Las Vegas SLC Diary

2nd June 2023:

Shonu last day of school today. Picked her up at 12:50 and started for Vegas at 2pm. Google maps routed us through 14 and back roads before getting us back on I-15 just before Barstow. Drove non-stop and reached at 7pm. Chatted with Pavan and Arvind along the way. Vegas is like the inside of a tandoor even at 7pm. Dinner at Rani’s - Shonu has paneer paratha, Kamu has gobi paratha, I have an ordinary dinner special with Chana masala, saag, wet aloo curry, chapati and rice. We stay in Townplace Suites 20 mins away which is a high end place with a kitchenette. Our room number is 2 to the power of 14. Barfi and Linus are part of the entourage. Shonu and Kamu while the time watching shark tank and HGTV. I read a graphic book on Indus Valley.

3rd June 2023:

Woke up and had breakfast. Typically bland fare - waffle, oatmeal for us. Shonu has her fruit loop cereal and yogurt. Coffee is ok.

Start at around 11 for Valley of Fire state park. Stunning red rocks with panoramic mountain views in the distance. But the place is a tandoor. Shonu starts complaining after just one halt. We stop at the visitor center, buy her apple juice and have lunch - leftover paratha, cheese and apple. Her mood improves.

Valley of Fire

We drive through rest of the park without getting out of the car. It’s a small park.

Drive through back country and some nondescript small towns/villages - middles of nowhere before finally getting back on I-15. The lunch has lifted spirits and it is kadi time.

Reach Cedar City in Utah at around 4:30!local time. We are staying in an old school Quality Inn. The nice thing is we get parking right outside the door. Nap time!

Had dinner at Centro Woodfired pizza. Had a summer salad, artichoke rosso pizza, Bianca rosso pizza. Salad was fresh and refreshing. Pizza was Italian style, thin crust, baked in Woodfired oven. The flavors were rich and interesting. Quite a welcome change from the typical cheesy unrefined American fare. Shonu had chocolate gelato for dessert. We all tasted it. It was very rich and had good flavor. Food was A1. Cedar City turned out to be a curiously interesting town. It is a university town with good cuisine, a Shakespeare festival and world music festival. Not what I expected to find in the middle of nowhere in Utah.

We play a few rounds of Set. Shonu and Kamu are playing quite aggressively. I am a distant third.

Finished reading The People of the Indus.

4th June 2023:

Left Cedar City at 10:30 after breakfast of bagel and yogurt. Shonu had cereal and bagel. It was a beautiful scenic drive through grassy meadows with mountains in the distance, the ones further away cloaked in snow. Pavan called and spoke. We stopped for lunch at Govinda’s in Spanish Fork. The temple is beautiful and the tables were just like the ones in Iskcon Juhu. There was a buffet with rice, dal, palak paneer, sheera. It was not as good as Culver City Govinda’s but not bad either.

Next we went to Great Salt Lake State Park. There was a strong salty smell. Apparently the salt lake is 15% salt compared to the ocean which is 3%. The lake is massive. We got some photos but couldn’t stay long because of the smell.

Great Salt Lake

Next we drove to Ogden and reached by about 4:30pm.

We had mutter paneer chola (all one sabzi), dal, roti and rice for dinner. Watched old Hindi movie Lal Paththar. Quirky and dark story.