I love Salt Lake City. It is quirky, family oriented, flawed but fabulous. The highways get you anywhere you want to go with little brake action or congestion and the streets are laid out with generous "parking" lanes and bike paths. The street naming conventions would be easy to learn (for most, not me), and are very different from anything I've seen before (numbered instead of named, with some exceptions). You can see the influence of the Mormon forebears in the creation of the city, especially when it comes to orderliness, but there are districts that defy the rules, bending to and fro and naming their streets after something other than numbers.
When I drove from the Arches National Park to Salt Lake City, the clouds that had been threatening all day finally crowded in. At some point in the long and winding drive, they seemed to descend all around me, and a fussy, pattering rain commenced and never let up for the rest of the night.
It was full dark before I reached SLC and my AirBNB and I could see no more than the illuminated streetlights, headlights, and signage in my path. I met my AirBNB host, who showed me around the generous space I would be occupying for the week, and settled down for the night.
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| Main Entryway |
My ongoing ill feelings--so treacherous, flittering, and vague--came on full force the next day after I attempted breakfast. The day was rainy and gloomy and I decided to just lay down and relax at the AirBNB. I needed to get my mind off of my ongoing troubles, or else circle the toilet bowl of despair worrying about the rest of this long leg of the trip. Back in the olden aughts, my work friends discussed the phenomena of "Soft Place to Land" movies and shows that we would watch when sick, sad, or otherwise compromised. For some it might be movies like Hope Floats, The Pelican Brief, or maybe The Juror (I remember a discussion about the psychological soundness of seeking out movies where heroines were in peril but would, without fail, save their own damn day...maybe sometimes with a little help from Denzel). At the time, I named Practical Magic as a top choice for me. In later years, Law & Order main and Law & Order Criminal Intent joined those ranks. It was a dark day when they were removed from Netflix.
Feeling cloaked in fatigue and light nausea, I decided I wanted to watch something mildly criminal, a gentle violence, if you will, and settled on Blue Bloods. I didn't have high expectations, and it turned out to be the exact balm I needed to coast through the day. There is no end to the comforting presence of Magnum PI's mustachio.
The next morning broke open vast, cloudless, and shiny bright. The rains had finally passed. My mood and overall condition followed suit, so I got ready and set out for my first SLC library: Marmalade Branch.
Now, you will judge me for this next part. You will say, UM. You will say, Everyone knows this. You will say, Ugh. But honestly, I had no sense of Salt Lake City's geography. None whatsoever. When traveling, I tend to study up on a town either while I am there or immediately after. I knew about the Church of the Latter Day Saints and I knew they had hosted the Olympics at some point. And I knew they had an ambitious library system based on the research I did complete prior to my trip. Oh, and the lake. I knew about the lake. Because, well, obvious.
But I didn't know about the mountains.
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| Lounge area looking out to the terrace. |
So out of the AirBNB cul de sac I drove, toward the main roads that would lead to the highway. I can't remember exactly when my vantage reached the perfect point, on a hill unobscured by an immediate treeline, but suddenly there they were. Everywhere. Mountains to the left, mountains to the right, and not in the distance but up close and personal (oo another soft place to land movie, methinks). I could see individual trees near the peaks. The eastern, more abundant and dramatic range is the Wasatch; the western range is the Oquirrh (x). I spent much of the drive to Marmalade yelling at the massive, intrusive, gorgeous beauty all around me. And laughing at the fact that I'd been in Salt Lake for something like 36 hours and had only just realized Where I Was.
(To be fair to myself, I don't watch winter Olympics and barely watch the summer ones, mostly for the gymnastics. I think the last time I watched the winter Olympics was when two little glitter babes in bejeweled swimsuits were whacking each other about the knees and crying at Disneyworldland because silver isn't as good as gold. Which reminds me: Wasn't Oksana Baiul phenomenal? God that was a great ending to a cosmically stupid era in our collective culture.)
