Located
at the base of the Wasatch Mountain Range, which receives an average of
500 inches of snow each year. the city is breathtaking from the air.

As
we drove into town our guide filled us in on a little of the city's
history, including the fact that the actual Salt Lake  and the Great
Salt Plains are quite some distance away.

Explaining
that the Wasatch Mountains are home to the mule deer, he warned us not
to be surprised if we should suddenly see a couple of mule deer walking
down the middle of the highway. " This valley where Salt Lake is built
is the natural habitat of the Mule deer in the winter.  Every winter
they come down from the mountains searching for food. Sometimes, they
even manage to get inside malls and stores. Residents have to cover
their plants to keep the deer from eating them."

Sure
enough, the next morning as I was eating breakfast, I looked out the
plate glass window near my table and three mule deer were placidly
grazing on the hotel lawn.

Naturally
no trip to Salt Lake would be complete without seeing the Mormon
Tabernacle, home to the Church of Latter Day Saints hierarchy and the
famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  The city, situated literally in the
foothills of the mountain range, is hilly.  The tabernacle sits
majestically on the highest hill in the city, so that it is visible
from any direction.

After
the awards banquet that evening, we left by chartered bus the next
morning to drive to Yellowstone.  I'm still having a hard time
visualizing how exciting Yellowstone could possibly be in the winter;
but the officers of the company, who had been there before in the
winter, kept assuring us that we were going to love it.

As
the beer and mixed drinks flowed freely, we gradually began seeing more
and more snow.  By the time we were deep into Wyoming, the snow in some
places nearly obliterated the fence posts along the ranges.  I wondered
what kept the cattle from just walking across the fences onto the road.

I
can't remember how long it took us before we finally arrived in West
Yellowstone, a small tourist village at the west gate of Yellowstone.
We stayed in this inn, one of only two that stay open during the winter
months. 

We
quickly learned that the accepted mode of travel is either by one of
the strange-looking buses above or on snowmobiles.  People ride their
snowmobiles right up to the door of inns, restaurants, and shops.  

No cars are allowed inside Yellowstone in the winter--only snowmobiles and track-wheel buses with skies mounted on the front.  

So,
we walked over to the snowmobile rental where each of us was outfitted
with proper clothing, boots, heavy gloves, and a helmet.  The
temperature, by the way, was between zero and ten.

Tomorrow snowmobiling up to Old Faithful.