Tomorrow morning I will be heading back to the East Coast. And while I love the east and I have no desire to live permanently in Utah, there are a number of things I love about this state that I think I've taken for granted and would like to tell the three people who read this blog about right now!
First, I love the canyons. I grew up in Northern Utah, I learned to ski here, I rafted in the Provo River and even attempted water skiing in Deer Creek Reservoir. I particularly love Provo Canyon and had forgotten its vertical heights, lush greenery and waterfalls. If you ever visit Utah (or you happen to live here), at least take a drive through Provo Canyon to Heber or Park City because it's amazingly beautiful.
Second, I love free fruit. When I was in college I used to make a lot of pies and jam. Lately, I've been walking in the morning (both in Provo and Salt Lake City) and I realized why I made so many lovely desserts. There are a million fruit trees! This morning I passed three plum trees, a raspberry bush, an apricot tree, a blackberry bush, a pear tree and a peach tree. And I was only walking for 20 minutes!
Third, I love weird "only in Utah" structures and businesses. Whether it is the enormous 20 foot high balloon of a Mormon missionary on top of a store called "Missionary Mall," or video stores called "Clean Flicks" that edit films to clean up language and/or anything else that might possibly be considered offensive--nope, they don't carry The Last Temptation of Christ, but they DO carry The Passion if any of you are curious--or the strangest park in the world called Gilgal Gardens (if you're ever in SLC you HAVE to go; see http://www.gilgalgarden.org/) or basement houses that popped up when people put down a foundation, but couldn't afford to build the rest of the house (see image below), Utah is filled with kitsch that makes many Utahns crazy, but that I have learned to absolutely love.
I should really make a book called Roadside Utah with images of all the funny, weird, and utterly unique... well... crap that I love about this state.
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5 comments:
Do it!
Great idea.
My sister-in-law teaches at a charter high school in SLC. She has taken her students to Gilgal many times.
I love Utah. After living in the Ukriane, Beylorus, California, Kuwait, Iraq, New Mexico and other places, there is no where I would rather be. My few acres of hobby farm in Northern Utah is heaven to me.
Oh, and yes, I have raspberries, boysenberries, blackberries, blueberries, rhubarb, currants, apples, plums, gooseberries, almonds, hazelnuts, mulberries and more.
Those types of houses you mention are known variously as "berm houses" or "hope houses" (because the owners hoped eventually to afford something better).
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I think you'd dig this site.
Ah... You make me miss Utah. If I were ever to live there, and I can't say I never will, I would only live in Heber. What an amazing area.
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