Mardi Gras

I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves. Mardi Gras weekend in New Orleans is basically five nights of mirthful marathon parading, both kid-friendly and R-rated. I, an introvert who covets her quiet, alone time, is now beholden to this wonderful city for an abundance of Mardi Gras tales and memories and really wouldn't change that for a billion strings of platinum and diamond beads.

In order of appearance. First, Krewe de Babylon:

Krewe of Muses:

 Hermes:

 Krewe d'Tat:

 Krewe of Mid-City:

Zulu:

Prince of Wales Social Aid And Leisure Club : Second Line Parade

Second Line parades are sooooooo New Orleans. In the early 1900s, Social Aid and Leisure Clubs (fun clubs) set up little parades (fun with friends and family) with a float (visually fun), some brass musicians playing upbeat, improvised Jazz (fun to hear), with revelers behind the floats and brass, swaying to the music and drinking (boozy, sweaty, dance-y fun). Thus, the revelers become part of the parade, or the second line.  These parades still exist today, many Sundays out of the year..

Fun is New Orleans's primary attribute. New Orleans is the friend begging you to stay for just one more Sazerac, to dance with them in the street, to sing a little louder. New Orleans cajoles you to bridge the gap between just letting go of inhibitions and making a total fool out of yourself. New Orleans always has a hangover in the morning and is slow to rise, and you wonder how long it can keep up this lifestyle; however, it must some hedonistic gene, or least strong endurance, for it always up for next go-round of the concept of fun.

In The Heart of The Beast : May Day

Utah: Salt Lake City and environs

"Now if you find yourself falling apart

I'm sure

I could stand

on

the Great Salt Lake"
- Band of Horses

Many years ago, I had a layover on the way to Seattle that happened to be my favorite layover that ever was. I landed in Salt Lake City. It was a beautiful clear day, and as we flew over the Great Salt Lake and landed amidst the mountains, I thought to myself: a) whoa, this is totally incredibly gorgeous, and b) I must (and will) get here again someday soon.

Often, people seem to me to be put off by SLC because of the whole Mormon element. Why? In Chile, they had a phrase they'd say to the children at the school at which I volutnteered when the children said something snotty: fea actitud (translated: ugly attitude). To me, the Mormon element is an added cultural anthropological bonus. A uniqueness. Don't worry; the people of LDS faith in SLC aren't going to drag you into the temple and convert you, for goodness sake. They've got regular lives and jobs, of course, and I had nothing but super friendly encounters with people from this beautiful, super clean and tidy town.

It's true that the whole Mormon culture component is very present and should not be ignored, because as I stated earlier, it's quite interesting (and beautiful and grandiose):

The temple:

The immaculate John Smith building, close to Temple Square:

The gardens near the temple were oh, so incredible. Seriously. Probably the most, well-tended, colorful gardens I've even seen. Something creepy and utopian about this statue, though:
















Besides the whole LDS element of SLC, there's also a non-Mormon, kind of counter movement there. There's a huge biking culture, and in turn, a sizable, gritty bike messenger crowd. The coffee-loving, beer-brewing, left-leaning, literature-liking, good music-listening crowd. Below, pictures of markers denoting where one can park and lock up his or her bike. They would spin in the wind and were almost a little too hypnotizing for me (I looked a little too in awe watching them, probably).








































The city:

Even the Tyvek was pretty in SLC:













Several miles outside of town is the amazing Antelope Island State Park, a place with its very own ecosystem and killer vistas. If you're visiting SLC, you should not miss it. There are beaches on the island, and I was able to swim and float in the super salty, super buoyant Great Salt Lake.
Salty shoreline:















We took a steep 5-mile round-trip hike to a mountain summit. It was worth it for the [almost] 360-degree views of the island. It was also worth it for the wildlife. A lizard:



















We saw antelope gracefully galavanting down the mountain while we climbed:















Buffalo do roam the island:





























Tomorrow: Wyoming and S. Dakota