We wiggle into Salt Lake City following Butko’s directions on how to follow the old route. Salt Lake City from the old Lincoln Highway, or at least from the version we’re following, is not a very exciting or good looking city. Bob was expecting something more exotic, I think. He’s a fan of the HBO show called BIG LOVE and he’s read a lot about the Mormons in recent years, so he’s disappointed in the city as we see it. It’s flat, franchised, numbered, and dull in an Anywhere USA sort of way.
We’re glad when we get west of town and into the town of Magna. We pull over on 2700 South Street and immediately are greeted with a smile and friendly curiosity from a young woman who appears to be going back to work at the TransWest Credit Union there in Magna. Her name is Katy Saques (pronounced sa-kez) and she’s the branch manager. She didn’t know her Garfield Branch office is right on the old Lincoln Highway, but she’s happy to hear it connects her to her hometown of San Francisco.
Bob and Jarrett set up the tripod and camera across the street. You can see a huge copper smelter on the side of the mountain in the distance, and we thought it might make an unusual downtown shot. A quick stop, but on the way back to the van with the equipment, Bob starts talking to the man who’s on the roof of a small brick building across the street. A Mexican, the guy is converting the place into a bar and nightclub apparently, and I think he thinks we could give him some publicity. We shout back and forth for a while. Bob has the camera on his shoulder so we do an impromptu interview about the Lincoln Highway. Who knows how we’ll use this?