I remember the first time we visited the Utah State Capitol was during our trip to Utah for Christmas in 2011. It was my first time to Utah, though my parents and sister were familiar since she was in school at the University of Utah. My initial reaction to Salt Lake was like a toned down version of North Korea. There’s unspoken rules, everyone’s unusually friendly, and you’re skeptical of the politeness. Looking back, I was overreacting….but not completely unjustified.
It’s always windy up by the capitol given it’s location up on the hill at the north end of the valley, but especially so when it’s December and 30-some degrees. Now, every other capitol building I’ve ever been to in the US (except Hawaii, though that’s due to it’s unique design) has security at the door, in some capacity, to check visitors for weapons and any other illicit items. This usually manifests as police and metal detectors. Utah doesn’t have that. You can just…walk in. We visited on Christmas Eve. We tried the front doors knowing they’d likely be locked. And what do you know? They’re open. We roamed around the whole building and I don’t remember seeing a soul. Just very unusual.
This time around, you have to enter on the east side of the building, but still no security check point. Utahns are a very trusting people.
Nice wedding photo under the stair
Nice wedding photo under the stair