NW Trip '12 - Day 2

6/3/12 - Day 2: We managed to get up and ready and out of the hotel by 9:00 a.m. (not bad for four people in one room). We had scoped out a good breakfast cafe around the corner the evening before, so we walked from the hotel to the Love Muffin Cafe. It seemed to be a very organic/fresh food type of place, and the food was excellent! I had a carnitas burrito and Cari chose the healthier route with her whole-wheat waffle. After breakfast, we piled back in the car and headed back into Arches National Park. Once in the park, we drove all the way through to the end point of the single road ("Devils Garden"). The original goal was to hike most of the trail, which would be around 6.5-7 miles, but that goal changed pretty quickly once we started hiking and realized how hot it was (95 degrees-ish in the desert = HOT). Regardless, we made it to Landscape Arch and Double Os Arch, took some pictures, and headed back to the car. After some mild disrobing to rid ourselves of any sweaty outer layers, we saddled up and hit the road heading north towards Salt Lake City. 

The landscape changed significantly, from reddish/brown desert to yellowish rolling hills, and then finally lush green mountains. We stopped in between Arches and SLC at a rest area and threw together some PB&J sandwiches for lunch; nothing fancy, but it did the trick! We finally arrived at the Hilton Airport at SLC (just about 10 minutes west of the city) around 5:00 p.m. and took an hour or so to rest. Around 6:00, we drove into the city for dinner at the Red Iguana, which was a "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" feature that Jon found. We were seated right away and enjoyed an authentic Mexican dinner of Tacos Don Ramon (and some regular tacos). After stuffing ourselves with delicious food, we drove a few miles further into downtown and parked near Temple Square. The temple (Mormon Temple, that is) was closed since it was a Sunday, but we walked around the square for while, enjoyed the scenery, and took a few pictures. 

After watching the sun set against the temple, we walked to Creek City Center (an outdoor mall similar to Short Pump in Richmond), but again, everything was closed. We made our way back to the car and explored downtown a little more before hitting Squatters Pub/Brewery, another Jon Osborn-find. We had a moment of humor because we thought it was a gay bar at first (mainly due to the rainbow flags flying outside). But, a quick google search indicated that it wasn't, so we felt at ease trying it out. Jon and I enjoyed a VERY strong (but good) IPA while Cari had her shirley temple. Finally, we went back to the hotel for drinks and a little Bill Cosby standup comedy, compliments of Jon's DVD and laptop. Bed around 11!