The world around us is great, and even inveterate travelers will not have time to visit all cities in their lives, get to know local life and make friends with neighbors. We are much more limited by time than by money. But curiosity about the world is inherent in a person from birth and is our most charming feature as a species. To satisfy this curiosity, "Lenta.ru" begins a series of materials "Other cities", in which readers talk about the places where they live. The first text came from Tatiana Loskutova from Salt Lake City, USA.
I have lived in Salt Lake City for over 16 years, my second husband was a Mormon from a Mormon family of pioneer Mormons (that is, those who came to the valley with Briham Young), all family members are active Mormons, go to church every Sunday , pay 10 percent of annual income, observe all the canons and customs bequeathed by Joseph Smith.
As an atheist, no one has ever forced me to the Mormon faith, but I never criticize. They believe in this utopian rubbish, well, let it, I don't care. They remind me of our communists in Soviet times: there were normal people, but there were rabid Bolsheviks, from whom I could not save anywhere. Only Mormons are extremely tolerant of other religions. Mormonism is a typical American church that has absorbed all religions and philosophies that the inquisitive mind of J. Smith and his companions in writing Mormon books could reach in the first half of the 19th century. Such an American religious melting pot. According to the latest data, 52 percent of Mormons live in Utah, the remaining 48 percent are from other faiths.
As I was told, in Russia they know about Mormons mainly from the story of Conan Doyle and suspect that Mormon girls are still forcibly married off. Not at all. They decide for themselves whom to marry. Some want only Mormon boys, some don't care what denomination their loved one belongs to, some don't want to marry anyone at all. The church officially banned polygamy at the end of the 19th century. Although secret polygamists are still sometimes found in Salt Lake City and are being prosecuted. Young people not only drink coffee and tea, but also smoke marijuana, and what can be stronger. Statistics show that we have the highest level of antidepressant use in the country - 62 percent: that is, the crowd of people is simply inadequate around the clock.
The bulk of Mormons are Republicans, Utah on the election map is always painted in Republican red. I only know one Democrat Mormon (he is a Mormon by birth). I don't know where they discuss politics, but definitely not at work. Probably in places reserved for this kind of discussion or in families. Facebook posts from Democratic friends are much more aggressive than Republican posts. Democrats are probably more unhappy even with a Democratic president.
One of the distinctive features of Utah is the large Mormon families. It is normal if there are four or more children in a family. The Church does not prohibit but does not approve of abortion. Contraception is permitted. Mormon women give birth as much as they can and want to give birth. The local family cars are called "Mormon Saberbn" - big cars full of children and dogs, with a young pregnant mother driving.
I live in the most Mormon area, I often walk around and almost never see children playing in the street, everyone is playing in the courtyards. If I meet someone with children on the walking paths, then they are Indians or Chinese (there are not enough of them around once or twice). Mormon animals also walk exclusively in backyards. Because, as they explained to me, "they understand that walking along the road is life-threatening." It's funny, because in the old center, where different people live, cats walk the streets!
Mormon churches are built every few residential blocks, with families assigned to each ward. On Sundays, the family goes to church with the children. Parish churches have a huge parking lot because everyone arrives by car. I have been to church several times, one of them all morning at the so-called service and a couple of times at a funeral, it was a long time ago. At 8 am people come with their children and go to the “assembly hall”, where there are rows of chairs in front of a normal stage, on the back wall of which there is an organ, and on the stage there is a grand piano or a piano. There is a book of psalms on the backs of chairs in pockets, everyone sits down, a priest appointed from the flock (they are appointed or elected for a certain period of time, they are not paid anything for this work) greets everyone and names a page of the psalm, everyone reads in chorus and then sits down. Further, the agenda can be as follows: 1) report of the missionary who returned home; 2) a report on an emergency in the parish; 3) anything you want, up to a small concert by one family. After that, people are bred into different large rooms: women - in the Women's Society, men, respectively, in the Men's. Girls and boys are also in different rooms.
In the Women’s Society, when I visited it in the winter of 1998, they were discussing some knitting courses, salad recipes and all kinds of other nonsense. We gave everyone printed salad recipes. Then we discussed how the lonely old people living in the parish can be helped to clear the snow. After that, they appointed who would report and on what topic next Sunday, and went to classes of interests, where there were already both children and men. Interest classes were different: cooking, music, literature, and so on. As you can see, there were no sermons and prayers after the reading of the psalm at the beginning of the service.
Photo courtesy of Tatiana Loskutova
Children are taught to write reports and speak, and all Mormon children know how to do this wonderfully. They grow up to be good speakers.
All church work is absolutely free, no one gets paid for it. The church, through state bodies, here regulates the number of liquor stores. For example, in our town, where 43 thousand people officially live, there is only one liquor store, which is located on the mountain, where there are no schools or churches nearby.
Grocery stores only sell beer with a minimum alcohol content; on Sundays and public holidays the liquor store is closed, on other days it is open from 11 am to 10 pm. Although in neighboring states - Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming - you can buy drinks with a strength of up to 40 degrees around the clock in grocery stores. But Arkansas is completely dry, so our devil is not so bad yet.
Mormons do not wear a cross or are baptized; there is no cross on the pointed steeples of churches either, because they believe in the resurrected, living Jesus Christ. They also do not have icons, in the churches there are portraits and statues of Joseph Smith, Briham Young and other "apostles". In houses you can see images of Christ with the words "Come to me" or "I will come to you", which at first amused me very much. My mother-in-law had one thing on the refrigerator, but on the opposite, on the wall, another, so I kept asking what to do? Wait for Christ to come himself or go to him?
