Last Saturday I decided on just having a calm relaxing weekend. Not a lot of work or study, and not a whole lot of partying. I decided a nice trip to a museum and a garden sounded nice, and yes it was.
Fort Douglas Museum
My first stop was a museum that has a history that dates back to late 1862. A fort that has lasted and served through numerous wars and confrontation. I really enjoyed my visit here, it was peaceful, quiet and informative. Although it was a really small place it still had a good amount of history to explore. I didn't stay long though, it is again a pretty small museum.
While the museum covers all eras of warfare that it has been involved with, I found the sections about early civil war era the most interesting. A lot of it dealing with the Mormon church and it's still small amount of growth in SLC. There was a lot of problems when the church and the fort had to choose priorities in a war within their own country.
Outside is where the big machines lay. From WWII to Desert Storm Era. I spent some time looking at the Sherman. Interesting how the designs change over time from that to something like an Abrahms. Also machines like the Cobra are slim, but much larger than I would have thought.
It's nice here and I'm even thinking of trying the tour one of these days.
Red Butte Gardens
Not too far from Fort Douglas is a garden I had just found out about that exact day. All I can say about this place is beautiful. Large, open, peaceful, calming and absolutely lovely. With areas dedicated to certain elements of nature, like fragrances, medicinal, roses, water conservation, natural etc. it really is an amazing place to relax and explore. I spent probably 5 hours here until around 8:30PM (they close at 9). There was even a wedding there that night which added a nice touch of energy and romance to the air.
One of my favorite places just past the beautiful rose gardens, just a bit up higher, is a lake. Tons of grassy areas cover around the lake making nice places to just lay down and relax. That is to keep somewhat vigilant to your surroundings for animals like rattlesnakes. Still, an extremely relaxing place. You can even head over the the wooden structure and feed the ducks!
My other favorite place was the natural untamed area which makes up about 2/3s to almost 3/4s of the garden. It's large with a lot of branching paths to explore and even a small mountain top to climb. Spent about 1-2 hours as the only hiker and absolutely enjoyed every solitary moment. Taking time enjoying everything from trail to foliage and having fun taking pictures.
Overall it was amazing. I will for sure be visiting these places again. Especially the Gardens since I didn't quite visit every place. It is very large.