I have flown twice to Salt Lake City, and I don’t know why I didn’t see it last time. About a half hour before we landed, I stopped the flight attendant as he offered me (and I accepted) another cup of coffee, (You wouldn’t believe how much coffee has fuelled this long trip. Outrageous, crazy, hair tingling amounts.) and I asked him what I was seeing below. “Looks like the moon” I said, “Do you know what it is?”
“Salt Flats” is what he said. In the photo above, the white flats are giving way to a mountain,
but they go on forever and ever. In the summertime, they do speed trials for race cars there, just because it’s so flat and big. They are white and weird. In time, the flats start to become the Great Salt Lake, and it is an awesome thing to see from the sky.
Crazy weird beautiful. I don’t know why I didn’t see it last time, or why people aren’t talking about this all the time.
Dudes, It’s one of the most beautiful things ever. I landed, got in a cab and went straight to the hotel, because I only had a few hours before I had to be at the event, and I know that the lack of oxygen in Salt Lake City totally slows me down. Bath, dress, curse internet that won’t let me send email, and then walk to the Public Library and see this:
Tons of knitters, especially for Salt Lake City on a Sunday. There were young knitters, like Piper (7) Maya (almost 9) and bike riding Evelyn. (8)
There were knitters with babies, like Angela and her sweetie (can’t read my handwriting…is it Lira?) and Rachel, who brought pictures of her twin babies. (She pumped for the occasion. I bet that took a little pre-planning.)
There were first sock knitters, like Emily, Corey and Amanda.
There were washcloth bringers, like Amber, Karin and Jennifer.
There were knitters who came a long way, like Casi, Carolyn and Sharon from Boise.
or Tama (do you read her blog? It’s a good one) Who came by herself on a train for 750 miles, just to have an adventure all on her own.
Marlene brought me a beer to make sure I didn’t run into any Beer/Utah/Sunday problems.
(I didn’t, but it was very good to have a backup plan.)
Caitlin brought me a little teapot so I could always get a proper cuppa when I’m on the road,
and Nancy Bush inspected my knitting,
teased me about being a needle short (I like a set of four, she prefers five) and she and Vonnie both gave me point protectors off of their own sock knitting, so distressed were they (not really ) about my lack of them.
When the whole thing was over and done, I got to go out with some of my favourite Utah people.
That’s Miriam (Yup. The designer herself) Margene, Shelly, Cheryl, Susan and Chris. We had pizza and hung out and I got to play with Miriam’s super-cool camera (now I think mine sucks) and to top it all off?
Margene had a trunk full of fiber and despite my weakened condition (no oxygen, end of tour) I didn’t steal a thing from her. Not a thing.
That’s it. All done and accounted for. Tomorrow, three, count ’em, three pairs of socks I’ve finished since we last really talked about knitting, and maybe some spinning, because I’ve really missed my wheel.
If you’re in the Toronto Area, don’t forget that there is a “discussion” that I’m leading at the North York Public Library tonight at 7, it’s free (of course) but if you want to come you should call the library at 416-395-5639 to register. I will be shlepping my usual post-tour exhausted and weird look, but Rachel H. is going to wear her big girl boots. She promised.
I don’t know how you do it, Stephanie! All this criss-crossing the country! Thanks for the pix of the salt flats. This is an incredible country geographically!!
I can see why you are exhausted! I had heard about the salt flats but didn’t realize just how impressive they were. Cynthia is right. This is an impressive continent.
I got to walk a little on the edge of the salt flats when I was a teenager–in my stockinged feet! It was soft and springy, kind of like a mattress. Heh…
The Bonneville Salt Flats are best enjoyed from the air. From the back of a VW bus they are the most tedious thing in the world, especially when your dad is dragging you across the country in said van. It can also be very hot and the water from the drinking fountains is brackish, ewwww.
I agree that the Salt Lake is gorgeous from the sky. I’m jealous of your time with my Salt Lake City friends!
Perhaps it was due to the lack of oxygen/end of trip that you didn’t actually steal anything from Margene. Just too tired to try to sneak something. Tsk.
