Yesterday, Tuesday we drove southwest from Rock Spring, Wyoming and crossed into Utah. Shortly after leaving Wyoming we immediately noticed a change of landscape- from grey hills having sparse to no vegetation to towering red rock formations and lush green farmlands.
We stopped at a rest area which also provided information about the state and, while John was staying cool inside the center and picking up brochures, I was outside watching the activity of large prairie dog colonies. I also found some opportunities to finally snap pictures of magpies, which can only be found in the western states. They are noisy, aggressive birds, in the family of crows and blue jays.
We are now parked in Brigham City. The Mormon Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints settled here at the mouth of Box Elder Canyon in the early 1850s. There are about 25 of their house churches in Brigham, however in the center of the town can be found the temple and tabernacle. In this town of about 18 thousand people, there are only two churches of other denominations.
Pictured above is the Mormon temple. A large welcome sign in Brigham announces another feature of the town which the residents are proud of and are sure to mention of it to tourists.
The welcome sign notes that the town is the gateway to the "World's Greatest Wild Bird Refuge". More on that in my next posting. You may also notice a rock wall behind the sign- that is the Wasatch Mountain Range, which provides a towering backdrop for the town.
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