Burley Idaho Temple
I arrive in Denver around 4 pm and don’t depart for Salt Lake City until 10:40 pm! NAP TIME! Best of all, the airfare one-way from DC to Salt Lake City is only $30!
The Denver airport has a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in there, but I’ve never stopped to get anything. Tonight I repented and grabbed their brownie sundae featuring Americone Dream ice cream from Stephen Colbert. It was awesome!
I got excited on the flight when I saw they had Fanta orange soda, which I’ve never ordered before. Toss in some Pringles chips and some Oreo cookies and it was enough to get me to Denver! Dinner was then a Pizza Hut pizza with breadsticks, followed by the ice cream!
I just made the flight to Denver with about 5 minutes to spare! Also good news is that I will have no parking cost and no Uber cost! Awesome!
I arrived in Salt Lake City at 12:30 AM Friday morning. Sleeping in the airport was a good option given that I didn’t want to take the time to go get a hotel and then have to turn right around a few hours later and come back to the airport to pick up the rental car. so thank you American Airlines gate 5B, where I spent the next 7 1/2 hours on the floor trying to get some sleep. They were very accommodating when their 6 AM a flight left to Dallas as the place filled up, but nobody bothered me as I was trying to sleep. Once the flight took off, I had the whole place to myself again! You can’t beat that hotel cost!
At around 7:45 AM I exited the terminal and picked up my rental truck at Hertz. I rented a Dodge Ram 2500 pick up truck with only 1000 miles on it for $32 a day! And it has unlimited miles! With the airport taxes added in the total cost was around $57 for a day. I was in heaven!
Once in the truck, I took off for Burley, Idaho, which is about 200 miles away. I would get there at 11:15 a.m., 45 minutes ahead of my 12 p.m. endowment appointment time. All is well!
I used to think the Land of Desolation started just north of Cheyenne, Wyoming and went 125 miles north to Casper Wyoming. Then when I went to the Elko, Nevada Temple last month, I decided that the Land of Desolation starts just west of Grantsville and runs about 200 miles straight west to Elko, Nevada. Yesterday I decided that the Land of Desolation starts just west of Tremonton, Utah and runs for about 120 miles northwest to Burley Idaho!
There are few things as exhilarating as driving 85 m.p.h. on the freeway in isolated Utah and Idaho! Especially in a new truck!
I arrived at the Burley Idaho Temple at 11:15. Perfect timing!
I immediately changed into my white shirt and tie and headed for the front of the temple to get a photo taken. I was wearing my blue denims, tennis shoes, white tie and white shirt. My blue winter jacket covered the ensemble.
That’s when I met Norm Allen and his wife. When Norm saw me in my denims, tennis shoes and carrying my backpack, he said, “You look like a temple hopper!”
“I am!” I said.
”So are we,” he countered. “How many temples have you been to?”
”About 120,” I answered.
“That’s a lot more than us! We’ve only been to 92!”
Aaahhh, some people after my own heart. Norm’s daughter works for Delta. He and his wife fly free around the world. Not a bad gig! ✈️🌎
The endowment room was colored in about six shades of brown. The temple is larger than I thought. It was dedicated just a few weeks ago by President Dallin H. Oaks. The temple is the 212th dedicated temple in the world, and the seventh in Idaho. The potato blossom is featured in the interior design. 
Following the session, I got lunch at Panda Express. Largest large root beer I’ve ever seen!
I enjoyed the road signs on the way home, including Rattlesnake Pass, Idahome, and the Golden Spike National Park. I stopped at the Golden Spike monument, decided not to pay the $20 to walk 50 feet and see the tracks, then headed for Chili’s 🌶️ in Saratoga Springs to take Kelly and her family to dinner. What a joy to see them! 