I can see why you thought you were flying to Utah by way of the moon! This planet keeps coming up with beautiful and amazing sights. One time when I was flying to Colorado, I looked out the window & saw a patchwork quilt! Below me were farms with square & rectangular fields of different colors of crops. Some were striped & some of them had the circular irrigation systems making large circles of color. It was absolutely gorgeous!
Those salt flats look amazing but Margene’s shawl even more so–pattern looks familiar but can’t quite place it…must go blog/pattern diving…unless of course anyone here can figure it out???
Glad you are back and getting into your regular routine–nice to be home isn’t it? What were Dorothy’s magic words? “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home” –especially after the kind of travelling you’ve been doing!!
Enjoy and Cheers,
Barbie O.
You’re right – it IS a beautiful view and what a beautiful group of grrlfriends to spend the evening with. I don’t know who I envy more – you or them. 🙂
Seeing as how my family is Mormon (and my mom excommunicated, at that), I’ve been to SLC quite a few times in my life. One time, we stole salt from the flats. My mom said it was “the least Utah could do for [her], since it ruined her childhood.”
The teapot is adorable! Is it a tomato?
I cannot imagine how excited you are to be home! I can’t wait to see some new pictures of your knitting projects (not that I don’t like book tour photos). Seems like you’ve had a great time on your globe trotting.
Mountain fly overs are the best!
Man. A “discussion”. That feels so euphemistic.
Whether we’re looking at
“Dear, I’m afraid we need to have a ‘discussion’ about knitting;” or
“Let’s sneak off to the library and have a knitting ‘discussion'”
is an exercise left to the not otherwise occupied.
We fly into SLC several times a year to visit the granddaughter in Park City (you think it’s hard breathing in Salt Lake? Try Main Street in PC where it’s almost 7000 feet above sea level!) and the view from the plane window never fails to amuse and enchant! You can actually see the Temple from one approach, and I just love the way the city sprawls right up into the foothills. You ought to visit sometime when you have time….the National Parks and Monuments (Utah has many) are beautiful beyond belief. ( I’d have told you to give Margene, Susan, Mim and Nancy a hug for me if I had realized you were going to be there!)
Nancy Bush! Wow – she is one of my heroes. I wish you had come to Arizona this time. We have oxygen and lots of flowers. Maybe next book…
I don’t come out and comment very often, but I gotta put in a plug for the Great Salt Lake. I live here in the Salt Lake Valley, and I love the lake. LOVE IT! I got to work on it last year, and it is breathtaking. If you have a boat, an airboat, a raft, or just an ATV, go out there.
The people who live closest to it know (and care) the very least about it, unfortunately. All they do is complain about the smell and the flies (the smell is only occasional and is mostly due to sewage, and the flies don’t bite, though they are numerous).
If you visit Salt Lake City or the area, no one will tell you to visit the lake, because they forget it even exists. Don’t listen to their silence about it. It’s like no where else on earth.
I recall many many (okay, let’s not say how many) years ago when I was moving from Chicago to San Francisco, driving through the salt flats and being absolutely enthralled and amazed by their sheer weirdness. I also thought “gee, it looks like the moon!” I didn’t find it boring, but eerily beautiful, remembering that it (and thus the Great Salt Lake) are the remnants of a primordial sea. Gives you an idea of just how much salt there really is in a sea eh?
I know you’re super busy, (and I don’t know how you do it either, by the way!) but when you get home whatever happened to Tuesdays are for spinning? I havn’t seen it in forever even before the tour! Sorry, no pressure. Also, did you ever finish Joe’s gansey? I bet that would be a big load off if you did! Oh, sorry, I get over-excited. No pressure, its your life, take your time, all that. (still I bet it would be a load off.)
I’ve been watching Big Love obsessively lately so I’m now convinced everyone in Utah is named Margene.
There used to be a car commercial with Ray Charles driving a red sports car….around the Salt Flats. And if you try and swim in the lake you just float. Salt Lake City is beautiful! So glad you got to see it! Wish I had hitched a ride with someone from Boise! Gotta get you up here!
