Days 73-75: Hare Krishna, Taxidermy, Running Water and More

After two relaxing but accomplished nights staying in Rollin Homes RV Park in Nephi, we continued north, with plans to go to the Camping World just south of Salt Lake City to repair our broken water pump.

Visiting a Hare Krishna Temple

First up was Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple, a Hare Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, a city in the Provo-Orem municipality, south of Salt Lake City. Utah is renowned for being predominantly Mormon (Christ of Latter-Day Saints), so it was interesting that amid the distinct, soaring white temples with their distinct castellated Gothic architectural style that dotted the skyline, there is also a Hare Krishna Temple in the area.

We arrived at the Hare Krishna Temple and wandered first around the Temple grounds, where we saw several glamorous peacocks sauntering around, a peahen, a section full of alpacas, and a household cat! We learned that peacocks are significant in Hare Krishna as they symbolize purity, immorality, and connection to the divine and nature. And their cages were being cleaned thoroughly as they would soon instead house parrots -- which we encountered when we entered the Temple. Here, we were greeted by one of the followers of Hare Krishna, who gave us a brief tour of the Temple and told us a bit about their religion. There's also a vegetarian buffet served on the ground floor, and had we not had a filling breakfast a couple of hours beforehand we'd have been tempted to eat there!

We did, however, eat lunch as our next stop. Lisette couldn't help but laugh as despite just talking to a Hare Krishna follower about the benefits of a vegetarian diet (they don't eat any meat), Michael ordered a burger from In-N-Out burger nearby!! Lisette stuck to her leftovers she'd cooked the night before (General Tso's tofu and rice). Fortunately we'd also filled up a couple of five-gallon water jugs at the RV park, so we were able to use some of this water to wash the dishes, and keep us hydrated.

Strolling Through Provo Castle

Atlas Obscura had brought up the Castle Amphitheater (also known as Provo Castle) on our way north, which is located within the grounds of the Utah State Hospital. The Amphitheater was built in the 1930s as one of about 230 public works during the Great Depression, offering temporary work relief and serving as a facility for a variety of local public programs. Other buildings that were constructed with this purpose included public schools, courthouses, libraries, National Guard armories, and many others.

The Amphitheater was designed to be a hub for patients, and could seat around 800 people and had several interior rooms. Today, it's open to the public, but a sign notified us before we drove up toward the Amphitheater that we needed to check in at the Hospital administration building. When Lisette wandered in, the receptionist seemed to be very indifferent and simply noting that the building may not be open, but she did helpfully add that we wouldn't be able to park at the top of the hill. Fortunately, it was a very short stroll to get to the Amphitheater and see it and the surrounding lush green park next to it. There's a lovely view from the top of the Amphitheater, and Sheila did really well to clamber up the grate stairs to check out the view with us!

Being Impressed By the Bean Life Science Museum

At many points on this trip, we've visited a place without knowing too much about it beforehand, only to be quite impressed. The Bean Life Science Museum is one of those places -- a natural history museum at Brigham Young University in Provo. And it's free!

Despite our RV's size, we were able to just squeeze into a parking spot outside the Museum, and secure free parking by registering our vehicle at the reception desk inside as Museum visitors. The Museum has an extensive collection of taxidermy mounts -- including of animals from Africa, the Americas, and the world's largest and most complete collection of waterfowl -- as well as butterflies (designed to make an image of one giant butterfly), beetles, various birds' eggs, and more. What is also interesting is that as this Museum is at Brigham Young University, which is majority Mormon, there is a sign that notes that the exhibits explore the theory of evolution through the lens of science, but doesn't impose a specific Mormon Church stance. Rather, the exhibits are meant to spark conversations about evolution and natural selection, with the Church having no official position on the topic.

We wanted to continue the history theme by visiting Roots of Knowledge, a huge stained-glass panorama showing the history of humanity, from cavemen to the modern technology era. However, when we got there we found there was nowhere we could park our RV. The designated parking was in a storied parking garage that was too low for us to clear entrance to, and the rest of the outdoor parking spots all required a permit. After circling the campus for a while, we gave up and drove on.

Paragliding at Point of the Mountain

We had called Camping World in the nearby city of Draper to see when we could get our water pump repaired (we had to go here as the pump installed was purchased at this chain when we had issues about 50 days ago near Tucson), and were told to come in the following day at 10am. We swung by in case there was a chance it could be inspected a day earlier, but unfortunately it wasn't possible.

But the good news was that Michael could finally go paragliding, the first time on this road trip so far! In the late afternoon we met our friend Brian, who we met at the paragliding school we went to in the Bay Area, who not only gave us most of the packages that we'd ordered to be delivered to his house (thank you!), but also took Michael up to check out the north side of Point of the Mountain, a designated paragliding and hang gliding area with stunning views around it, including snowcapped mountains that would make you believe you're actually in Switzerland.

Michael was super excited to check it out, so while Lisette and Sheila hung out with the RV and got some quality time together, he and Brian went to the north side of Point of the Mountain to check it out, with conditions looking favorable as there were quite a few wings in the air. While the wind was a bit strong for Michael to do a full flight this time around, he was happy to be able to do some ground handling to reacquaint him and his wing after several months of no flying, ahead of more time planned in the days ahead to fly at this spot.