Restrictions in everyday life are as follows: you cannot drink coffee, tea (but they drink all sorts of Pepsi and coca in liters), smoke, drink alcohol, wine, beer, drugs (the latter can be prescribed by prescriptions from doctors), do not use foul language, do not watch porn, do not have sex before marriage (for both girls and boys, but this also applies to widowed or divorced adults).
Photo courtesy of Tatiana Loskutova
The president of the church is automatically called a prophet. This is an active prophet during his reign. The congregation believes him unconditionally. For example, if he says that all Mormons in Salt Lake City need to take children, animals, pack household belongings and move in a column up the mountains to escape an earthquake or some other misfortune, then everyone will pack up overnight and move. I asked many around me and even my husband, who has not gone to church for many years, and everyone answered that if the President-Prophet tells to go to the mountains, they will go. Why? Because they will be told, that's why. This same “because we were told” also applies to genealogical archives in every family, and to the fact that they all keep diaries, no matter whether on paper or on Facebook, capturing important events in the life of each member of this family. Because they were told to do it. Because we were told. And do not question it. Everyone is obsessed with genealogy, endlessly collecting albums with photographs and documents, this is copied and distributed to adult family members for memory. This is very good, because I could not find the names of relatives beyond my great-grandfather and great-grandmother. Mormons know all relatives up to the 10th generation, and maybe even earlier!
Monday is considered "family day", in the evening everyone should be at home, one of the parents or the eldest of the children read the Bible to the family.
Children are taught music, they sing wonderfully, constantly participate in competitions. Scouting programs operate through the church and instructors work with children free of charge during their free time. In summer, children are taught to play softball from a young age, there are many play parks with softball fields, schools are also surrounded by huge green fields for games and parking lots. Here children are loved and cared for very much.
After graduation, some (not all) parents send their children to missionary work in other states or countries. If children go to other countries, then they take an intensive crash course in the language of that country at Briham Young University. The mission lasts two years, with parents paying the lion's share of the costs, if not 100 percent. Thanks to this, there are many people in the state who know foreign languages and geography, at least the countries where they were missionary.
Photo courtesy of Tatiana Loskutova
Mormon women knit, sew blankets, gather in someone's house for the presentation of cosmetics, bags, crafts. In general, a rich "female" life. Of course, all federal national holidays are celebrated in our state, but the largest parade in Utah is on July 24, Pioneer Day. This is the day when the first detachments of the Mormon column with women and children, exhausted by many months of crossing from the east of the country, having lost many dead from disease along the way, left the Immigration Canyon into the Salt Lake Valley. And Briham Young, seeing the valley and the Great Salt Lake in the northwest, said, "Here we will build the New Zion." Fireworks start a few days before July 24 and last three days after. There are free concerts and films in the parks this month.
Since Mormons do not drink alcohol, their parties and celebrations can seem boring. This is not entirely true. Their families are large, when everyone gets together, then more than 30 people come with children and grandchildren (only one family, no cousins), and they have many common interests. In summer, of course, grilled meat is cooked in the courtyard; guests bring salads and desserts with them. They agree in advance who will bring what and. How are they having fun? They go to sports shows: football, basketball, baseball. They themselves play a lot of these games, there are summer baseball teams (you have to pay to use the site), you can subscribe only for one season and play once a week. In the canyons, we have rivers with trout, you can go fishing or just with meat for picnics where there are tables with benches and campfire sites and you can kindle a fire. In the mountains, many have summer cottages with pieces of land around and a stream, where they spend Sundays. These houses have electricity, hot and cold water, bathrooms and toilets. You can live in them all the time, only in winter there is a lot of snow in the mountains and if the road is not cleaned, you cannot get out of there.
After Olympic Games in Park City (a ski resort) there are a lot of all kinds of sports guitars, which are now used in the summer for bobsleigh track, aerial cable cars and other entertainment.
And, of course, the Great Salt Lake and many artificial lakes throughout the state. Everyone goes there to ride boats or scooters, water skiing. Many have their own motor boats, cutters, so on weekends from the city on the freeway in both directions stretches a line of trucks with attached boats. Some even travel to lakes in neighboring states. Golf, of course, but it's everywhere, so I won't write about it.
In winter skiing... We have about ten ski resorts in Wasach (part of the Rocky Mountains). In addition to skiing, you can go sledging and boarding. For locals, seasonal tickets are sold at a discount.
Photo courtesy of Tatiana Loskutova
And, of course, in winter and summer you can hit the road for three days or to Wendover (on the border with Nevada, about 2 hours by car), or to Las Vegas (about 5.5 hours by car) to gawk at poker and other things ... If you go to Wendover, in general you can turn around in one day. Gambling is prohibited in Utah, but you can always go to a neighboring state to sin. It is not necessary that everyone goes to Las Vegas in the casinos, there are many famous bands and performers on tour, so you can go to a concert and at the same time pay 20 dollars to one-armed bandits, because in Vegas they give you a lot for free.
What's with the weapon? Twice a year, there are gun shows selling weapons (from pistols to machine guns, like Schwarzenegger's in the Predator movie). Everyone has a weapon in their house, but no one flaunts it, it goes without saying. Just in case. As clever Golda Meir said: "Israel does not have nuclear weapons, but if necessary, we will use them." If you want to practice shooting, you can go to the shooting ranges specially equipped for this, not for free, of course. They say we have low unemployment and low crime rates. The crime rate depends on where you live. The east and southeast are the most prosperous regions, the west is less prosperous. There is a different demographics, Mexicans. The police in Salt Lake City are so easy to see on the streets. They patrol, of course, but somehow unnoticed.