My brother once stopped on the freeway and snapped a picture of a sign stating Great Salt Lake: 50 Miles. It was half submerged. The lake had grown and become less salty. Glad you got to really see it! And your friends there. Glad you got to go!
Be thinking about your talk tonight while listening to the clarinets in the high school band………
(sigh)
I’m glad to see you survived the high altitude intact! (I bet the pizza and beer helped…)
Your a super woman!
Heh. I think your weakened condition is why you didn’t steal any of the fiber.
I also now have the scene in Spaceballs running through my head. Only instead of saying Room Service or Oil Can the phrases are Sock Yarn and Merino Blend.
Hey! You’ve seen more of my country than I have – no fair!
Being an Australian I had no idea that Salt Lake City really had a big salt lake. Really impressive pictures, and a nice way to finish off your tour.
LOL @ Whistlepea aka Margene
The failure to have the strength or desire to abscond with fiber can be blamed on your weakened condition and the lack of oxygen.
Glad you’ll have some time to be home and rest before Philly! (which is darned near sea level, therefore no oxygen deficit!)
Only eleven days… not that I’m counting.
Since you’re a vegetarian, I guess a Philly cheesesteak is inappropriate.
I’m drinking tea made in the exact same wee darling teapot as I write this – it’s the best. thing. ever.
Thanks for sharing your travels – I agree about the Great Salt Lake, I can’t believe people aren’t constantly on about it, it’s amazing! Someone told me that the reason it’s so salty is that the water evaporated below the level of the estuaries (are those the ones that take the water out?) and there was consequently no way to regulate the saltiness of the inland sea. Don’t have any idea if that’s right or not, but it’s interesting.
Hmmmm, big girl boots, please tell me you’ll be getting a photo of Rachel H. with her big girl boots on.
You get the rain we’re having right now, Rachel H. will need her big-girl waders (talk about pulling up your big-girl panties!)
If you’re impressed by the Bonneville Salt Flats (and who wouldn’t be?) I highly recommend a terrific movie called “The World’s Fastest Indian”. It stars Anthony Hopkins and is the true story of a man who came from New Zealand to the Salt Flats to try and break the land-speed record for his old Indian motorcycle. Inspirational! Glad you made it home safe and sound; rest, knit and drink all that beer people gave you on the tour.
It was fun! Come back soon.
We don’t talk about the GSL and taking visitors there as the best views are from the air. Katherine works on the lake so she loves it more than most Utahans. It is an amazingly complex place of rare beauty and strange landscapes. If you really want to go we’ll take you out next time. It’s only about 20 minutes from downtown SLC.
Ya know… I think I’ve seen more of my country through your posts than I have through my own travels. That’s kinda sad.
And you’re right. The Salt Flats ARE gorgeous! (Adds them to my travel list)
See you in a few weeks in Philly!
Congrats on ending a successful book tour! You must be thrilled! Loved seeing the picture of Tama – she DOES have a great blog and it was awesome to see what she looked like, too. And as for the salt flats, there is a movie,The World’s Fastest Indian – I think it was called – about the motorcycle races they have there (I must confess it’s not the fastest movie, if you know what I mean, but hey, if you’re knitting, sometimes who cares, right?) that showcases more of the history of it all and some of the scenery from closer up. OK. I’ll shut up now.
I’ll be happy to take you out to The Lake or the Salt Flats next time you’re in SLC. Hopefully, it won’t be during a spider infestation. Ewwwwe.
Wow, there’s another Tama out there! I thought my sister was the only one, or close to it! (And that’s definitely not my sister.) 🙂
The salt flats are really interesting looking…at first I couldn’t figure out why you were taking pictures of patchy snow! I keep hoping that you’ll have an event nearby (and I do kind of include your home turf) on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
Alas, I missed your Utah stop once again — at least some of my other Utah Knitter Peeps were there to represent. 🙂 That’s little Luca there with Angela. I also missed your Portland Earth Day stop by one day, oddly enough. Too bad you don’t get much time to stay in any of your tour locations — you could come about 35 miles north and see how beautiful Ogden is (I may be biased), with some very nice LYSes. (The Needlepoint Joint and KnitCraft Studio, very different in character from one another.)
