Friday, September 12, 2008

9/11



The morning of September 11th always seems to be especially poignant for me. This year that day again dawned clear and cold without a cloud in the sky, just like it had 7 years earlier back in Maryland. Even the National Park Service out in the wilderness of Wyoming remembered to honor the day:


I realized that I didn't have much time left to spend in the Grand Tetons so I decided to begin my morning with a little run to the top of nearby Signal Mountain.


Signal Mountain is really just a small mountain in comparison to some of the nearby true mountains. It's only about 9000 feet high and isn't very steep on any side. It even has a small 1.5 lane road that leads to the top. For me this was ideal for a run. I hadn't been able to run much recently and I wasn't about to go flying into the forest where I might happen to find myself suddenly between a mother bear and her cubs. Instead I decided that running up the road was a slightly safer idea and also would present more of a challenge as the grade would be steeper. The ascent proved to be about 3.5 miles and I felt pretty good other than the mild headache that I usually get when running at altitude. I carried my camera with me to the top and I was amazed at the view. Signal Mountain is located almost at the very center of Grand Tetons national park and without many other high points of elevation nearby, provides extraordinary views over much of the park.
Interestingly, most of the best photos that I took from the Grand Tetons came from this short run to the top of Signal Mountain. It was nice to get out for a run as well. :)
After leaving the Grand Tetons, I stumbled around nearby Jackson, WY for a little bit. I had lunch at a very peculiar shack and read about the rising rate of deadly incidents involving domestic petroleum workers. Apparently many of them are taking meth to help them get through long shifts and stay focused. I can't even begin to contemplate operating heavy machinery while being high on meth.
Post lunch, I began the journey out of the northwest corner of Wyoming down to Salt Lake City. Surprisingly the fastest route first took me northwest into Idaho, before dumping me down onto I-15 down to SLC. Let me just say that all of you should goto Idaho just to see their license plates. "Famous Potatos" is the motto enscribed on their tags. Despite this I can't think of a famous potato off the top of my head other than Mr. Potato Head from Toy Story. All right I'm rambling now so I'll also mention that I crossed the Snake River 5 times over the course of 2 hours! See snakes really are everywhere, just as Samuel L. Jackson said.
I made it to SLC before sunset and managed to go see the Mormon temple in downtown SLC. It was very interesting and not nearly as large as I would have expected. However, their attention to detail was phenomenal. Everything was well tended and every stone had been perfectly cut. My favorite part of the visit was later in the evening when I came back from dinner to hear the Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearse. Here's a short video of them practising one of their songs for the upcoming Sunday worship.

The power of the choir was remarkable and I'm sad that I won't have the opportunity to hear them on a Sunday morning. Nevertheless it's cool to know that I've at least heard them.

After briefly venturing west of the city I realized I was progressing into the wilderness and retreated back to the safety of the city for the night. After some trouble locating a free hotel I managed to find one near the airport (expensive) and get a little sleep.

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