Last year, an incident happened in our town: some stray drug addicts drove by at 5 am, stopped in the wrong place, and then there was a night police patrol. He stopped and asked if they needed help, didn't even get out of the car. He was shot. I woke up at 7 am to the sound of a police helicopter and sirens howling. They chased the police from everywhere, blocked all the roads, set up posts with machine guns and called on the phone, told everyone within a radius of three miles from the incident not to leave the house until they report that the suspect was caught, and inform the police immediately if someone unfamiliar appears near the house ... It happened more than a year ago, and the policeman is still remembered and always and everywhere they talk about him.
In older parishes such as Mill Creek, where the population settled in the 1950s, Warning signs can be seen at intersections! We are watching this area. This means that if a stranger appears in this area who simply walks the streets, then, rest assured, some local aunt who saw him from the window of her house has already informed everyone who needs it. But the absence of a sign does not mean that Mormons in other areas do not report seeing strangers and cars on the street.
Public transport outside the city center is very poorly developed, so the population mostly drives their own cars. There are no pedestrians on the streets. Robberies take place in shops, gas stations and shops, attacks - in parking lots, but this is done by complete idiots and drug addicts, because absolutely everything is under the supervision of video cameras. In the evening they will show it right there on TV. If the police have not found them already, then after the show they often find them right away.
Here is a short summary of local life and customs. This, of course, is not all, but I would like to stop at this, otherwise it will be difficult to put an end to it.
Albertville 1992 (France)
The collapse of the USSR, formalized by the Belovezhskaya Agreement in December 1991, led to the fact that in France our team played under a neutral flag. Instead of the usual Soviet anthem, the Olympic anthem sounded, written by a Greek. Spyros Samaras for the first Games of 1896. After several dozen candidates left for the NHL, the composition of the United Team looked experimental at best. Of the experienced players in the attack were only Vyacheslav Bykov and Andrey Khomutov, who played in Switzerland, and the 25-year-old stood out in defense Igor Kravchuk and 26 year old Dmitry Mironov... It later Sergey Zubov, Darius Kasparaitis, Alexey Zhamnov, Vladimir Malakhov, Dmitry Yushkevich, Alexey Kovalev and Andrey Kovalenko will become prominent figures in the NHL. Twenty-six years ago, they were considered young and promising, who were lucky to get to the Olympics only due to the absence of all the strongest.
The average age of the team did not become a hindrance on the way to the last Russian hockey gold of the Olympics. At the group stage, I remember two great matches, the outcome of which became clear only at the end of the third period - a defeat by the Czechs (3: 4) and a victory over the Canadians (5: 4). The combined team clearly progressed over the course of the tournament. In the playoffs, it was already unstoppable. Dynamo acted very well at the goal Mikhail Shtalenkov, and each of the triplets, collected according to the club principle ("Swiss" with adjoining to them Yuri Khmylev, Dynamo, Spartak and Army), contributed to the overall success. The Americans in the semifinals (5: 2) were finally squeezed in the third period. Excellent physical training- the trump card of Soviet hockey - and helped in decisive match with Canada, which included the striking Joe Junot, not negotiated in the NHL under a contract with Boston, and very young Eric Lindros who refused to play for Quebec. In the final, after two periods, the score was not opened only because of the excellent performance of the Canadian goalkeeper Shauna Burke... But in the end the team Victor Tikhonov took her thanks to goals Vyacheslav Butsaev, Igor Boldin and Bykov, having won with a score of 3: 1. Khomutov scored 14 points, just one point behind the top scorer of the tournament Junot. Although, in this situation, one can blame the referees, who in the first match of our team with the Swiss (8: 0) entered the assistants into the protocol with only one puck. Given the style of play of the national team with an abundance of passes, you can easily believe in the carelessness of the people who were responsible for the statistics.
Lillehammer 1994 (Norway)
Time of Troubles
The fourth place at the Olympics, where our team first went under the Russian "tricolor", after many years of dominance in the international arena, nevertheless, it is difficult to consider a failure in those conditions. The dashing 1990s in all their glory were reflected in the national hockey. Any more or less talented player at the first opportunity fell overseas, not seeing prospects at home. Chaos also reigned in the minds of our hockey leaders. Suffice it to say that the Olympic team had one head coach... The team that was supposed to go to the World Cup in the spring has a different one. The Russian Ice Hockey Federation and the MHL communicated like a cat and a dog.
The renowned Tikhonov was essentially framed by sending him to Norway with a team that, at best, consisted of heroes of local importance. For many of them, that Olympics was the highest point in their careers. Bykov and Khomutov did not let go of their club "Friborg-Gotteron", since the Olympic break was not provided for in the Swiss championship. There were several 1993 world champions in the squad, but a year earlier, completely different players made the weather in the Russian national team. In Lillehammer, only Toronto, who did not join the main team, drove up to help from North America.
The Russians suffered even at the preliminary stage, when they took only fourth place in their group. They easily dealt with the hosts (5: 1) and the Austrians (9: 1), having thrown seven goals into the gates of the Alpine team in the second period. The victory in a bitter struggle over the Czechs (4: 3) was the only reason for optimism, which could not outweigh the consequences of the defeats from the national teams of Finland (0: 5) and Germany (2: 4). In the quarterfinals, however, they managed in overtime to defeat the favorite Slovak team (3: 2) with future NHL stars Jigmund Palffy and Miroslav Shatan as well as a veteran Peter Štastny... This is where the whole positive ended. In the semifinals, the Swedes, rushing to their first Olympic gold turned out to be stronger (4: 3), conceding two goals in the 59th minute, when the outcome was beyond doubt. There was no question of snatching the "bronze" from the Finns - 0: 4. The tournament could have been added to the asset by at least six people, including the 20-year-old Dynamo player who became the top scorer of the team with 7 points Andrey Nikolishin(after a broken jaw, he played in a helmet of a special design) and a sniper of the Resurrection "Chemist" Sergey Berezin.
