SLC: not New York (but not too shabby)

Since starting at BYU six years ago I've gone to every expense to spend as little time as possible in Utah. In fact, I've never spent more than four months at a time here in the Beehive state.

In the meantime I've turned into a rabid travel junkie, visiting new places at monster speeds. And when I say visit, I mean ingest. When I'm in New York or San Francisco or Mexico I turn into someone else.

I call him Insomniseth.

He doesn't eat or sleep or even breathe oxygen; all he does is take in the sights. Instead of breathing oxygen he lives off of smog and street sounds. In fact, he's been know to suffocate when kept indoors for periods of more than three hours.

Then the vacation ends and Insomniseth finds himself back in Provo. He's forced to kick his smog habit and replaces his addiction with the rays emitted from his computer screen.

One day Insomniseth had a great idea. What if he started treating Utah more like he treats New York City? After all, a place doesn't need 20,000,000 people and 500 years of history to be cool, right? Culture is culture wherever you are. And to be honest, Insomniseth had to admit to himself that Utah culture is probably one of the most distinct cultures around.

So with that introduction, Insomniseth gives you his night in Salt Lake City with Christina, Jared, and Adrienne.

The evening began with a visit to the amazing City Library. This place has some sweet modern architecture, glass elevators, walking gardens, an impressive city view, an art gallery, and even fireplaces for the winter. Maybe next time we'll have time for the books.

Outside the library sits this gorgeous seagull sitting on a wooden bench. We don't know why he's there, but we sure do love him.

After the library we headed for Gilgal Gardens, an historic sculpture garden created by Thomas B. Child, Jr. (1888-1963). When my friend Aaron told me this summer about a sphinx with the head of Joseph Smith on it I had to check it out for myself. It turns out this Child guy sculpted an entire garden to bear his testimony of the restored gospel. It may be a little weird, but this is all very sincere. The sphinx is an ancient symbol of riddles and mystery, and Child put Smith's face on the sculpture to symbolize his conviction that the LDS Priesthood reveals to mankind the answers to life's mysteries.

Dinner was at Cafe Med, serving "the Best of the Mediterranean & Middle East Regions." Check out my souviaki sticks, gyro meat, lemon rice, pita bread, and side salad.

After dining we met up with Brad and Colleen at the Lo-fi Cafe, an all ages venue sponsored by the good people at Truth. (You know, the anti-smoking org) We were all impressed with local alt-country band The Annuals.

Limbeck was the headliner. They put on a good show, but the rhythm guitarist's amp was a little too loud I thought. That, or I was standing directly in front of it. My ears are still ringing.

What Utah night would be complete without a visit to Village Inn? Here's my old roommate Brad with his girl Colleen.

P.S. While the smog content in Salt Lake is not up to par with that of other big cities, Insomniseth reports that he is doing just fine.