Yesterday was a great day. I met up with my friends Inge, Angel, and Max, and we took a drive up Ogden Canyon to the little town of Huntsville. Huntsville is known for a few different things. First, for Mormons, it's the birthplace of one of the Presidents of the Church, David O. McKay. Second, there is a bar there that has been in existence since the 1860's-70's, and they serve a well-known burger. And third, it is home to a Trappist Monastery. Thus, this little excursion came to be known as our Saints and Sinners tour.
The real object of the trip for me was to get up into the mountains, and of course to try the burger at the bar. This may be an appropriate place for me to interject that one thing we all enjoy doing together is looking for little dive-y and out of the way places to eat. We arrived in Huntsville right at noon, and started of with the Sinners, by stopping at the Shooting Star Saloon for lunch. They are known for their Shooting Star burger - 2 all-beef patties, cheese, knackwurst, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and grilled onions. I knew I couldn't handle the entire thing, so I ordered a mini Shooting Star, and a frosty mug of Diet Coke. I must say that the burger was divine, and totally worth the drive. The decor of the place is also something. Stuffed animal heads on the walls (including a St. Bernard and a Jackalope), signed dollar bills stuck to the ceiling, Coors memorabilia, and photos that look as if they haven't been dusted since 1879. The kicker was a jukebox where we could select old Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash songs (Inge is a huge fan of The Man in Black, and I adore Patsy Cline). It was quite the experience.
Then moving on to the Saints, our next stop was the David O McKay home. It's still standing and in relatively good condition. It's a large white house with two cottonwood trees in front that look to be as old as the home itself. Apparently you can go on a tour of those house, but only on Saturdays.
We followed that up with our next stop, the Trappist Monastery. The monks arrived in Huntsville years ago, and have a great spot in the valley where they have a church, farm, and grow and sell their own honey. Some of them do woodworking as well. Apparently they used to have a dairy and bakery, but those were discontinued. We stopped in at the gift shop to pick up some honey, and had a nice chat with the monk working the register, Father Pat (us looking for medals for Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint of single women, and he telling us they didn't have any of those, but we could try Saint Jude, the patron saint of hopeless causes). They also sell religious merchandise, so Inge picked up some guardian angel medals, which he was kind enough to bless for us.
From there it was home to Salt Lake via North Ogden Canyon, which was a gorgeous drive. It was a great way to spend a summer day (my thanks to Inge for taking all the photos!).
The real object of the trip for me was to get up into the mountains, and of course to try the burger at the bar. This may be an appropriate place for me to interject that one thing we all enjoy doing together is looking for little dive-y and out of the way places to eat. We arrived in Huntsville right at noon, and started of with the Sinners, by stopping at the Shooting Star Saloon for lunch. They are known for their Shooting Star burger - 2 all-beef patties, cheese, knackwurst, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and grilled onions. I knew I couldn't handle the entire thing, so I ordered a mini Shooting Star, and a frosty mug of Diet Coke. I must say that the burger was divine, and totally worth the drive. The decor of the place is also something. Stuffed animal heads on the walls (including a St. Bernard and a Jackalope), signed dollar bills stuck to the ceiling, Coors memorabilia, and photos that look as if they haven't been dusted since 1879. The kicker was a jukebox where we could select old Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash songs (Inge is a huge fan of The Man in Black, and I adore Patsy Cline). It was quite the experience.
Then moving on to the Saints, our next stop was the David O McKay home. It's still standing and in relatively good condition. It's a large white house with two cottonwood trees in front that look to be as old as the home itself. Apparently you can go on a tour of those house, but only on Saturdays.
We followed that up with our next stop, the Trappist Monastery. The monks arrived in Huntsville years ago, and have a great spot in the valley where they have a church, farm, and grow and sell their own honey. Some of them do woodworking as well. Apparently they used to have a dairy and bakery, but those were discontinued. We stopped in at the gift shop to pick up some honey, and had a nice chat with the monk working the register, Father Pat (us looking for medals for Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint of single women, and he telling us they didn't have any of those, but we could try Saint Jude, the patron saint of hopeless causes). They also sell religious merchandise, so Inge picked up some guardian angel medals, which he was kind enough to bless for us.
From there it was home to Salt Lake via North Ogden Canyon, which was a gorgeous drive. It was a great way to spend a summer day (my thanks to Inge for taking all the photos!).
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