Six Things You'll Hate About Living in Utah

Another friend from Fresno is moving to Utah. I've lived here nearly twenty-two years -- don't get me wrong:  I love it here, but there are things that take some adjustment, so here are six things that people from California will hate about living in Utah

1.  Yellow Light Runners - The Utah Driver Handbook says only that the "yellow light is an indication that the light is about to turn red." (p.24)  There is nothing there which indicates whether drivers should attempt to stop when the light turns yellow. Utah drivers have interpreted this one way: yellow means "keep going." You won't find anyone hitting the break pedal when the light is yellow.

2. State Liquor Stores - Picking up a bottle of wine at Vons on the way home from work is a thing of the past once you move to Utah. Wine is available only at stores which are owned and run by the state. These state liquor stores (1) are inconveniently located, and (2) keep limited hours. Salt Lake County, with over a million residents, has only seventeen locations.The stores are open only until 10pm, and they're closed every Sunday and on all holidays -- including Election Day.  Plan ahead. By the way, don't think about bringing wine from another state or trying to join a "Wine of the Month Club;" Utah law treats those things as bootlegging.

3. Inversions - Every winter, usually in January, expect at least one stretch when you can't see the sun in Salt Lake City for two weeks.  When snow is on the ground, the entire Wasatch Front is afflicted by this natural phenomenon where cold air is trapped by warmer air above, which yields depressing, overcast days. After suffering through ten days or so wherein high temps never gets up to even 32°F, you'll be praying for a snow storm which can break the grip of the inversion and clear the air.

4. Sales Tax on Groceries. It's the ultimate in regressive taxation. In my last years in California, politicians fought about extending the sales tax to snacks and how to define what a "snack" is, but all along Utah was taxing all grocery purchases at the full rate. During his term, Governor Jon Huntsman provided a little relief and cut the sale rate on groceries in half, but you'll still be paying some sales tax even on the most basic needs.

5. Traffic Lights on Mastarms.  In all of the neighboring states, including Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Nevada, as well as California, traffic engineers mount an additional traffic signal on the support pole. If you're driving east at sunrise or west at sunset, you don't have to stare directly into the sun to see the light; just look at the other signal.  Not so in Utah:  Signals are mounted only on the mastarm which extends across the street.  If you have to squint, so be it.

6. The Broncos and Rockies. According to the NFL and MLB, Utah is in the home market for the Denver teams, If you're a fan of the 49ers, you'll get some of the games, but if there is a conflict, the Broncos game always wins out. Baseball is no different: MLB defines Utah as Rockies territory. If you want to hear Jon Miller and Duane Kuiper, you might want to pay for a subscription to mlb.com.  We don't get the Giants network here -- it's Rockies broadcasts only.

Six Things You'll Love About Living in Utah

This post was written from the perspective of someone who grew up in the Central Valley of California and moved to Utah. 


1. Awesome Scenery. Let's face it, it's beautiful here. Every day, you wake up and see the sun rising over mountains in the east and then watch it set over mountains in the west. The mountains are so prominent that you become numb to just how special it is; it almost becomes "ho-hum" scenery because you see it every single day. The rest of the state is filled with amazing red rock formations and five national parks that people come from all over the world to see.  We've got it all within a couple hours drive!

2. Few 100° days.  From May to September, people in the San Joaquin Valley are battered by scorching heat. Triple digit heat can be recorded on any day, and it's not considered to be an anomaly until it gets above 110°. After a couple of summers along the Wasatch Front, you'll become a heat wimp and start turning on your air conditioner when temperatures climb into the upper eighties. I'm not saying that it never gets above 100° in Salt Lake but you can nearly always count those days with the fingers on one hand.

3. Mormons. They take a bad wrap from some quarters, but, let's face it: Mormons make Utah the great state that it is. You don't have to be Mormon to live here -- I'm not -- but give the Mormons props for what they've given us. We have a clean state with a low crime rate, built by people who work hard. Utahans have more kids per family than any other state, and that makes it a great place to raise kids.  You can count on tons of family-friendly places, and lots of other kids for your kids to play no matter where you live.

4. The Mountain Time Zone.  Two hours behind Eastern Time, it's perfectly situated so that live events are televised at a convenient hour but don't keep you up until midnight. In California, World Series games begin at 5:07pm, which is too early to get home before the first pitch.  On the east coast, Sunday night football games regularly stretch out to end after midnight, which is too late for fans who have a job.  The Mountain Time Zone is the Goldilocks time zone: not too early, and not too late.

5. Great Air Service. Because we have a Delta hub in Salt Lake we have nonstop service to Europe, Mexico, Canada, and all over the country. The presence of all other major carriers keeps fares reasonable. No more long drives to San Francisco or Los Angeles to get a decent fare. Parking is cheap, too: only $9 per day at the airport and even less at some of the nearby private lots.

