The weekend

I had actually made no plans for the weekend. Some of the guys were going to go hiking, and I had wanted to go with them, but I decided the huge blisters on my feet from walking on Wednesday needed a break. I was wandering around the hotel wondering what to do, and ran into a couple of guys who were going to the Black Diamond factory and store, and then to the copper mine up in the mountains, so I tagged along with them. One of the guys had rented a cat for the weekend so we could cruise around a bit.

The factory store was nothing much to look at, and in fact I could get better prices either online or at REI. I wasn't much impressed. However, the copper mine was impressive, if not exciting. IT was actually kind of depressing in a way, to know that this 3 mile or so hole in the ground was once a 9000 foot mountain. I must say I was highly amused by the spin doctors they had working to make their 'demonstration video." After all the talk of how much copper the mine produces (2% in a whole day! Out of something like 200 tons or something ridiculous like that), they went on to say how the company that manages the mine is so eco-friendly and is working hard to improve the environment. Oh well...

Anyway. The machines they use are huge, and I'm pretty sure I've seen them on Discovery channel or something similar. I took lots of pictures for Chris, since I know he likes that kind of stuff. What really amazed me was the synchronization that's required to keep all those trucks moving the way they were. It really was kind of like a ballet.

This is me in front of one of the tires they use on a hauler (seen below).



Here's a shot of the side of the mine, verses the mountains it's in. Trust me, this doesn't do it justice. I couldn't get the whole mine, top to bottom, in one shot.


After leaving there (after all, how long can you sit and watch dump trucks, even big huge ones?), we drove around Salt Lake City for a bit, and then went back to the hotel to see who else wanted to get dinner. I had wanted to go to Hard Rock Cafe, even just to get the shot glass. A bunch of us ended up going, taking 2 trips to get everyone there in the car.

Here's your sign.

And this is how you get 7 people in a Ford Focus. The worst was the giggling coming from the back. Everytime those of us in the car would get quiet, the 2 in the trunk would start giggling again and set us all off.


After dinner, a bunch of us decided to go to the go-kart track just down from the hotel. I didn't race, but I took all the pictures. These little cars were FAST! Gasoline powered, and they went about 45 mph. Some of the guys decided to suit up all the way.



Then it was back to the hotel to go to sleep, though I stayed up pretty late to do some laundry.

Sunday I watch a bit of 'The States' on the History Channel, and ironically enough, they were doing Utah. Some interesting stuff there, let me tell you. We actually ended up just wandering around the city, about 6 of us. We went to the Mormon Temple, saw where the Tabernacle Choir sings, and went to the Church Museum of History and Art. Say what you will about the Mormons, but they had some pretty incredible stuff, and it was all very well preserved.



This is actually an odometer from a wagon wheel to tell how far you've traveled in a single day.

And that was pretty much the weekend. We headed back to the hotel after walking from the Temple down to the Gateway center for a late lunch at the food court there. And then it was back again to get a good night's sleep for Monday.