Nagano 1998 (Japan)
Silver Renaissance
In sports, as in life, the black streak ends sooner or later. The Olympics in Nagano became a breath of hope for hockey Russia in the 90s. For the first time professionals from the NHL took part in it, the more valuable the second place was. Then, after a minimal defeat from the Czech national team in the final (0: 1), the overall impression of the tournament remained rather positive. For the first time in several years, our team acted from a position of strength, played some great matches and lost only once in a tournament. In the group, the Russians won a strong-willed victory over the future champions (2: 1): twice with an interval of 10 seconds Dominik Hasek punched Valery Bure and Alexey Zhamnov... The second goal turned out to be especially beautiful. Zhamnov climbed between two Czech defenders at speed, was overwhelmed and, sliding his stomach on the ice, managed to hit the puck so that it flew over the goalkeeper.
Who knows, the Russian national team would have been able to take gold, had not given up a trip to Japan for various reasons, a whole group of bright players - there weren't any at the Olympic Games Nikolay Khabibulin,Sergey Zubov, Alexander Mogilny, Igor Larionov and Vyacheslav Kozlov... In their memory, there was a residue from the 1996 World Cup, in which the players quarreled with the head coach. Boris Mikhailov against the backdrop of organizational turmoil resulting from the policy of the FHR representatives. Victor Kozlov and Alexey Kovalev were forced to miss Nagano-1998 due to injuries, and Sergey Fedorov due to disagreements on a new contract with Detroit, he had no playing practice before the Olympics. The gorgeous semi-final with the Finns (7: 4) was the high point in his career Pavel Bure... After five goals (nine in the entire tournament plus the titles of the best sniper and best striker) into the goal Yoke of Mullus the Vancouver striker has become the idol of the whole country, especially its female half, up to the most ancient grandmothers. In the final, the Czechs deservedly proved to be stronger, tying the Russian team's star attack hand and foot. Although with a single goal Peter Svoboda, scored by a long-range throw, did not go without a ricochet from Kovalenko. Shtalenkov, who brilliantly spent the entire Olympics, had no chance to help out.
Salt Lake City 2002 (USA)
Bronze named after Khabibulin
Unexpected appointment, bypassing Mikhailov (he will bring the silver of the World Championship from Gothenburg in the spring) to the post of head coach and general manager Vyacheslav Fetisov, who knew all the candidates personally, made it possible to assemble an almost optimal composition. Only Zubov, Mogilny and Alexey Zhitnik... But at that Olympics, an 18-year-old made his debut Ilya Kovalchuk and 22 year old Pavel Datsyuk... Six years later, Khabibulin put on the uniform with a two-headed eagle again. Fetisov and IIHF President Rene Fasel solemnly presented to him in the dressing room before the first match gold medal for the 1992 Olympics. In Turin, he was the third goalkeeper without playing a single minute. His medal went to Viktor Tikhonov therefore, as they said, Khabibulin harbored a grudge. The further course of the tournament confirmed that these efforts were fully justified. The star squad revealed its potential by 70 percent on the strength. In the group, the Russians won only the national team of Belarus (6: 4), which, taking into account the four goals missed, did not do them much honor. The match with the US national team ended in a draw (2: 2), and the Americans escaped defeat with less than five minutes left. The situation with the Finns was even worse (1: 3).
Khabibulin had a fantastic match in the quarterfinals with the Czechs (1: 0), reflecting 41 shots. With this one game, he reserved the title of the best goalkeeper of the Olympics. The only goal was scored by Maxim Afinogenov... A rematch for Nagano was taken. Alas, in the semifinals against the US national team, our team failed the first 40 minutes and got three goals, despite all the efforts of Khabibulin. They managed to get together only by the third period. In this segment, the Russians dominated, scored twice with the efforts of Kovalev and Malakhov, making the minimum difference in the score by the 44th minute - 2: 3. Unfortunately, our team didn't have enough for more. The most offensive was the mistake Sergey Samsonov hitting the barbell with a throw from close range. The puck rolled somewhere along the ribbon, but the goalkeeper pulled it out with his hand Mike Richter... Canadian arbitrator Bill McCreary confident that there was no goal, he ignored all the requests of the players and coaches of the Russian national team to watch the "movie".
The last Olympic medal to date was won easily. In the match for the "bronze" Belarusians, who a few days earlier went down in the history of the Olympics with a sensational victory over the Swedes in the quarterfinals, were defeated with a score of 7: 2.
Yeah. I type very fast :)
So, I got happiness in the form of as many as 5 days in a row free. Levon came for me in a car, and one of the most exciting adventures of my life began.
We are racing along a perfectly flat highway. Levon plays some music unknown to me, but which I really like. Ameno - Era (remix), as it turned out later.
Periodically, Levon includes a Turkish performer. As soon as the melody is replaced by a string play, Levon lets go of the steering wheel and starts slapping.
- Although I do not like the Turks for what they arranged with the Armenians, but I like this song!
Levon hardly speaks Russian, after all, he has been for 18 years, if not in the USSR. He speaks some phrases in English, but that suits me perfectly. By the way, in subsequent years he began to speak Russian without an accent - he flew to Russia several times, visited me and his relatives - and on the very first flight he met a flight attendant from Aeroflot, whom he later married.
Stopped for a bite to eat. Levon talked a lot about the local bison, which at first was almost exterminated, and then restored the population. And now there are so many bison that some of them are allowed to eat hamburgers without hesitation, a couple of which we built in this establishment. Well, it was delicious.
