Wow, what a busy day for us all. While K & T skied, Steve and I explored the rest of Park City and began by heading to the much heralded Deer Valley.
History is here, too. Skiing began at Deer Valley in the 1930s, and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the first ski trails and other facilities during the winter of 1936-1937. The first ski lifts appeared in 1946, then named Snow Park. In 1981, Edgar Stern founded Deer Valley Resort, a five star resort that is constantly on the top ski resorts list. We decided that we had to see what all the hoopla was about.
After exploring the well-appointed ski lodge, we took the St. Regis funicular to the top to see more of Deer Valley.
What a cool place to hang out and watch others ski.
After experiencing the slopes, we went back into Park City for one last mining lesson. On the hill overlooking town, we found this mine shaft belonging to the the Ontario silver mine. Interestingly, it was purchased by George Hearst (William Randolph's dad) for $27,000 in 1872. By the time of Hearst's death in 1891, the Ontario mine had paid him more than $12 million in dividends.
T & K ended their day by skiing across a bridge right into town. This was a beyond cool feature of Park City that we found amazing.
After checking into our hotel, and getting the skiers into clean clothes, we headed back to Salt Lake City for a final explore. This was T's first visit here. Dinner was at this delicious and fun bar.
Since so much of the town's history is in Temple Square, we headed there first, hitting all the highlights.
We then toured the very well done Mormon History Museum. I was quite intrigued with this printing press. This press, from the shop of Egbert B. Grandin in Palmyra, New York, was very modern for its time. Without it, it is unlikely that Mr. Grandin would have been able to take on such a large printing job as the Book of Mormon.
Joseph Smith made arrangements to print the Book of Mormon in 1829, before the translation was complete. He secured a copyright and contacted several printers. Ultimately, Grandin agreed to print 5,000 copies for a cost of $3,000 (a huge run for the time). This was just one small aspect to this very interesting museum, helping us to understand the local history better.
This monument can't be missed. The Eagle Gate (1859) commemorated the entrance to Brigham Young's property at the mouth of City Creek Canyon. Wow!
Somethings are just great ideas! Since 2011, 13 old parking meters in Salt Lake City have been transformed into Red HOST meters and used to raise money for local homeless service providers. Instead of giving cash to panhandlers, of which there are a great deal, people are encouraged to feed meters.
Our final stop was the Capitol Building.
The classic simplicity and well-proportioned design have allowed it to remain as pleasing an architectural symbol of American democracy today, as it was in 1912, when the plans and architect were selected. Richard Karl August Kletting's design won in the most important architectural competition ever held in the State. We couldn't get over its magnitude, especially having been built 100 years ago.
This monument commemorates the sacrifices made by 500 Mormon pioneer volunteers who joined the U.S. Army during the Mexican War. The 100-foot rose pink granite and bronze monument was sculpted by Gilbert Riswold and dedicated in 1927.
I just have to comment on Utah's beehives. They're everywhere... on the state highway signs, on the Capitol building, on the state flag, on manhole covers. Dozens of Salt Lake businesses begin their name with "beehive" and all use the logo of a beehive, which is actually a coiled straw dome, called a skep, that hasn't been used to house bees for over 100 years.
When Brigham Young arrived in 1847, Young chose the name "Deseret" for their new home, and the beehive as its emblem, symbolizing the kind of cooperative work that would be required to make the desert bloom. "The hive and honey bees form our communal coat of arms. ... It is a significant representation of the industry, harmony, order and frugality of the people, and of the sweet results of their toil, union and intelligent cooperation."
When Utah territory became a state in 1896, it retained the beehive symbol in its state seal and on its flag. The state adopted the beehive as its official symbol in 1959, designated the honeybee as the state insect, and even named the "beehive cluster" as the state's astronomical symbol. Utah is known as "The Beehive State," and businesses continue to name themselves after the antique skep, many of them without knowing what a bee skep is, or where the bees are. But even without them knowing it, the beehive has become an everyday icon that links present-day Utahans-Mormons and non-Mormons- with their pioneer past. Interesting stuff!
A gorgeous sunset was the perfect end to this week of history lessons, ski adventures and family fun. I eagerly anticipate the next escape!
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1 comments:
Wow, so much I didn't know about that is interesting: Red Host meters, beehives, Grandin's printing press, $12 million from Hearst's Ontario mine!
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