Those salt flats look gorgeous. I will have to check them out when I am in SLC in another month. Thanks for the tip!
I have to get to Utah to check out all the salt–I had no idea you could actually see it, let alone from a plane!
I’m always a needle short too…
The Sunday beer thing made me think of when I went to Salt Lake this past fall with a friend. Her husband went to Utah with his brother and after a day hike they got a bunch of beer to drink and after drinking most of it couldn’t figure out why they weren’t getting drunk. I guess some beer in Utah doesn’t have the same alcohol content as most places so he calls it barley pop. Did anyone give you a polygamy porter?
Tama’s great, isn’t she? I’ve known her through the internet for years, and she always sounds sane and joyous, even when describing mounds of confusion and despair. She has a book coming out this fall, I think.
Loved seeing you at Webs. How were the mice?
Nancy
I agree with Kit — it must be the lack of oxygen that impaired your superb ‘fiber-acquisition’ genes. If I’ve never said it before, thanks for all the lovely pictures of all the places you’ve seen on tour. For many of us, it’s the only way we get to see some of these sights.
11 days to Philly! I’ve got the beer, the book money and I’ll have to scope out some typically Philly vegetarian thing to bring along.
I’m having a hard time thinking of an appropriate question that I could ask you in public. Is that wrong?
Did you convert to LDS while you were there?
(just kidding! I have LDS friends!)
Two words, and a website: Spiral Jetty – go to http://www.spiraljetty.org
jdu
I have been reading your blog for quite some time and LOVE it. You give courage to those of us who are relatively new knitters.
However, I’m a little afraid of the power we all hold. You have mentioned this before so I thought you would appreciate this. I have been making a blanket for my cousin who is/was expecting. I FINALLY finished it last night and first thing this morning I received an email saying she’d had her beautiful baby girl! Frightning amount of power! =o)
Don’t you just love the SLC knitters? Good people, all. 🙂
crap. it would be worth the drive just to find out what big girl boots ARE…..
have fun- you’re home- among your very own people;)
That beautiful shawl that Margene is wearing? Do you happen to know the name? So pretty! And very kind of you not to steal her yarn in your weakened state.
Well, I was going to mention a great movie, “The World’s Fastest Indian”, starring Anthony Hopkins, but I see two people already beat me to it. It’s a true story about New Zealander Burt Munro who traveled to the Bonneville Salt Flats with his Indian motorcycle. It is well worth the DVD rental fee. And, unlike many movies based on true stories, it has a happy ending.
I’ve just been reading lately (interviews, more apps to get out–someday I will like job hunting, cough cough) but love see all the knitters in all the different places. Glad to hear you’re getting some time at home, though! Must be a nice change. Your own bed, food that didn’t come from an airport, your own laundry to do…
Um. Scratch that last.
I was so impressed that Tama went all the way to see you–and we couldn’t even make it 150 miles. Drat! But it looks like a good time has been had by all–I fully expect you to do a lion’s share of sleeping for the next week–well done, Steph! You schlepped the continent and kept your sense of humor!
Those are my favorite Utah people too! My SnB ladies from when I did my internship in SLC last summer… they saved my sanity all summer, so excited to see pictures of them and of SLC in general! I’m all nostalgic now. 😀 Thank you!
Not only are the salt flats used for setting land speed records, but it’s also one of the only places in the world that it’s possible to see the curvature of the earth due to the vastness of the very level groundplane (or so I’ve been told)…
I know I shouldn’t envy an exhausted, sleep-deprived, coffee-buzzed, home-deprived person, but… I do. A little. Your post yesterday inspired me to remove the “never” from “ten places I’ve never been and want to go,” and it included San Francisco *and* SLC — and Toronto. I’ll bet it’s good to be home.
When I was 15, my family drove to California from Kansas. From smack dab in the center of the USA to the Western edge. Being 14 and cranky about sharing a van with two parents, three brothers, and a sister for weeks, I was not entirely pleasant. When we drove across the Salt Flats, there was a massive thunderstorm. The air was thick with rain and blowing salt.
