a few things I have learned and observed in the year I have resided in this beautifully strange City by the Salty Lake..
- This is the place.
- The seagull is the state bird of this land-locked state.
- School teachers are legally allowed to carry guns, to work if they so choose..
- The great salt lake is the second saltiest lake on earth and spans millions of acres while it is only 34ft deep at it’s deepest.
- The grid here seem strange at first (1645s, 200e) but the city’s system of coordinate-like addresses means I never consult google maps before venturing to a new location.
- In addition to SLC Punk; Dumb and Dumber (which I still have never watched in it’s entirety), High School Musical (I used to live down the street from the real ‘East High’) and Touched by an Angel were filmed here
- If you go to the Beehive House, historically identified as Brigham Young’s ‘ideal polygamist dwelling’ the guides stand firm that he lived there with one wife. Most people don’t talk much about polygamy except to say it was only practiced a long time ago.
- on that note I have yet to watch either Big Love or Sister Wives, both have been recommended to me since I arrived.
- the Sundance film festival was started here and still happens every year here, with some of the films having showings at movie theaters in Salt Lake, while most of the showings, and parties and hoopla happens up in Park City
- To marvel at the organizational prowess of the LDS (Mormon) church I recommend 8 a Mormon Proposition, but to enjoy the benefits of having a close-knit, industrious and welcoming society I recommend going to LDS family events.
- Sometimes people say SLC has more gays per/capita than San Fran, but I can’t find any evidence to correlate with that, although this research from UCLA-Law suggests we’re not even in the top 10, SLC has a respectable (estimated) 7.6% gay population (which IS greater than New York’s 4.5% but not San Fran’s whooping 15.4%) and a Pride celebration that is nothing to snuff at.
- I love how often I see live music here. The local music scene is happening and affordable. I especially like Hip White People and The Awful Truth
- Each time I put in my address online and it has a list of states to select your state from, I always think it’s fitting that Utah is nestled between Texas and Vermont. Utah is somewhere between the outdoorsy-homespun-environmentally-aware Vermont, and the rugged-largerthanlife-industrial-sometimes less than accepting Texas..
and so here I am. I never would have thought I’d stay here a year, but I find that I like it here, and I expect to be here for a little while so I might as well embrace and enjoy. to Utah.