Curry Pizza and our Nighttime Roadside Stop

Because the sun doesn't set until after 8pm local time, Michael didn't arrive back at the RV until around 8.30pm, however many restaurants close at 9pm. Since we didn't have a working water pump, we didn't want to cook, but fortunately found a popular restaurant called Curry Pizza, which has several stores in Utah and Idaho, and is known for its Indian/pizza fusion menu. We devoured our butter curry/tikka masalaa-flavored pizza and found an iOverlander-recommended spot alongside the road to turn in for the night.

Michael the Handyman

Lisette had a call the next morning at the same time that we had the appointment at Camping World, so she found a cafe to get some work done nearby while Michael went to hopefully get the water pump fixed. An hour later, there still wasn't anyone that had come to look at the water pump, and Michael was surrounded by an increasing number of irate and impatient customers. So he decided that our best option was to fix this urgent issue himself, by reinstalling the old pump (which worked fine), rather than retain this newer, but clearly less reliable, one.

Yes, we had a manual, the box for the new water pump, and access to countless YouTube videos. But this was unchartered territory, involving water and electric connections to ensure the pump was functioning effectively. To easily access the water tank and pump, we would need to take off our heavy mattress atop it.

After trips to Walmart and Home Depot, a few hours later.... we had a working water pump!!! We cannot understate the joy, relief and sense of achievement in getting this done, as running water is so vital to RV living, and it seems that it can be quite common to have issues with water pumps. Hopefully there won't be any other issues, but if we encounter this in the future, it should hopefully be easier to diagnose and fix.

Across from the Home Depot where Michael fixed the water pump in the parking lot, was a Trader Joe's grocery store. We haven't encountered this grocery chain (one of our favorites) since Day 44 in Boulder (so about a month ago), and Lisette had been excitedly anticipating the trip to stock up on some items, making sure to make room in the fridge, freezer and pantry in the days leading up to the trip. We ended up spending $200 on this grocery run, but Lisette has assured Michael that we will easily get through this food over time, particularly as not all of it is perishable.

In the evening, we went to our friend Brian's place to pick up the new eBike that was waiting for us (yay!), check out Brian's new business with his wife, Lydia -- a custom-built cafe on wheels called Cuppa Love, which brews delicious coffees, chai teas, Italian sodas, and also serves up yummy gelato (we know, we sampled it!). We definitely recommend checking them out if you're in the area; they go to places like farmers' markets, and also can be part of events!

After Lisette chatted with our friend Shannon on the phone (hi Shannon if you're reading this!) our celebratory dinner for getting water back up and running was Thai food. Unlike our experience in Moab, we both were happy with our meals, as the ingredients tasted fresh, and service was attentive and friendly. We ordered our usuals -- Michael's go-to is pad krapow, or chicken stir fry with holy basil, while Lisette's is an stir-fried eggplant dish with tofu, called pad ma kuer. Perhaps it's best to stick to our usual items as we travel around the country and eat at Thai restaurants, so that we have a good baseline to judge from!

Errands and eBikes

The majority of the next day was focused on "adulting", starting with Michael assembling the new eBike and putting the old one up for sale on Facebook Marketplace, noting that the battery is finicky. We were able to quickly sell it (turns out there are a lot of interested buyers, and we were eager to get rid of it as we don't have room to house 3 eBikes in our RV). We also had a few other items to purchase, and mail a few things at the post office.

Lisette has vowed to drop into dance or yoga classes when we are in cities, so she was excited to head to Salt Lake City (our first trip to the City) to go to Repertory Dance Theatre, taking a West African dance class, followed immediately by a Bollywood dance class to make the most of the trek. Michael drove Lisette to the city then headed back to the city of Draper, a 40-minute or so drive south.

It's a Small Dance World, After All

It has been weeks since Lisette has taken a dance class (not since taking a West African dance class in Denver), so Lisette felt stiff as a board initially. The West African class was an introductory class, so it helped Lisette to reawaken her dancing muscles and ears to listen to the sounds and cues of the live drums. During the introductions at the beginning of the class, it turned out that one of the drummers, Aly, is from Guinea -- and he not only is the brother of Alseny (a well-known West African dance teacher who has been teaching in the Bay Area for years), but he also used to be the driver for Naby, Lisette's dance teacher back in San Francisco, who we went to Guinea with at the beginning of this year for dancing & drumming workshops (and a full cultural immersion)! Lisette called Naby (who was actually in Australia teaching workshops there), and needless to say, he was shocked to see Lisette and Aly in the same location! What a small world. While the class was slower paced than what Lisette is used to, she loved it and planned to return to the open-level class on Saturday morning.

Afterwards, Lisette took her first-ever Bollywood dance class and immediately loved it! Bollywood music is incredibly catchy, and the choreography was so much fun. This class was filled with regular students, who all knew each other and used the class to also catch up and socialize. At the end of the class, Lisette was offered a slice of lamington from Australia, as one of the students is dating a guy from Adelaide! Another student turned out to be a paraglider as well, so she knows our friend Brian, in another random coincidence. A third student, Victor, who had taken both classes with Lisette, kindly gave Lisette a ride back to where Michael and Sheila were waiting in the RV, as he lived 20 minutes further south from where we were staying.

While it can be harder to make friends as an adult, these interactions are wonderful reminders that having a hobby and being a part of a community, such as dance, paragliding, or something else -- truly helps to find a "tribe" to connect with. We've really appreciated the open and friendly nature of the folks we've met so far around Salt Lake City.

Route Map