Then we moved, and I rush on. It was getting dark already. At some gas station Levon got something out of the trunk. and I saw there a scattering of disks that he took with him. Discs with Russian performers - as Levon said, they are shipped to him by relatives from Los Angeles. The attention was drawn to the disc Ta-Tu. I myself did not listen to them in those years, but I knew that they occupy high places in the local charts. He invited Levon to listen ...
Levon is very fond of the sky and airplanes. In the United States, he spent a lot of money and became the holder of a private pilot's license. Now he is picking up hours and preparing to take the CPL exam. He tells me how he was trained, where he managed to fly, and how it generally happens in the United States. In his attitude towards me there is an undisguised respect as a line pilot, however, this gives me some discomfort, because I feel that I can learn a lot from such an American private trader.
And I, for my part, tell him about work in Russia, about flights on the Tu-154. He is very interested - for him this plane is a legend, and all its pilots are almost Chkalovs. I try to dissuade him of this, convincing him that we are all quite ordinary people.
We moved, and I began to doze ... I fall asleep to the "Thirty minutes" and wake up to them. Levon liked this track so much that he listened to it an infinite number of times in a row.
We are crossing the mountains ... It is already dark and the road is almost deserted. TATU is practicing English, the engine hums, the car carries me into the exciting unknown.
The feeling of unreality does not leave me.
And here we are. 9 hours behind! I have never been in a car for so long. I meet Levon's parents and settle in the room allocated to me. Shower. Sleep! Levon told me something that tomorrow we will take a plane and fly to Las Vegas, but I still can't believe that this could be serious ...
I wake up. Levon left somewhere on business, I talk to his mother. She tells what a good guy Levon is, how she enjoys aviation, and how she worries about it.
Levon returns and we go to the airport. However, the trip to Las Vegas was no joke.
We stopped on the way in a rent-e-car. While Levon was doing something there, I walked and stared. Each meter was interesting, despite the fact that I had already spent three weeks in the States - after all, before that I managed to get abroad only once, at the age of 14 - when I studied English for a couple of weeks in the English city of Hastings.
And here we are at the airport. I am terribly interested in how it happens in the USA, and I enjoy every moment. First, we went either to the local flight director, or to the shift head of the flying club, of which Levon was a member. We found out that there is a free plane, though not exactly the one Levon was counting on - he wanted a Piper Warrior, but there was a Piper Archer with a less powerful engine. We were about to fly through the mountains and would like to have a little more power.
But I didn't have to choose. Levon took the "plane keys" and we went to get ready. More precisely, Levon was preparing, but I watched.
Arriving on the plane, Levon dumped the sludge of gasoline for a long time, every now and then swearing about the presence of impurities. I began to doubt - is it worth starting such a risky event? But the next test showed a clean result, Levon made a test start and a race of the engine - everything was OK.
Well, we did some other business and hit the road.
After the departure, I was simply killed with admiration for the views that opened up in the sky - we flew out to the mountains covered with snow. They were beautiful in blue! For some reason, I did not find a single photograph - probably, I just did not find a moment to tear myself away from the beauty.
Initially, we planned to land at an airfield closer to Las Vegas for refueling. However, having flown 135 miles, it turned out that there were already less than half of the fuel in the tanks. It is necessary to make a decision - to fly further to the airfield indicated in the flightplan, risking being left without fuel, or to land somewhere for refueling. After consulting, we chose the latter.
All this time I was piloting, and Levon controlled the flight on the map. Directly below us was an airfield with an artificial runway and even a working meteorological channel (which is rare for general airfields). A crosswind of 14-28 knots was transmitted. We were flapped, but Levon did not take control of the "line pilot". Heh! He would only know how the "line pilot" was then mentally afraid of "screwing up"! I have never flown such small planes in my life, and here it is quite possible for a large airliner! Moreover, an exclusively visual approach - having made several downward spirals, I lost extra height and went straight ... "Hood-horizon, hood-horizon!" The plane sausages in the irregularities of the atmosphere ... The streak is approaching ... we seem to fall. But fly to the strip for the pilot, even for "linear, no experience on Pipers"- It's not a problem. The problem is the landing! And the speed is different, and the reactions to rudder deflections are different, the pitches are different, and, most importantly, the height of the eyes above the strip during alignment is much lower! Well this is a little Piper, not a big Tu-154!
Well, will it work? And the legs are trembling!
However, we ended up on the strip, and quite well! And I really felt a sense of joy and pride, as after the first independent flight!
The wind was so strong that when, after taxiing into the parking lot, I tried to open the door, it tore out of my hands and only miraculously broke nothing. Glory to the American engineer for the strong hinges! I had to turn the plane against the wind.
Yes, yes, just like that - we flew, sat down, refueled. And they flew on. Moreover, the cost of landing is ZERO. Only gasoline.
This is America. We probably won't live to see this here.
In the air, we tried to file a new flight plan to Las Vegas, but were unable to contact. Well, we continued our flight to the originally selected airfield, which was an hour's flight from Las Vegas.
There was no one at this airfield. Levon voiced all our actions on the air, and by pressing the transmitter, he turned on the strip lighting. We've landed ...
Empty ... Silence. The air is motionless. On a fairly spacious platform, there is some kind of aircraft, not at all modern in appearance. So it seems that soon we will hear an incomprehensible rustle and Langoliers will appear.
We went into the house. There is nobody there. Hanging sign - "if you need gasoline, call me, I'll drive up"... And a phone number.
There is a refrigerator against the wall. And a plate with the inscription - "all drinks for one dollar"... And dollars in a plate. And drinks are in the fridges.
