin had a shift at work and I had a proper decent sleep then when she returned we went exploring the excellent Antelope Island which is supposedly the largest Island in the Great Salt Lake (good pub quiz fact) but we didn't go there to look at Antelope we were after something else . Antelope Island is about a hours drive from Salt Lake City and costs $9 but well worth it , if you like hiking,exploring,lazing about or just driving around look at the scenery there is something for everyone . The main attraction on the Island are the Buffalo and Bison Corrals , we only saw a couple of Bison wandering around but some locals in Salt Lake had said they had seen 100's at a time but I guess we came at the wrong time . We went home and went for a quiet night out on the town, it must be said that Salt Lake City is not party central . This is in large part thanks to the Mormon Church who buy up the liquor licences making it difficult for bars or clubs to get started , the first couple of bars weren't much to shout about but we eventually settled in a nice bar with a decent beer selection and some pool tables . The following day we explored the downtown area which was interesting and full of cool buildings the best of which was the Mormon Temple but you are not aloud in unless you are a member of the Church . One cool thing about visiting downtown Salt Lake is you can get nice views of the City without having to pay $20(looking at you Toronto,New York or anyone else with a tower) and you just have to wait for a guide to take you to the top of the Mormon Church office building were you can see the Temple and the surrounding Salt Lake area for free !! . We spent a couple of hours flouting around and then made our way to nice little Thai place (Erins favourite) and onto the Three Folks in Uinta National Park . The drive was just over a hour to the trailhead and from memory the trail was 40 minutes and wasn't difficult . The cool thing about this trail is that there are 4 or 5 natural hot springs waiting for you at the other end so make sure you bring your togs ! . We that just about does it for Salt Lake City , the following morning Erin dropped me off at the train station and we shot off to the previously mentioned Denver

As is standard practice here are some snaps from my time in Utah