Mostly famous for its Great Salt Lake and for its large population of Mormons, Utah is a very dry landlocked state in the western part of the United States. This high desert state has places for refuge from the cold during the winter months, but also high altitude peaks that are snow covered and provide some great ski slopes close to the city. I've much more to do in the state of Utah, mostly I want to visit the national parks that hold some of the best natural beauty in America, Arches national park will probably be where I begin next time I find myself in Utah.

Above is a panoramic view of Salt Lake City Utah. Salt Lake City is both the capital and the largest city of the state. Unlike many other major US cities in the desert, Salt Lake City is surrounded by a very large suburban area that extends for dozens of miles. Almost 90% of all of Utah's population lives in the Salt Lake City metro area.

The story of how the Mormons came to Utah begins with the founding of their religion, which took place in the mid-west during the 1820s. At the time many of their believers were threatened and assaulted by other religious groups which eventually led to the murder of their leader and founder Joseph Smith. The remaining followers continued to be harassed and decided to seek refuge in a remote part of the country, where they would be able to practice their beliefs in peace. During the next 20 years after Smith's death, some 70,000 Mormons fled to Utah where they founded Salt Lake City. The terrain of Utah, which is surrounded by high peaks and hot dry deserts, normally would not be an ideal place start a new life. The Salt Lake Valley appealed to the Mormons only because they knew no one else would be interested in settling in the desert, and therefore they could remain alone and in peace. The first Mormon settlers struggled to survive in the harsh conditions of Utah, but their efforts where met with success. Today Salt Lake City is one of America's safest and most beautiful cities, bringing in millions of tourists annually. On the upper left is one of the trains that are used to transport the areas population of over two million. Above is the Utah Capitol building that overlooks Salt Lake City.

In the capital's center you can find the Mormon's temple square which is a collection of Mormon buildings and serves as the headquarters of the Mormon religion. The temple square is where the original settlers chose to build their new life, and so Salt Lake City was literally built around it. On the upper left is the Salt Lake Temple, which is off limits to visitors due to its scared value to Mormons. On the upper right is in the inside of a chapel on the temple grounds.

The Mormon religion is now all over the world, with many coming to Utah to serve for 18 months in the Temple Square. Today there are Mormons from over 35 nationalities represented at this temple alone. The Temple Square is Utah's biggest tourist attraction and brings in around 5 million tourists a year. On the left are some Mormons speaking to visitors, one from Japan and the other from Australia. On the right is a large painting of the crucifixions.

The religion used to receive a lot of critizcm because Mormons believed in marrying several women, but since the late 1800s, the mainstream religion no longer practices this. Many Mormons chose to get married at the Temple Square, when I visited on a Saturday in late June, there were over 60 weddings on this day alone!

Unfortunately outside of the Mormon Temple I don't have much else to share from the city itself. I hear though the local laws require alcohol to be a very low percent, and it's also difficult to acquire which means don't expect much nightlife or a party atmosphere in the capital. Something I did notice though were some of the enormous houses around the city, check out the two above.

Utah has peaks that reach as high as 13,500 feet or over 4,000 meters. I haven't had a chance yet to visit these places myself, but on my drive farther north from the capital I came across these mountains which must be relatively small compared ot what the state has to offer, but their colors and scenery is what caught my eye.

Just outside of the capital is the Great Salt Lake itself, actually the largest salt lake in the western hemisphere. Despite covering an average of 1700 square miles, the lake has a maximum depth of only 35 feet. The high amount of salt in the lake gives it the nickname, America's Dead Sea, because there are few creatures that are able to survive in this evironment. The lake has no fish, but does have some shrimp, waterfowl and over a billion brine flies. I didn't see any waterfowl or shrimp, but the brine flies seem pretty hard to miss, they give the shore a nice black coating until you walk to close. Most visitors to the lake come for a swim or for water boating and sailing.