Salt Lake City

Today we said goodbye to Grand Teton National Park and made our way to Salt Lake City — a stop on the route to Los Angeles, and the city where Annie would be flying home for work. To make the most of the day, we left early (well, early for us) to squeeze in a bit of sightseeing.

Our first stop was the Mormon Tabernacle to hear the famous organs. At 2:30 PM, there's a daily practice session in the Conference Center. It took a little wandering and some help from kind folks in Temple Square, but we made it just in time. The music was stunning — even the kids stood still and listened. That alone says a lot.

After exploring Temple Square, we headed out to the Great Salt Lake. I’ve always wanted to float in it. First impression upon arrival: not many people were swimming. Second impression: the smell. Third: so many flies. Luckily, they didn’t bite, so we pressed on.

We suited up and made our way to the "beach." A rather grumpy DNR ranger gave us swimming instructions and seemed to subtly suggest we reconsider. Undeterred, we waded in.

The moment we touched the water, every scratch and cut from the past few weeks lit up with a stinging reminder of how salty that lake really is. Marley was out immediately. Annie, who had no intention of swimming anyway, took him back to shore. The girls and I ventured farther out where it was deep enough to sit and float. As Lainey put it, “You don’t have to swim — just sorta steer.” It was exactly what I imagined... and enough after about five minutes.

Back at the car, we rinsed off, changed, and laughed at Faith’s perfectly accurate summary: “I’m glad I did it, but I’ll never do it again.”

From there, it was a quick drive to the airport for a bittersweet goodbye with Annie. We spent quite a while reorganizing: offloading suitcases and souvenirs with Annie, moving Faith to the front seat, unloading the car top carrier, and folding down the third row for easier access to the rest of our gear.

With Annie on her way, we weren’t quite sure what to do next — so Faith found a classic diner, and we found a nearby hotel for the night.

Up next: Las Vegas!