8/3-8/5
The first thing on the agenda was to take the bike into the dealer to replace the steering head bearings and take a look at a few other things. They were good enough to tell me to bring my bike in when I got into town when I called about ten days ago back in Canada, unlike the three dealers in BC that wouldn't even considering working on my bike.
After I dropped the bike off, we explored Salt Lake City namely Temple Square where the Church of Latter Day Saints are headquartered. Surprisingly, many of the buildings and tours were closed and unavailable, I guess due to Covid and renovations. We get a tour of the Beehive House, the home of Brigham Young, the second president of the LDS Church. The beehive is a treasured symbol of the Mormons because it represents industry and community. In fact, the beehive is the state symbol of the highway system:
As we walked around Temple Square, the presence of church members were very obvious. They dress in a certain professional and modest manner. We went inside the Tabernacle and got to listen to the organ player, well, play his organ.
I've always heard how the Tabernacle has perfect acoustics. While I'm not a musician, I can fully attest I could hear conversations from other people ninety feet away. No telling secrets in this room. Whatever you may think of the LDS, everyone we met were friendly, kind, and outright interested in conversing with you. I can hear the cynics now but whatever, I'd rather people be willing to converse with you rather than shutting you down for thought crimes.
A free pair of magic underwear if you can guess who this is:
Eagle Gate:
The next few days comprised of hanging out at Adam's house, walking his dog, dealing with logistics about the trip and back home, waiting for the dealer to return my bike which took much longer than they said it would, and meeting up with a few of Adam's friends and more sightseeing.
Finally on Friday, the dealer finished up with my bike after a few phone calls telling them I'm leaving Saturday morning.
Not exactly a lie now that the bike is done with fresh steering head bearings, no more notch in the steering when going slow speed. I'm packing up and heading out to Moab on the bike. Adam and his friend Mo will meet me there in their car. We'll spend Saturday and Sunday exploring Arches and Canyonland National Parks before I head out Sunday afternoon for Durango, Colorado.