Old Town, A Nice Surprise, and Temple Square

Park City, UT
June 27, 2013

 Historic Park City, or Old Town as the locals say, is located 32 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. The discovery of silver sparked the first mines in the 1860s. Silver was thriving in Utah while in other parts of the world, silver mines were depleted. The town flourished with crowds of miners and wealth.




By the 1950s, with a drop in the price of silver, Park City  nearly became a ghost town.




The first ski resort opened in 1963 on 10,000 acres of land the miners owned with mineral rights.
                                              

To this day, there are over 1,000 miles of old silver mine workings and tunnels beneath the slopes at Park City Mt. Resort and Deer Valley.

Today, Park City draws in an average of 3,006,071 visitors annually.

Even though Park City has less snow and a shorter ski season than other nearby resort areas, they are much easier to access. Hiking, biking, and golf are popular summer activities that also bring in the crowds.

Additionally, the city is home to the Sundance Film Festival, the Utah Olympic Park, and my favorite...the original home of the Mrs. Fields Cookies chain.





In 2008, Park City was named by Forbes Traveler Magazine among one of the 20 "prettiest towns" in the US.




Main Street is colorful. Among the restaurants, galleries, bars and shops...there are 64 Victorian buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places.











We had a nice surprise last Sunday. Sue and Paul (youngerday.blogspot.com) came by to check out Park City. They were staying in a park on the north side of Salt Lake City...about 32 miles from us. We met Sue and Paul in Moab. We picked up right where we left off...talking and laughing about RV adventures. Plans were made to meet at Temple Square for the organ rehearsal and to have lunch later in the week.




Joe and I arrived early to explore...oh my, the gardens are beautiful!

Flowers and flowers in all directions...

... colors and more colors everywhere we looked!

 Attracting about 3 to 5 million visitors a year, Temple Square is the most popular tourist attraction in Utah.


The Tabernacle was built between 1864 and 1867.

The original organ was made in 1867 and contained 700 pipes. It has been rebuilt several times and today the total pipe count is 11,623.



The building has an international reputation as a nearly acoustically perfect building.

The organist demonstrated the acoustic properties by tearing a newspaper and by dropping a pin on the pulpit followed by a nail...all were plainly heard throughout the building.



Outside looking in the Tabernacle...

...inside looking out.

Assembly Hall is beautiful. It was built from 1877-1882 using the granite that had been left over from the Temple.

Historically, it has been used for musical performances and religious meetings.







Today, the Assembly Hall is primarily used for free weekend concerts.


Sue and Paul

Joe and Paul

                                                         

 Sue and Paul suggested the Blue Lemon for lunch. It was just a short walk across the street. They advertise " pure clean food with a twist".

We enjoyed our lunch outside in the courtyard... I had a roasted turkey, provolone cheese, lemon herb smashed avocado, lemon pesto aioli, lettuce and tomato sandwich on sourdough... 

 Sue had pear and gorgonzola spinach salad with grilled chicken, crispy bacon, red grapes, candied pecans and balsamic vinaigrette...sorry, no food pictures.


It was a nice day... visiting with friends and the organ concert was wonderful. Thanks to Sue and Paul for inviting us along!

 Can't believe tomorrow is Friday...already!

 We have had another surprise too...Jan and Martin, who we also met in Moab, spent 3 nights here at Park City RV Resort. We went on a hike, and had dinner...more on that next time. 

 Hope you're having a fun week too!

 

Y'all come back!