It was eerie and beautiful and frightening. But in the pictures from our stop at the Great Salt Lake all you see is a cranky girl holding her nose because of the funky smell. (Standing alongside her smirking 17-year-old brother.)
Yay, I see me in the group photo!
It was an absolute treat to hear on you Sunday — such a treat, in fact, that I ran out of yarn and didn’t even mind. 😉
The Bonneville Salt Flats may just be our vacation destination this year….we’re car people and we can’t think of anything more entertaining than driving for hours to watch the time trials!
Wow, what gorgeous photos. I’m going to try and see you tonight in Toronto, looking forward to it…ciao
SLC looks beautiful! Did you notice that the knitters in the pictures there don’t seem to have the “oh my gosh, I just survived another winter” look about them? Does this mean that they get out of the snow, sleet, freezing rain, wind thing? If you look back at the people in the pics from the midwest or northern areas they certainly have that look. I suspect you have the look, “oh my gosh I just finished the most amazingly long/hard book tour ever. What were my publishers thinking?”
I am very dorkily excited because I did a paper on their library last semester! Hello, semi-familiar building in the background!
you drank coffee flying into SLC??
When we flew there 10 years ago our little plane was wobbling left to right, and going up and down at the same time … UGH! It’s was very roller coaster like. So bad that the next time we went to SLC we drove from Nova Scotia … with two kids … so you know it was bad!! (we went to attend a medical conference)
Stephanie, I may HAVE To come to Toronto if you won’t come to Santa Barbara… Remember the SOCK SHAPED STATE (California) wants you… and summer on the Pacific is FINE 🙂 How nice that you can be home now! Enjoy!
I loved seeing all the pictures of the Great Salt Lake. I grew up north of SLC and seeing the picture of Antelope Island has made me homesick. Thanks for posting it.
I was going to suggest you see “The World’s Fastest Indian” with Anthony Hopkins, about racing on the Salt Flats… but somebody beat me to it. But I guess I’m doing it anyway. Duh.
Did you read that Shelly of Butternut Woolens is closing up shop? I met her at Madrona and she was the nicest person on the planet. She blogs about her decision at http://www.butternutwoolens.com. Sad.
*giggle* I taught 2 little neighbor kiddos to knit this weekend;)
And- best part— their Grandma lives next door- speaks very little English- and although we wave- and smile- we never really talk. knitting was a huge breakthrough! Doesn’t hurt that I knit middle eastern- 😉
Blogged.. cause it was just great;)
As others have said, I get tired just thinking about all the traveling but how very cool when you think of all the knitters you’ve met (and beer you’ve drunk)!
Hope you get some well-deserved time to dig your family out of their – ummm…- mess?
Aaah, figures! I just left SLC, or near enough, last week. I knew there had to be something worth staying for!
I’ve done field work out on the salt flats, nearer to the Nevada border. Incredible stuff.
What is Caitlin wearing? I must knit it!!
re: salt flats/lake and your comment of ‘Crazy weird beautiful. I don’t know why I didn’t see it last time, or why people aren’t talking about this all the time. ‘ — I would add ‘or why Norah Gaughan hasn’t designed a sweater that looks like this.’
Hope you are enjoying home life!
Well Rams, it’s definitely raining in Brantford, which isn’t far from The Harlot, so it’s possible Rachel H. will need big-girl waders. Although big-girl wellies might be enough, it’s not raining that hard . . . yet.
Wish I had the evening free to go to NYPL to hear you speak again Stephanie, but family beckons. Would love to hear the questions and answers, since you know folks have been working hard preparing for this! You’ll have a lot of fun, there will be much laughter, but I’m thinking you might not want to set it up quite like that again. Have a wonderful evening – boots and all.
If you’ve seen the movie the Fastest Indian (and if you haven’t, I hightly recommend it), that’s where the end of it takes place. The Salt Flats, I mean.
I got this mental image from another blog, not normally related to knitting, and just had to share.
