THE GREAT SALT LAKE

The trip to salt lake sucked. I mean, SUCKED. The dog had done pretty well thus far – Phillip notes that “pretty well’ means he was asleep most of the way. But now, he was reaching his wits end. The monsoon, the thunder, the loud shoulder strips – it was all getting to be too much. Now, every bump in the road – god forbid a shoulder strip – set him into a ridiculous, dangerous panic. He wanted nothing more than to thrust his 56 lbs body into the front of the car in search of cover and closeness. Not cool, Simon. NOT cool. I was literally fighting him in the back, trying to keep him out of Phillip’s way and away from the front of the car. This went on for hours….and hours…and hours. We were all grumpy and stressed and there wasn’t enough Xanax in the world to calm this dog. By the time we reached Salt Lake, our nerves were shot and we found ourselves wondering whether this place called “Portland” existed at all, or rather, if the road just stretched into eternity.

The one upshot was that the scenery was amazing. Phillip took us up a cliff side road to Loveland Pass that was so high and unprotected, it’d make a brave man tremble. In comparison to the humble old slopes of our home, in the Appalachians, these snow capped mountains were beyond confidant, they were almost arrogant with their rocky cliffs and jagged peaks. Captivating and Majestic …..to say the least.

We arrived in Salt Lake in a frazzled state. However, we were lucky to land at a welcoming home among great hosts. It was here that I met the man behind the legend, the infamous, “Johnny Utah” ( and his lovely girlfriend, Meg!). John and Meg were great and helped us calm down and re-focus….on drinking. I’m tellin’ ya…when you move, everyone wants to pass you a beer (or shot)!! We planned on de-toxing as soon as we hit the PNW. We had dinner at Eva’s Tapas and man, the hazelnut brussel sprouts were out of this world!! I know, it sounds… less than delicious – but you and all of your assumptions about brussel sprouts are just wrong. I will attempt this recipe as soon as I have access to proper tools for cooking.

We went back to the house and talked into the night. John told hilarious stories, I spent over half an hour trying to inflate an air mattress, and we all passed out in a stupor. John and Meg were nervously awaiting news on their offer on a house. The next day, Phillip and I said goodbye to John as he rushed out to sign papers and finalize the deal. Congrats Johnny Utah and Meg!!

Thanks so much for the hospitality.