6. Outdoors Lifestyles. With incredible mountains so close by, recreation opportunities are everywhere, and lots people who live in Utah avail themselves of those opportunities. Skiing, hiking, snowboarding, snowshoeing, running, hunting, camping, boating, mountain biking, you name it! If it can be done outdoors, Utahns are doing it!

Comparing the Routes of the Deseret News Classic

I've been running the 10K on Pioneer Day for over a decade.  Since I'm not a fan of the marathon course, my only option has been to run the 10k.

..Okay, before I get started, maybe I should backtrack.

This year, the races on Pioneer Day got a new name, the Deseret News Classic.  Last year, in 2012, they were called the Deseret News Marathon Race Series.  A few years before that, they just called it the Deseret News Marathon, even though they offered a 10K and a 5k untimed run.

For simplicity sake, I've always just called it the Pioneer Day run.

What is Pioneer Day?

Pioneer Day is a legal holiday in Utah.  Banks are closed and state government is closed, but it's not just a bank/government-only holiday; lots of people (including me) get the day off.  There are fireworks shows at night and parades in many cities around the state.  The largest parade is the Days of '47 Parade in Salt Lake City, and it happens to be the third largest parade in the country (it also plays a role in the race, as we'll discover in a few paragraphs).

Pioneer Day is celebrated on July 24 every year, and it commemorates the arrival of the Mormon pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847.

The Half Marathon route is the only one of the courses which passes directly in front of the This is the Place Monument, which commemorates the arrival of the Mormon Pioneers on July 24, 1847.  It's a good reminder of why we celebrate Pioneer Day in the first place.

The 10K Route

For years, the only two timed races offered on July 24 were the marathon and a 10K.  I must admit that I really love this 10K course.  The route starts at Research Park, up by the University of Utah.  It runs down to Foothill Blvd. and then westward past Rice-Eccles Stadium to 13th East.  After that, it proceeds up to South Temple.  The next section, almost two miles, is a on a downhill slope on South Temple, a pleasant tree-lined avenue lined with stately homes (including Utah's governor's mansion).

The final two miles of the 10K route are the best:  it traces straight down the parade route, on 2nd East and then 9th South to Liberty Park.  The street is lines with thousands of people, many of whom have camped out overnight, who cheer on the runners as they wend their way to the finish.  It makes for a very enjoyable run, and I've made it part of my July 24 tradition since 2002.

The view of the 10K route at the top of the parade route.  The view here is southbound on 2nd East from South Temple.  Crowds line both sides of the street for the entire distance, two miles from this point to the finish line at Liberty Park, on 9th South at 6th East. 

The Marathon Route

For anyone who desired to run longer than a 10K, the only alternative, before this year, has been the marathon.  My wife has run this marathon, but I never have.  There are two things that I don't like about this marathon course.

First, is the long climb near the beginning of the course uphill to Little Mountain Summit, at the top of Emigration Canyon.  Second, it's the fact that marathon runners, other than the elite runners who can complete the race in under three hours, do not get to run down the parade route. Nope, because the parade begins at 9:00, ordinary marathoners, like me, are forced to run one block to the east, on 3rd East.  It spoils the magic of running on Pioneer Day!

So, I have always stuck with the 10K.

Finally, a Half!

This year, 2013, for the first time, the Deseret News added a new race to the program:  a half marathon. When I looked at the course, it had all of the plusses of the 10K route and none of the drawbacks of the marathon.  To wit:  the half marathon began about a mile shy of Little Mountain Summit -- on the Salt Lake side -- so there was no uphill.  The first six miles were downhill running in the canyon until emerging at the Hogle Zoo.  The last six miles traced the 10K route, parade route and all.

The half marathon course also eliminates the additional leg that the marathon route has, turning south at Hogle Zoo and hugging the bench before joining Foothill Blvd near the mouth of Parleys Canyon, and then turning back toward downtown Salt Lake City. That jog in the route has the psychological impact of heading in the opposite direction from the finish line in those crucial, depressing mid-teen miles.  Again, the route of the half spares runners from this.

After looking at the route, I knew immediately that I would sign up for the half!

Utah's Governor's Mansion is one of the sights along South Temple.  All three races pass in front of here, at 6th East.

Maps

This page contains maps of all the races
http://deseretnewsclassic.com/about/course-maps/

Hiking in the Albion Basin (aka Alta Ski Area)

I love Alta!  It's my favorite resort for skiing.  Maybe I'm a snob and I like Alta because they don't allow snowboarders. Maybe it's because Alta (like Brighton) is still very affordable.  Or, maybe is just because it is such a pretty spot.

