I once again have led my long-suffering husband to new treasures along the highways and byways of this great country. I never tell the poor man where we are going, I navigate us to the address, telling him to be on the lookout for anything “unusual.” Mister Rain is not a frequent curser, but his initial reaction when he lays his eyes on the Fine Sight is often an expletive. It is always followed, though, by a laugh.
Salt Lake City, Utah
33-Foot-Long Iguana
The itinerary for our week-long vacation in Utah was packed so full that even the entire Osmond family would have difficulty getting it all in. As I directed my husband to our first stop after landing in the state’s capital, I had to fight to keep the giggle inside.
“Oh, God,” he said, the defeat heavy in his voice.
An extremely lifelike giant Red Iguana sits in the parking lot of a restaurant of the same name.
Thirty-three feet long and 13 feet high, the piece was sculpted by Stephen Kesler, a Utah artist. Wanting the iguana to look as realistic as possible meant it took two years to make. Its 120,000+ scales and 80 epoxy spines were all hand-sculpted.
Unveiled on Halloween in 2017, the iguana’s official name is Xochitonal, after the giant iguana guardian of the Aztec underworld.
Nothing says “Let’s grab an enchilada and some nachos” or “The first stop of our trip is . . . “ like a symbol of the dark abyss.
54” Round Ice Cream Cone
Perched atop a Jimmy John’s, the ice cream cone is a landmark from the building’s former tenant, Snelgrove Ice Cream, a family-owned ice cream parlor in Salt Lake City. So historic was Snelgrove, this iconic sign, constructed in 1962, was commemorated on a 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics pin.
When Jimmy John’s acquired the property, they were legally unable to tear down the protected double-scoop ice cream cone sign so they painted it black. This prompted the local community to refer to it as the “Murder Cone.” This, to me, begs the question: Would ice cream be on your last meal menu?
Pyramid Of Modern Mumification
This 40-foot-square, 26-foot-high metal pyramid is located in a small, neatly-kept lawn inside a gated compound in an industrial area. Built in the late 1970s, it is the headquarters of Summum, a religion that practices mummification.
The religion’s founder, Summum Bonum Amon Ra (aka Claude “Corky” Nowell), claimed an alien race revealed the secrets of the universe to him. After his death in 2008, he was mummified.
The interior of the pyramid is off-limits, but the group offers its mummification services to anyone who can afford it. Pyramid, I assume, not included.
(When Mister Rain saw the pyramid, I feared I would soon be needing Summum’s services.)
Hoodah: 15-Foot-Tall Troll
Furniture-maker Garth Franklin built Hoodah out of lumber. Sitting on an abandoned railroad track since October 2023, Franklin sees Hoodah as the guardian and protector of the neighborhood, an old industrial area with a long, rich history of building things.
We had a little difficulty finding Hoodah and since I like to keep the what a surprise, I just kept telling my husband to “look for something unusual on the railroad tracks.” Though he will see the what before I do, I always know when he has spotted it by a heavy sigh or an expletive, not his usual style.
All of these very fine sights to see, no doubt, have Mister Rain building a case to have a restraining order issued against me.
The thing about beginning a trip with these four stops is that for me, there is nowhere to go but down. For my husband, there is nowhere to go but up, up, up.
Rest assured, friends, I will continue running down the road trying to loosen our loads.
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Such A Fine Sight To See
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