Likewise - there is a table with different chocolates. And the plate: "All chocolates for one dollar"... And dollars in a plate.
We took a drink and a chocolate bar and put in a dollar each.
Levon got through to the right place. It turned out that in Las Vegas it is now very windy, wind shear is observed, so we were advised to wait for the night and fly in. "This is an adventure!", I thought. During the day we flew visually, and now we will also fly at night - how will this happen? I see that Levon also tensed a little.
But it's easier for him, he thinks he's flying with him "airline pilot"But what about me? This" airline pilot "has never flown like that in Russia !! :) Well, let's see what happens.
In the meantime, there was nothing to do, we decided to fly in circles around this airfield. One flight is Levon, the other is me. So they flew until evening came. Then we climbed and flew.
Everything turned out to be much easier than I thought. First, the night was clear and the visual cues were pretty good. Secondly, there are so many VOR / DME beacons crammed there that you have to be a complete clumsy to get lost on the route. We weren't like that. And thirdly, on the approach to Las Vegas, the dispatcher took control of us, providing vectoring to the northern airfield (North Las-Vegas).
True, when he stopped serving, leaving us above the city, it became "a little" uncomfortable. Night, a huge city, we somehow relaxed while the dispatcher set the courses ... And suddenly we said goodbye. Around a million lights, and which one is the airport - it is not clear? I passed control to Levon, took the map, found the VOR / DME, set it up, aligned the arrows, getting a radial. Oops, this is where we are ... But the airport! Almost below us!
True, we found the parking lot with difficulty. It took a local worker to do this - we flew in on Friday and the stands were filled with a variety of private jets. Las Vegas is the capital of gambling and entertainment, so it is very crowded on the weekend.
Museum at the airport
After unsuccessfully waiting for a taxi for more than an hour, we packed up and went to the nearest hotel-casino. There the chances of catching a taxi on Friday were much better. The first thing that impressed me when leaving the terminal building was the huge cacti, two or more human heights!
We got to the nearest hotel. We feel immensely tired. We need to get to the Rio hotel, where Levon's comrade, also an Armenian, who won two million dollars in the lottery and therefore does not work anywhere, received a free number for this weekend from the casino owners. Life is boiling all around, huge tinted limousines drive up, but our turn still does not reach us.
However, an hour later we still waited - and a huge black limousine was taking us to Rio. All around the night, nothing is visible. I walk into the hotel and realize that I have ended up in a real Hollywood casino. Everything is so bright, colorful, everyone walks around contented and happy - and everything seems so unreal ...
Levon wants to show me all the local beauties. Even before the flight, he said: "Here, I'm taking you to Las Vegas, look at our girls." And so, he pushes me in one direction, then in the other: "Look what it is!" I say: "Levon, you know, in Russia, to see beautiful girls, you don't have to fly to Las Vegas. You just need to go outside." Levon laughs, he liked my answer. Well, he is very truthful - in the United States, girls are not very confused by how he looks. I saw a lot of amusing couples - a pretty guy, slender, hugs a girl of incomprehensible shapes and sizes ... and at the same time both look insanely happy! So that's it.
Finally, we are accommodated ... Wow! The room is the size of a good Soviet three-ruble note, with only one partition wall. And a huge wall-to-wall window. I went to the glass and pressed against it, looking down from the 36th floor at the lights of Las Vegas ... "Is all this happening to me?"
We had a quick bite and Levon dragged me to show me the Las Vegas at night. Memories remained in my head like a kaleidoscope. We moved from one casino to another, went out into the street, talked about something with the locals ... Each hotel begins with a casino, and each looks purely individual. On the street, nimble African Americans shoved brochures with prostitutes into their hands; in fact, they stood at every intersection. Smartly dressed, smiling - and if Levon hadn’t told me about their occupation, I wouldn’t have understood it myself.
I completely lost track of time. We walked from the Caesar Palace to the Pyramid (the next day I appreciated this trip, repeating it in the afternoon) Finally, the eternally energetic Levon got tired and we took a taxi and returned to our room.
In the morning I woke up earlier than everyone else. Levon and his friend hummed a little more when I was already asleep. Therefore, I did not wait for them, pushed Levon, saying that I would go and see the city. He muttered something and immediately fell asleep on.
Well, let's go.
The Rio Hotel is off the main avenue. Therefore, I had to walk about a kilometer to get on it.
Eiffel Tower. Also hotel-casino Paris.
Going out on the central avenue, I began to inspect the Ceaser's Palace. An enchantingly beautiful hotel with wonderful architecture. While I was clicking it, an African-American in white clothes spinning nearby, diligently did not get into my lens. I decided not to annoy him.
And he stopped, struck by the unprecedented beauty of the spectacle and the power of sound - a singing fountain in the "lake" near the Bellagio hotel!
For some reason, I did not take a photo of this event. Probably because he was filming.
I walk along the avenue, wide-eyed, closing my mouth vigorously - and not because I wanted to sleep. But the views were too impressive. An indescribable variety of architecture, colors, forms. Music plays, people walk around happy ...
And it's very hot. Very, very hot. After all, Nevada is a desert. On yesterday's flight, my right arm was burned - my right side turned out to be sunny, and this gave me some discomfort.
Cooling area
American beauties
After this photo, the battery in my camera ran out. I shot a lot on video, but it is on cassettes. Somewhere lying around, I don't even know if it is playable.
By the way, in Google Earth you can repeat my trip very well. In Las Vegas, all the buildings are made in sufficient detail and there are a lot of different pictures.
Having reached the Pyramid on foot, almost to the airport Las Vegas Int, I turned back.