—-
Isn’t it a lovely, warm thought that all knitters are well-armed with not just one but three weapons? (two pointy bits and a garrot, of course.) Makes all those kindly old ladies you see at yarn shops look just a bit less kindly and a lot more interesting, doesn’t it?
Thanks for those great snaps of the salt flats! I’ve seen them from the ground, but I had no concept of how vast they are!
congrats on end-of-tour status – hope you’ll have some fun and rest!
Oh looks like so much fun! I totally was going to come and see you, but this pregnant Mama just couldn’t do the 2 hour drive, wah! I’m glad you had a good time in our fair state and are DONE!!! YIPEE!!!
Don’t put up your feet just yet! Looking forward to seeing you here in Philly soon! Still wondering if you’re a Rootbeer drinker though…
Salt Flats – beautiful and smelly. Nice to visit, but I could never get used to the smell.
Also, in response to someone’s question about why the Utahns didn’t look all haggard and winter-weary in their photos — I have two theories. First, it seems to be pretty firmly spring here, and we’re all cheering up considerably. Second, even when we have a long, snowy winter, we always have TONS of sun most of the time when it’s not actually snowing. That’s why people love to come ski here!
Speaking of Great Salt Lake, Google this: Robert Smithson, Spiral Jetty.
Nice pics! We lived in SLC for three years, and our oldest was born at the UofU Hospital. Don’t miss lake stink, but those sunny winters… yeah. That daughter will be 8 this August- that was one memorable summer, with the heat, forest fires, and anxiously awaiting our first baby. Wow.
And Antelope Island is great!
What is that beautiful collar that Marlene is wearing? Did she knit that and where do I get the pattern for it!?? Inquiring minds want to know!
Wow. Nancy Bush looked at your knitting!! How intimidating. Not for you, maybe =). I took a class with her and at one point we were all standing around her while she showed us something and I said out loud….okay, you all realize that we’re standing here knitting with Nancy Bush right?….it was pretty amazing. Course, I feel that way when I stalk you at Rhinebeck!!!
I haven’t read the other comments yet, so forgive me if I’m redundant. The salt flats stood in for Davy Jones’s Locker in the third “Pirates” movie. The sand dunes on the ocean where Jack meets his rescuers is in Central California. I’ve always admired those crabs, carrying a ship all that way.
I’ve driven past the salt flats. They’re even bigger on the ground than they look from the air.
I have another two weeks of traveling before I get to revel in *home.* My idea of a perfect vacation, now, involves a big stack of DVDs, a big bag of knitting, and my own living room for two weeks straight.
The salt flats look very cool. In NW Oklahoma we have the Great Salt Plains, which are way cool. And yes, it is very hot on the plains. Wear lots of sunscreen if you’re fair like me. The plains in OK are the only ones on the continent (maybe in the world, I don’t remember) where you’re allowed to dig for salt crystals. They’re pretty impressive.
Salt Lake City. Salt Lake. City. Never clicked. And I have family there, too!
It is beautiful. Thank you.
Rachel H is going to wear her big girl boobs?!? Is this related to bra? Ohhh, booTs. Sorry
It was nice to read about the tour, almost felt like being there.
Hi! I’m the beer bringing Marlene in the post. My collar isn’t knitted, it’s embroidered and smocked. Glad you liked it though! 🙂
In bed with a sinus infection so all my plans to be in SLC went bye-bye. Boo, hiss!!
The view of the Salt Flats is much better from the air. Driving by doesn’t give you the whole picture. And the smell can be overwhelming in the summer.
Oh, thank you YH, for that link to Miriam’s blog, because I now have a copy of the wonderful Adamas Shawl, which I saw and loved on KP but failed to download, and it is the perfect end to a really good day (and thank you Miriam for the design, if you are reading this!). Sweet dreams to all, and to all a good night.
Wow, I think I would have fainted if Nancy Bush had inspected my knitting. She is not a mere mortal.
The Salt Flats are really beautiful, but the salt lake SMELLS! Reeks even! My brother and I refused to get out of the car at first – but my mom made us. Not that we were protected from the smell inside the car, but it was worse outside. Thus, it is known in our family as “That Lake That Stinks That Mom Made Us Go To.”
