I arrived late Saturday night in Salt Lake City for the National Tribal Best Practices conference. Starting on Sunday the conference has been tremendous. I have learned so much about the patient experience of health care and why it is important that systems are in place to ensure the highest possible care is provided to patients. I've met and mingled with some great people.
After the conference ended on Monday, I took a jog around downtown Salt Lake, stopping to snap photos along my route.
Washington Square is a city block name for George Washington. The square is the site of the original 1847 Mormon pioneers' camp in Salt Lake City.
The Mormon pioneers were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who migrated across the United States from Illinois to the Salt Lake Valley in Utah. The journey was taken by about 70,000 people sent out by church fathers in March 1846. After the assassination of Mormon founder Joseph Smith, it became clear that the Mormon faith needed a new home. A migration led by Brigham Young began in April of 1847, and the period known as the Mormon Exodus, ended in 1869 with the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad.
The Salt Lake City and County building is the seat of government for Salt Lake City. The historic landmark formerly housed offices for Salt Lake County government as well.
Campers were setting up tents preparing for Pioneer Day. An official holiday in the state of Utah, Pioneer Day is celebrated on July 24 every year. It commemorates the entry of Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, where the Latter-day Saints settled after being forced from the Midwest and eastern United States.
Parades, fireworks, rodeos, and other festivities help commemorate the event and people begin to camp in Washington Square the day before to sure themselves a good spot to watch the parade. Similar to July 4th, most governmental offices and many businesses are closed on Pioneer Day.
These gardens were so pretty...
...and I thought the architecture in the square was really unique.
The view from the top of these stairs was stunning...
After I finished gawking at the scenery and running around the square a bit more, I ran a few more blocks down to Trolley Square (home of the Trolley Square Shooting, which took place in 2007, when a lone gunman killed 5 people and wounded 4 others before police killed the gunman. yipes!)...
...the location of the nearest Whole Foods.
I love this grocery store, especially the bulk foods section.
:)
After walking around the store a bit, I grabbed a plate of food in the cafe/deli area (another great thing about Whole Foods) and ate some supper. I was beat after a long day of conferencing.
Cheers!