Westward Sojourn
One of the few things I did this year was actually upload photos from my 2020 summer vacation. What I have not done is talk about it from a photography perspective. I've certainly talked about it in other respects with family and close friends. Without going into (triggering) detail, the trip had some tumultuous moments that are burned in my memory for years. All the same, there were some wonderfully serendipitous moments behind (or is that in front of?) the lens.
My husband and I actually planned our trip to Denver and Salt Lake City prior to the pandemic. We did think about whether or not it was a good idea to move forward with this vacation. Since both cities have a variety of outdoor activities available, we felt comfortable and confident in going ahead with our trip. This was definitely a boom from a photography standpoint.
We covered a few different parts of the Denver area during that part of the visit. The Rocky Mountain Wildlife Refuge, the Denver Zoo, the Denver Botanic Gardens, and Cherry Creek State Park were all on the agenda. There was also some somewhat harrowing driving to Red Rock Amphitheatre out in Morrison and REALLY harrowing driving to Colorado Springs to stop by Garden of the Gods. That Colorado Springs drive was nerve racking even for someone who learned how to drive in Florida. FLORIDA! Yikes!
In some ways, Denver felt like home. There was a Caribou Coffee not horribly far from our hotel, and the amount of cyclists was a match for the numbers seen in our neck of the woods. I gotta say I was very impressed by the amount of masks I saw being worn even when everyone was outside. Keep in mind Denver was rather hot during our visit. It was in the mid to upper 90s our entire stay.
After a few days in Denver, we wandered over to Salt Lake City. This to me was very much a culture shock experience. I was definitely among the darker people in town (although not the darkest), and the impact on Mormon culture was felt in very unusual ways (like the roads being so wide I might have celebrated a couple birthdays crossing one street). And there were some truly surprising moments, like finding a road near the Tracy Aviary named after Harvey Milk. Who would have thought?
For the personal reasons I mentioned earlier, I wasn't quite as keen on Salt Lake City compared to Denver. That's not to say I didn't enjoy my time there. I would like to go back, but I'd prefer to not be there in the summer. Again, the temperatures were in the 90s at the very least, and one day it did get past 100. My poor body was getting tired of sweating, and I had to deal with some heat exhaustion at the gardens in the suburbs. Thank goodness the gift shop had Powerade, because water started to make me feel nauseated no matter how much I drank. That was not exactly pleasant. Still, I survived and felt pretty good on our train rides back to Minnesota. We will probably head back out that way, as my husband likes that part of the United States. Depending on when we go, I'll need to make sure I'm well stocked on electrolytes and maybe some glucose tablets.