OH the pictures of the Salt Flats and mountains and Salt Lake are SO cool! (funny how I’ve heard “Salt Lake City” all my life and it never sunk in – oh, a lake that’s salty duh)
All these events look so fun – one day I’ll be at one. ONE DAY!
Utah is amazing, isn’t it? It feels like you’ll encounter a dinosaur or two, but usually you don’t.
You should try flying in over the Great Salt Lake at sunset – it’s even more spectacular! I hope you’ve been able to get some rest after that whirlwind trip, it was great to meet you!
I love Teapot Caitlin’s cardigan – is it from a pattern I can find somewhere????
The Salt Flats are incredible!
Enjoy being home and being able to do some post-tour relaxing and knitting. =)
The Great Salt Lake is truly amazing. When I moved to Seattle a few years ago my friend and I went out to the Spiral Jetty (http://www.spiraljetty.org/) and it was incredible! Unfortunately I had a severely sprained ankle and couldn’t walk down the rocky slope to touch the lake (I was bummed), but just sitting there was so cool. It’s unbelievably silent. It made me realize that even when I think I’m sitting in silence at home, I’m really not. By the Salt Lake it’s just you and nature, and it’s really awesome.
Thanks for taking us around the continent on your adventures! I’ve loved the tour…you’re a true wonder, managing all that travel at once!
If you get a chance, like, when you’re calm and well rested in a week, check out my recent blog entry about safety at festivals. I know you love a good crowd of knitters…and of course, a festival? Always a good thing, as long as folks and animals are safe…
Glad to hear you are home safe and sound. Squeezing so many stops into such a short time may have been tough, but now you are home and can relax for real.
Walking on the Salt Flats is very strange, too. It is solid, but not quite….its hard to explain. Loved seeing it from the air as the only time I saw it was when my husband said on a drive from Denver to California “let’s stay on the West Side of Salt Lake City.” There is NO west side of the city and the first stop is in Nevada!!!!
How about that shawl Margene is wearing? We need the facts so I can hint about it to my knitting friend who sent me 3 pair of kissable socks for my birthday.
Welcome home! I have been enjoying your tour blog. On the one hand, I am thrilled that you travel so far and wide to see us all, (I came to Ann Arbor and got 10 seconds and a signed book with you, SO exciting!!) and then produce stories, photos and links. On the other hand, I feel badly about how exhausting it is for you. Maybe you should travel with ‘people’ next time, you know, someone else to make sure the alarm goes off, find the hotel, find the airport, find you food drink and clothes, etcetc, while you just quietly sit and knit until it’s time to meet the next batch of knitting fans. Sort of like going on a long car trip with someone else driving so you can knit in peace, only on a grander scale. I would be so disappointed if you decided that touring was too much and you stopped. One day I hope to meet up with you in one of your Toronto haunts. Best wishes, Cheryl
Driving across the salt flats, on the other hand, is the most mind-numbingly boring thing ever. My family did it a million times when I was a kid. At least if you fall asleep driving there’s nothing to hit. You’d run out of gas first! Nice to see them from the air–they are pretty stunning from that vantage point.
Thanks so much for coming to SLC again. You are always a treat, in person and in book/blog form.
Speaking of treats… remember your, I mean the cat’s Saturday post from a couple of months ago where he was trying to share your solitude? Would you be willing to turn that into a children’s book? We would read it everyday in our house! I’m kind of late suggesting it, so maybe someone else already has, and if so, they are geniuses. We love that post. Does your editor read the comments, or should I email her directly? 😉
I am so sad to have missed you being in SLC. A toddler with the flu drained me so badly I just couldn’t handle the 45 mile drive to get there. *sob*
Maybe next time…
The Salt Flats are great, if somewhat sneaky. I was driving across the country from NY to California and was supposed to spend the night in Salt Lake City, but instead I decided to stay at West Wendover, on the other side of the flats. It was a super-easy drive given the ridiculous flatness and straightness of 70, but the thing was it went on FOREVER. The mountains NEVER get closer, they just hover on the horizon, and you become convinced about halfway through that it’s all a mirage and you’ve ACTUALLY reached the end of the world.