Returning to the hotel, I found Levon cheerful and in good health. At night, he planted the phone somewhere, so we plunged into a taxi and drove to the nearest Verizone office to restore the number.
When we returned, we decided to take a dip. Fortunately, the hotel had a gorgeous pool, and the air temperature opaquely hinted at this need.
So the day passed.
The next morning we set off on our way back. Unfortunately, my camera did not work, I did not change the batteries, deciding that the video would be more valuable. So then it is, but only where can you look at it now? ..
We made this flight with one landing - at the very airfield that turned up so successfully for the first time. We went to Salt Lake in the evening, from the side of the mountains ... Indescribable spectacle! Class!
Hopefully someday I will revive my videos. I even roughly know where the cassettes are lying around.
Thanks, Piper Archer! I fell in love with this little airplane.
After spending the night, Levon decided to continue our air travel. This time we got a more powerful Piper Warrior. We flew across the Salt Lake to one of the airfields, in an hour's flight. There we just flew in circles, indulged in a little runway flight at a height of 2 meters with acceleration and a subsequent sharp climb.
Levon claims that this plane (in the background) was used in the movie Prison in Air with Nicolas Cage.
Levon chose this very airfield, because there lived his friend - a former line pilot, and now just an aviation fan, the owner of such flying "toys". Levon flew with him once on a MiG, and still admires those feelings.
Do we have many aviation retirees who own military fighters?
Having flown for our pleasure, we went back. We twirled over the Salt Lake, enjoying the views. In the background are the mountains that I admired so much above.
We landed and sat down in parallel with a large Boeing entering the left lane. In Russia, we would not be allowed to do that.
After landing, without going home, Levon took me to the mountains to show the diversity of local nature. What can I say? I wish I could live in Salt Lake City!
And in the evening Levon's family held a banquet! We sat very well, having tasted Armenian barbecue (only then I discovered Armenian lavash) and brandy. Armenian, of course.
The next day we said goodbye to Levon at the airport - I flew to Denver on a Frontier flight. Seeing how suspicious guys say goodbye for a long time, the emotionless security said to me: "You have been selected for additional inspection. Please go with us."... And for about fifteen minutes they examined me from all sides, having moved my simple belongings twice in a bag.
Finding nothing, they wished me a pleasant flight. At this time, I heard my last name - the airlines were looking for a lost passenger. But I was already approaching the gate, smiled at the girl on it: "Your guys in uniform liked me so much that they didn't want to part.", she laughed. And here I am on the plane.
As always, I am looking forward to - what will my foreign colleagues surprise me this time? They did not keep themselves waiting long.
The guides came out and stood in the cabin. They are not young at all - aero-grandmothers by aviation standards, everyone is over 40. If not more. But everyone is very neat, tidy. And all with a smile. They are standing, waiting.
The flight went quickly, it’s not 9 hours for you to climb the mountains by car. There was very strong turbulence on the approach, which the pilot warned about several times during a short flight. And here we are in Denver.
Another thing that impressed me about America was the accessibility of sports. The Americans themselves run about on rollers and bicycles as if scalded. They run along the paths, just have time to dodge. Various sport facilities are scattered around, but I found what interested me the most - the tennis club.
Lots of first-class courts, with rent ... $ 5 an hour. Mom dear! In Russia, for such a price, you will only be allowed to stand at the entrance, and even then not everywhere.
And this is a sunset not far from my hotel.
Actually, this is what she is. Nicely.
Even before flying to Vegas, having bought a camera, the first thing I did was try it on a nearby stream. The quality compared to the previous model of the indistinct Chinese author was just wonderful.
What else impressed me in the very first days of my stay - the availability of barbecue places right in the city
Nearby there was a Russian store with products from Russia and Galkin. True, I really didn't like the dumplings.
Our training was drawing to a close. Five days of the weekend was over, we had a couple of sessions and a check-ride - the final exam.
After an enchanting trip to Las Vegas, having been in the United States for a month now, Mikhalych and I unexpectedly confessed to each other that being in the states was beginning to get somewhat boring. Yes, everything here is great and everything is cool, and you need to live here ... But it pulls us back, and every day more and more. Perhaps this is the "love for birches" sung in prose? Do not know. But I felt it.
Having successfully passed the final two sessions (and received a click on the forehead from the instructor for complacency and overconfidence), we came to the check-ride. However, it was moved a couple of times for some reason.
Finally, X-day has come. We were worried because there were already precedents when crews did not check-ride and were given additional sessions. We felt a strong urge to "go home" and did not want to linger.
But we did it right the first time.
And now, the training is over. Certificates on hand. Alexander Mikhailovich organized a mini-banquet on this occasion - we tried the microwave as a grill for purchased chicken, and I must say, we succeeded.
Having already halved quite well, I don't remember what, Mikhalych opened up. To be honest, I never thought he would ever be able to confess. But his words were very pleasant:
Denis, I want to thank you very much. You helped me a lot, and at least 80% of my retraining is your credit.
Wow, I didn't even find what to say at first. We did not have such a trusting relationship, I would even say - strained, so these words really confused me. But I got out:
Okay, Alexander Mikhalych. If so, let's agree - 80% of your salary will be mine. I'm just kidding, just kidding. And thank you very much!
We flew back in the same way, through Washington. When flying out of Denver, the sending side hurriedly and we got into business class. We flew to B777 United. What can I say? Very comfortably. We were even fed with sandwiches.
But it did not work to improve the class in Washington on the flight to Frankfurt. The workers motivated this by the fact that I was wearing jeans ... Therefore, it is not allowed. I was very surprised, especially against the background of those passengers in shorts who were boarding in the business corridor. However, as I was told, these guys bought a ticket. And those who are in jeans are not entitled to an upgrade.