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| Check out materials, search catalogs, pay fees... |
By the time I reached the Marmalade district of Salt Lake City, I'd recovered from my geographical shock. I had to park on the side of the road since construction was still taking place for whatever lot the library would eventually have, but there were no parking signs or rules posted anywhere and the area was safe and residential. On top of that, I parked in front of a church with one of those sprawling, hyper green lawns with the grass so feathery, dense, and light that you kind of want to drop whatever you're doing and take a nap on it.
The Marmalade Branch of the City Library system is hard to miss as you approach it by foot or car. The architecture is stunning, modern, sleek, and exciting. As I approached the building I took what felt like a hundred different shots of the exterior, but knew none could really do it justice in the end. Two dimensional photographs can be incredible representations of our 3D world, but there's no matching first person experience. The wind, the smell of the trees and grass all around, the sound of the street, the glint of the sun off the glass and chrome features of the library itself, and how it changes as you approach.  |
| You can't tell from the photo, but there are glass walls on either side of the Return wall. Another Librarian Aquarium! |
The reason I am in Salt Lake City for a week is based on the treasure trove of libraries in this area. I knew I wanted to see the Bonneville Salt Flats, so would be passing through Salt Lake, but had no designs other than maybe staying a night on my way through. It was in the research of libraries along the way that I realized I would need to spend more time here. The City Library system has clearly had a lot of resources poured into it (and I am very excited to see the main library, which is supposed to be incredible) and the libraries I have visited thus far have proven my online impressions to be correct.
Marmalade's visual wonders continued on to the interior of the space itself: deep, rich, wood ceiling fixtures, bright, mellow light, and all the sleek, modern conveniences of a library that was built only a year ago. The tall glass walls afford incredible views of the surrounding mountain ranges and the city itself, and there is even an outdoor deck with plenty of seats and tables to study, read, write, or just enjoy the surroundings.
Each lounge/seating area features a different styling: bright orange, green, gray--and the light fixtures are inspired. I was particularly charmed by the cut paper globe installation in the kids' play area.
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| My Study Room. |
The best part, however, was the availability of study rooms. There were tables around, but I wanted a closed space just for me, and library staff was kind enough to grant it. The study rooms were along the glass wall, so I had a view of the terrace and greenspace just behind it, two real walls to block the other study rooms, then another glass door and wall leading to the library and stacks. The room itself was perfect: comfortable, quiet, and exactly what I needed to complete my "Two Days in Durango" story/entry.
There was a two hour limit to the space, however, so I had to vacate for a minute to see if I could renew. The rule is first come, first serve, so if no one was waiting on the list, I would be able to get the room for another hour. The library was fairly busy, but not so much with people like me, so I was able to get the room for a solid three to complete my work.
The City Libraries are semi-relaxed. They really don't want you eating in any of their facilities, but I was told if was cool about it, no one would care. So, no juicy, drippy burritos but peanut butter crackers are probably okay. They are completely fine with covered drinks, e.g. a venti iced coffee from Starbucks or a bottled water if you are into that kind of thing. Marmalade even has a cafe where you can buy coffee and treats, have a seat, and relax or talk with friends. When I left the library, the place was hopping, so it's evidently a popular spot and a good source of revenue. As long as libraries manage their spaces effectively, food & drink can occupy space with precious books, but the key is professional, firm, consistent supervision and execution of the rules. And, of course, patrons who respect those rules and follow them.
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| The kids' play area. |
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| Library Doggo, Fluff Ambassador. |
I even saw a doggo patiently accompanying her Tall Man in the stacks and surreptitiously took her picture to share here with the world. I know I am violating her privacy but she's so cutey wootey that I HAD TO I JUST HAD TO. Look at her lil sweater it has skulls on it omg. Also, I miss my fluff faces so much and it was nice to see another fluff face, even if she was a dog variety fluff instead of catty fluff.
Marmalade was exactly what I was expecting when I viewed the online profiles of the City Library system, as well as the county library system that co-mingles with SLC and its outlying suburbs. In this case, I could judge the book by its cover. But as we all know, it's wiser not to. A lesson I soon learned, double fold. More on that in the next couple of entries...
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