December 1, 2004 - Downtown Salt Lake City decked for the holidays...

So on my third night, I went driving around Salt Lake City. Jeff Davis (good southern name), my partner in crime (and in cold, since we both had one - actually, his turned out to be pneumonia), left this morning. We drove around the night before, but it was late and we didn't stop to walk around. Well, when I was alone, I did. Boy, I think Jeff would have enjoyed it.

This is the same house I stumbled onto when I was in Salt Lake last time. For a picture of this house in the daylight, click here.

Gorgeous house I didn't notice before. It is the Lion House (former home of Brigham Young) and Beehive House (built for Brigham Young's family).

Upon the recommendation of Shon Call (of Maverik), I went to the top floor of the Joseph Smith Building to the West overlook. This is Temple Square, in front of the Temple.

Salt Lake Temple.

Quite possibly the most majestic building in the United States. This is a rare view - 10 tall floors up.

The front (its east facade) from ground level.

Probably the first snowy Nativity I have ever seen.

Beautiful.

Across a large and remarkably unfrozen gazing pond from the manger scene, the three alabaster wise men trek with a 59 foot "diaphanous tree" behind them.
(The temperature has barely climbed to the freezing point in days. [Actually, looking up to 32 degrees, I guess you call it the melting point.] They keep this reflecting pool liquid through movement. The edges form a small waterfall all around. The water presumably gets pumped back into the middle of the pool and recirculated. The movement keeps it from freezing. Either that, or it is lake water...)

Oh yeah, and then there is the other, amazingly-lifelike, full-color Nativity.

Balthazar and Gaspar ride toward the manger.
(Melchior's camel was moving much slower through the snow and he couldn't fit into the frame.)

Assembly Hall, dating back to 1880.

I couldn't decide which picture I liked better, so I kept them both.

(The Temple is like Big Ben or The Eiffel Tower; you keep seeing another cool shot of it.)
This is the west face. I just love the trees silhouetted in the foreground.

I don't know. Just pretty. Sorry for it being fuzzy. It was cold. Weather.com says it is going to hit 16 tonight. If it makes you feel any better, it won't feel like 16. It will feel like 11.
Actually, I had been walking around so long in the cold that not only was I shivering/shaking, I was so used to it I didn't even notice that I was shivering/shaking.

Here we are now, looking at the South Side. Camera in hand as we go for a ride...
For Aunt Caroline: It is a song by Moby with 3 words changed. ;-)

Part of the same Temple Square complex.

A corner of the Salt Palace.

The Gateway mall that Jeff and I went to last time.

This is a view from the parking lot of Maverik #278.

This is about an hour later (and about 30 degrees to the right). The fire is gas burnoff from an oil refinery.

Jeff and I wondered what this bright white building was. So I braved the streets of Woods Cross and the adjacent town of Bountiful. I narrowly missed hitting 2 of a pack of 5 huge mule deer (if I hadn't been driving so slowly because I was so lost, I probably would have had venison for dinner tonight) to get up the mountain to the Bountiful Utah Temple.

Actually, for this shot, I had to slide across an icy parking deck...

This is from my car on Temple View Road, much warmer than the previous shot.