I met Willy while riding my bike on a rural road in central Utah. A thorn had flattened my tire, and after making a couple calls with unpromising results, I set out walking. Willy was 200 feet from me, so I encountered him soon enough. He was clipping a tree with an extended pruner that resembled long but awkward scissors. “Hey, how’s it going?” I yelled. “Huh?” Willy … [Read more...]
Archives for December 2016
Catering to Climbers: International Mountain Equipment
Whether someone sought to scale the walls of a local canyon or test their strength and skill on an artificial climbing wall of the nearby climbing gym, or even attempt to summit the world’s highest peaks, if they were in Utah, they likely passed through the doors of International Mountain Equipment (IME). The specialty shop has been catering to the climbing community since … [Read more...]
Wasatch Touring – Everything You Need for Backcountry Adventure
Accessing the best snow and scenery in the Utah backcountry requires patience, knowledge, and a genuine love for the outdoors. And getting there is better if you go with friends. This is how Wasatch Touring has been doing business in Salt Lake City since Dwight and Charlie Butler launched the company in 1972. Dwight says he and brother Charlie fell in love with the Utah … [Read more...]
Babs in the City: Gee-Ology
I have had many clients over the years who are geologists. Funny sort, they are. Often socially awkward from spending too much time bonding with dirt rather than humans, I find they are full of swell trivia you can use to win a party game or two. Like the facts that our Uinta Mountains are the only mountains that lie on a horizontal axis in North America, that they took about … [Read more...]
How Ogden Trappers and Pioneers Celebrated Christmas
Beginning in the 1820s, mountain men were lured to northern Utah by promises of wealth in the lucrative beaver pelt trade. Frontier trappers were the first inhabitants who kept records of events in the Ogden Valley. This was before there were trails through the mountains. The beauty of the wilderness was immaculate, but there was hardness and danger in that beauty. The … [Read more...]
La Caille Holiday Irish Coffee
This holiday season, head to La Caille for a festive tipple with friends and family. Whether you are looking to finish off dinner with a decadent drink or merely stopping into the bar for some appetizers and beverages before walking the grounds to view the lights, La Caille has a special treat to make you merry and bright—the Irish coffee. Order the La Caille Irish … [Read more...]
Ice Fishing in Utah
More Utahns are trying to eat healthier foods, and one of those foods is fish. Unfortunately, fish from the ocean is becoming less healthy as it accumulates human pollutants like mercury. Health experts do not recommend that pregnant women, those planning to become pregnant, and younger children eat canned tuna and other ocean fish due to higher levels of mercury and … [Read more...]
Salt Lake’s Biggest Jungle Gym
Covered in tags and graffiti, the property located on 245 South State Street, has become an eyesore. Utah Stories has spent three months working to learn more about this project and how it has become a derelict slice of urban blight. Here is what we have learned... In May of 2012 plans show for a mixed-use project patterned after a European-style plaza: “The Plaza at State … [Read more...]
Broadway: Here Today…..
Remember 2008? Wall Street traded corporations lost 40% of their value in a matter of days. The economy tanked and the housing bubble burst. Prices declined for hotels and flights, and shoe repair shops were flourishing. Only bars and movie theaters seemed immune. But besides shoe repair, another sector of the economy was also much more immune and resilient than the sectors: … [Read more...]
Under the Spotlight: SLC Police Staffing
Hardly a day goes by without a news report about police officers somewhere in the country. Stories about officers being injured or killed, police misconduct, and protests over police actions, comprise most of the stories reported. With so much negative publicity, how do police departments remain staffed and recruit new officers? One local police agency, the Salt Lake City … [Read more...]