R&R: Salt Lake City

At long last...the pix from our recent trip to Salt Lake City...

We stayed in a hotel downtown that was a few blocks from the convention center where Ed attended the conference, and also a few blocks from Temple Square, which is the headquarters of the Mormon Church. Most everything on the Square (except the Temple and a few other areas) were open to visitors.

Sunday morning (11/11) I had the pleasure of attending a live radio broadcast of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Wow!!! They sang a 30-minute program of patriotic music in honor of Veterans Day...VERY moving! The final piece on the program was a tribute to each of the branches of the armed forces, hence, the flags at center stage.
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On the Square is a 21,000 seat auditorium built for large national Church functions that take place in the spring and the fall. Of note, is that there are no internal supports in the structure...so there is not a bad seat in the house! The guide said that the building uses a 'rear cantilever system' to support it. The image below was taken from the very back row in the house.
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There was a very cool mirrored light well that presented a kaleidoscope effect when looking up into it.
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Below is a view taken closer to the top...

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On top of the building is a very beautiful park. The guide mentioned that it was open to the public until 9/11, but is now available for enjoyment only at supervised functions, or with a missionary guide.

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The next two images were taken in the Joseph Smith Memorial building, where we had dinner one of the evenings while we were there. There was not a cup of coffee nor a glass of wine to be found, yet coca cola products were widely available. The decorative details in this building were spectacular...
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...a beautiful chandelier with backlit stained glass above it...

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The next few shots were taken inside of the Cathedral of the Madeleine down the street from Temple Square...

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...angels soaring high above on the arched ceiling...

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...the pipe organ and stained glass at the rear of the Cathedral...

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A friend of mine from the School of Nursing was also at the AMSUS (Association of Military Surgeons of the United States) conference. Janet is a Naval Reserve, and presented the work below at the Monday evening poster session.

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The day before we left, I went to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts and was fortunate to be able to see an Andy Warhol exibition. Among his VERY well known images are Marilyn...

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...and the Campbell's soup cans...
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Inside the exhibition booklet was a very poignant Warhol quote...

What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you can know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.

The Philosophy of Andy Warhol

(From A to B and Back Again), 1975

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All in all...a GREAT trip! Lots of sleep, and lots of fun...and we're already looking forward to our next adventure, whatever that may be.

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Have a great weekend, everyone!