Day 12 – Salt Lake City

By Jake Solomon

 

    Once we got out of the hotel and had breakfast, we went on a beautiful drive heading to Salt Lake City. Once we arrived in Salt Lake City, we headed to Whole Foods for a great lunch! Then, we went to a presentation by a guns rights activist named Clark Aposhian. He discussed how he thinks that guns shouldn’t be restricted and how the government shouldn’t take away our guns. This was the other side of the debate from our meeting on Tuesday with Tom Mauser who spoke about gun safety. While I disagreed with his opinions on guns, I think he had a good presentation with solid arguments and reasoning for why he thinks guns shouldn’t be restricted. We had many questions for him and it was an engaging debate. At the end of the talk, Clark took us outside to the shooting range and he shot a variety of guns. While some of us were intrigued by this, some of us furthered our uneasy feelings about guns. 

     After his presentation, we went to the Mormon Church to learn about the Mormon religion. It is the most popular religion in Utah and fastest growing religion in the world. Mormonism defines much of the state’s identity. The church and it’s grounds were beautiful and the tour guides very nice and they explained their religion well. We had many questions to help us better understand their religion. 

      The final activity we did was hiking up Enside Peak. The hike was long and grueling (I had to stop sometimes just to catch my breath). However, I pushed through and eventually made it to the top! The view from up there was worth the hike up the mountain. It was “picture perfect.” 

     Overall Utah is a state with a unique culture and beautiful landmarks. I definitely enjoyed my time in Utah and am excited for the days ahead out west!