Then you have a tuna sandwich at Subway and the world turns right again.
I’m going to have to politely disagree with you about the salt flats. They pretty much suck. I drive from Northern California to Salt Lake City a lot. Like KathyB says, they just keep going. And if you ever break down while driving through them (it’s highway 80 btw), forget about it. People think it’s fun to get off the highway and try drive on them, until they get stuck and can’t get back to the road. Sounds like I’m not fond of them, huh? Sorry to be a downer. There is an amazing sculpture/ antenna/thingy to the side of the highway, though. It weird and nobody I’ve ever talked to is sure of what ti really is. Anyway…
I think kashurst is referring to the Tree of Life sculpture, done by the same guy who did the aformentioned Spiral Jetty. His wife did the amazing Sun Tunnels in the west desert, best experienced on one of the Solstices.
The finished socks are a total inspiration. You definitely rock with socks. I have three half-socks in different yarns and patterns currently in progress, and one-third of a sweater. Must get them DONE. And I’m very impressed by your ability to take good photos out of airplane windows. Next time I fly I’ll have to try it. Do you let your camera go through the x-ray machine??
I have read some of your books and you have really inspired me!! It was so excited to see you at North York Library..Could you please tell me where I can get the beautiful pattern of your sweater that you were wearing that night??
I can’t remember why I flew over those mountains last, but I do remember flying over them. Aren’t they spectacular? I love window seats. Wonderful.
Glad your SLC visit went well. Hope you enjoyed the IPA. I had to guess what you’d like because I prefer crap beer, and thought a Bud Light would simply not light your fire. 😀
Those SLC knitters welcomed me warmly when I was there for work for 2 weeks, and I’m not even famous like you 🙂 Good times, especially with some booze on a Sunday.
I would totally have stolen some of Margene’s yarn. Totally.
Heh heh heh! I totally cheated and bought that sweater at Nordstrom. All sweaters I knit are wonky wonky wonky. It’s a pretty simple three-quarter sleeve (or rather half sleeve? It ends right before my elbows) cardigan dealio, though, with some kind of eyelet lace pattern. I’m sure someone with know-how could come up with something. It’s made from an interesting nylon/rayon blend. It’s shiny yet springy and soft.
Long live tiny teapots! Don’t loose that sucker in a hotel room Stephanie P!
Hello, Dear Harlot. I know I’m coming in late with the comments (I hope you read them, in your copious amounts of free time?), but I wanted to let you know just how much of a pleasure it was to not only sit in an auditorium with several hundred knitters, weavers, and spinners of various sorts, AND enjoy your marvelous talk and amusing answers to those questions! lol! But thank you, as well, for so graciously allowing me to be a complete and utter dork about holding the traveling sock (I’m still grinning, that’s how big a dork I am).
And I gotta agree–standing in line with Tama was a blast! Her 17 hours on the train story beat my 9 hours from Montana all hollow!
I’m glad the beer came in handy–sounds like more than one of us provided you with a bottle (me and Marlene, at least).
If you ever do make it to Montana, we’ve got the same altitude (or better) that the SLC area does, so we’ll have to make sure you’ve got plenty of fresh, local yarn and fibers to waft their wool fumes at you, and force you (yes, *force* you!) to take some back to Toronto with you!
Thank you for the pics of Salt Lake. I visited there with my Mom before she passed and just seeing the pics brought back some very wonderful memories. The smell came back while I sit here in my living room!
Traveling for work is so hard but every once in a while you get a little view of beauty.
heh…catching up on all the good blogs. Nancy *always* inspects socks. I love her just the same and never miss an opportunity to take her classes or see her when she comes to Colorado. I was absolutely speechless, flummoxed and flabbergasted when she inspected my socks and pronounced “THIS is the best grafting I’ve ever seen!” (gasp!) (thud!) (giggle)
This is a good article. we can see the perfect picture of salt lake city from this article.
http://www.slccomfortinn.com/