Even though it's July, yesterday, my wife and I trekked up to the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon for a trip to Alta, but this time, instead of bringing ski boots we donned hiking boots.  Even in the summertime, Alta is a very pretty spot!  We hiked from the the Albion Basin Campground, which is located right near the top of the Sunnyside Lift up to Cecret Lake, which is midway up the Sugarloaf Lift, off to the left, as you're ascending. The hike is about a mile each way, and the trail gains only about 500 feet in elevation, which makes it a popular hike for families with young children.

To give some perspective, I've taken an Alta trail map and drawn a couple lines to indicate the locations of the road to the the Albion Basin campground and the Cecret Lake Trail.  (I know it's bigger than my layout, but I thought it was important to leave it large so that you can read it.)

The Albion Basin campground is located very near the top of the Sunnyside Lift.  When you come off the lift, you are headed directly toward the campground.  Although it's possible to ski off to the left, most people ski down and then turn to the right.  There is an out of bounds fence located at the bottom where skiers make the turn onto the Dispy Doodle run to head toward Alf's Mountainside Chalet and the Cecret and Sugarloaf Lifts.  The campground is just beyond this fence.

To get here, drive past the main base of the Alta Ski Area.  The road climbs around the eastern side of the resort, touching the Patsy Marley run on the switchbacks on the way up.  The road traces the Crooked Mile run near the top of the Albion Lift, curving under the Sunnyside Lift near the Catherine Pass parking lot (one of two parking lots on this road).  

The road continues another half mile, looping around the Sunnyside Lift before arriving at the Albion Basin campground. There is a parking lot at the campground that is available for day use hikers (you don't have to pay the camping fee to park there).  There are pit toilets at the parking lot, and from there, you can see the base of the Supreme Lift.

One more note about parking.  Parking is limited, and on busy days, the Alta township sets up an information booth in front of the ski area.  They stop traffic on the road and tell people that the parking lots are full and recommend  that people ride the free shuttle shuttle.  There is no parking permitted along the road outside of the two parking lots.  I just told the information people that I intended to drive up the road to the campground and then turn around and come back down, so that they would let me continue; once I arrived at the parking lot, I had no trouble finding a spot.  Of course, the irony is that if the township hadn't been funneling so many people onto the shuttle, then I likely would not have found a place to park!

It's a short hike.  It took my wife and me only twenty to reach Cecret Lake.

Continuing up the trail, you pass under the Cecret Lift, near the top.

Gorgeous wildflowers fill a meadow with solid wall of Devil's Castle towering in the distance

Nearing the top, skiers at Alta know this area as the Razorback run

Larkspur on the short of Cecret Lake

The reward at the top of the trail:  Cecret Lake

Looking down from near the top of the Cecret Lake Trail toward the Sunnyside Lift.  The Albion Basin Campground is just out of the view of this photo to the right.

Memorial Hill

Yesterday, I stumbled across a site in Utah that I've never heard of before.  I've lived here for eighteen years and have driven to just about every place in the state, but yesterday, while I was up taking pictures in the Heber Valley, I spotted a mountain in Midway with a bunch of flags on top of it.

"What is that?" I wondered aloud.  I turned the car around and headed toward it.  Within a couple minutes, I had arrived at this entryway.

I was intrigued, so I entered.  I didn't see signs mentioning an entry fee, only this sign, which only piqued my curiosity:

The drive up mountain is a dirt road which caracoles three full times before reaching the top.  On the summit, I was greeted by a line of five flag poles, each flying the standard of one of the branches of our nation's military.

From right to left: The flags of the US Navy, The US Army, The US Marine Corps, The US Coast Guard, and The US Air Force.  The view is toward the north.

At the center of the hill, is another flag pole with an American flag and the Utah flag, standing guard over a central monument which contains plaques highlighting the names of residents of Wasatch County who have served.

At the south end of the monument is this memorial, which I believe was called "The Last Watch."



















Aside from the monument, the views from atop the hill are phenomenal, with expansive, picturesque vistas over Midway toward Deer Creek Reservoir, and across fields to Heber City.

Looking east toward Heber City

Looking south over Midway with Deer Creek Reservoir in the background

On the afternoon I was up here, a Saturday in July, I had the entire mountaintop to myself.

Since, I had never heard of this place, once I got home, I did a little research, to try and find out who was responsible for this special place.  It turns out the the site is now owned by Wasatch County, but it was originally privately funded.  This website has some good details:

http://memorialhillrestoration.com

If you are in Midway, this place is worth a quick stop.  It's located only 1/2 mile off Highway 113, which is the main road  from Heber into Midway.

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