So, we flew not even in economy +, as on a flight from Frankfurt, but in the closest economy. 8 hours in a crooked position with poorly reclining (as in all foreign cars) seats, right behind the engines - I'll tell you this, it's not at all comfortable moving through the air.
And the food was bad again. Some kind of plastic pasta, I did not understand what kind of dish. However, no one around was complaining. I had to finish eating - 8 hours without food, plus a transplant after all.
We arrived in Frankfurt and waited for our plane to arrive. And the business class Tu-154 with its most comfortable armchairs, low noise level seemed just a paradise .. And when our girls brought a menu of the usual three dishes, we simply melted into bliss.
Everything. We're home!
A few days later the first two B737-500s arrived to us. And on 24.06.2005 I flew off the airfield training, together with Alexander Mikhailovich and two other crews. It was very interesting. Night flights in circles, simulated engine failure, exit approach, landing with 15 flaps on "one" engine ...
Before the aerodrome training.
Feeling the plane in the sky, I realized that I was wrong - some two months ago I looked at the B737 as an ugly duckling ... And he turned out to be a very friendly friend. Bobik. He penetrated into my heart, 8 years have passed since the moment of retraining - and my feelings for him do not fade away.
Thank you for your attention! See you!
A new big city on my journey and new impressions and surprises. Salt Lake City impressed me with its not quite American architecture, and perhaps even surpassed Chicago in my rating of ideal cities to live. Everything here is done with even greater care for people. I happened to visit the city library, which anyone would envy, look at a real comic book store (a very American phenomenon), accidentally see the training of city services (the city is preparing for a possible earthquake) and look into the camp of protesting defenders of some local Khimki forest. And of course, I took a ride along the shore of the famous Great Salt Lake. I tasted it - and really salty, the Americans did not deceive :)
1. I will write in chronological order. It started raining in the morning, the first serious bad weather in two weeks of travel. What to do if it's wet outside? Look for interesting things inside buildings. So I ended up in the Salt Lake City Library, which is not a library at all, but a modern media center, and at the same time a free office space for city downshifters. The library story wouldn't fit into travel notes, so we'll come back to that later, okay? 
2. Around the library there are many wonderful sculptures and a beautiful square. 
3. In the same square, I found a camp for 10-15 tents. It looked like a home of homeless people, scattered pieces of paper, cigarette butts, leftover food ... 
4. Handwritten posters made it clear to me that not homeless people live here, but some protesters like "Occupy Wall Street" or "Khimki Forest". Unfortunately, the inhabitants showed no signs of life, and snoring came from a couple of tents. I decided not to disturb the rebels and moved on. 
5. Meanwhile, the weather began to improve. This beautiful English-style castle is a courthouse. 
6. There were a lot of police, ambulances, and for some reason fire trucks near the court. Although nothing was burning. 
7. At first I thought it was a movie. And to understand what was happening, I turned to two police officers. It turned out that the city services are being trained here, where the skills of actions during an earthquake are not practiced. 
8. There has never been an earthquake in this city, but scientists have figured out that it is possible. 
9. Therefore, the police, firefighters and doctors will spend several days learning how to act in the event of a natural disaster and how to avoid casualties and destruction. 
10. The architecture itself in the city is not entirely American, as I already wrote. There are also skyscrapers-towers, but look at which houses they are adjacent to. 
11. A strong influence on the construction of the city was exerted by the culture of Mormons - a religious denomination (some consider it a sect), polygamous Christians. 
12. Unfortunately, I did not manage to get inside the Mormon movement and find out all their secrets (they are very closed for communication with strangers on the topic of religion, but very kind and welcoming in themselves), so there will be no sensations. And polygamy itself is prohibited in the United States, so now it is almost impossible to find a "Sultan" Mormon. But they have a very beautiful complex of buildings and churches in the center of the city, that's the main thing, which is called the Castle. You cannot enter inside :( 
13. Although Mormons are still in the majority, other churches can be found in the city. 
14. The city is actually very comfortable for life, here they not only build useful things, but also make them beautiful. 
15. But what is in this photo, who will guess? Who knows for sure - keep quiet :) 
16. After lunch I stopped at the post office to send a message to Moscow. Suddenly I heard the sound of broken glass and a baby crying. It is not clear what exactly happened, but glass broke and part of the wall was damaged. After five seconds, the post office asked not to worry and to take the children away from the emergency site. Thirty seconds later, a janitor came with a huge bucket and a special device for collecting glass, a minute later the police arrived. As I found out later, nothing criminal had happened. 
17. I decided to spend the evening on Antelope Island, 60 kilometers from the city center. An amazing combination - yachts and mountains, and the water is almost invisible. 
18. An interesting road sign. Meet the bison - stay on the road. They even asked - please. 
19. Well, how to refuse when they ask you? Therefore, I did not come close to the beast. 
20. Well, and some photos of the lake :) 
21.
22.
23. I met the night on one of the high hills that surround the city. Basically, I still have a lot of interesting photos of Salt Lake, if you want, I will publish it upon my return. 
And tomorrow morning (tonight in your opinion) I again go into the wilderness, now the states of Utah and Arizona, my next points are four national parks: Land of Canyons, Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon and, of course, the Grand Canyon.
Former striker of the Russian national team, and now - general manager of CSKA Sergey Fedorov shared his memories of the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.
- The Salt Lake City Olympics were hard for me. We played in the midlands. Very dry air. It was difficult to adapt on the court. In addition, in Salt Lake City, we immediately switched from NHL boxes to the European standard.
I played in the top three with 18-year-old Kovalchuk and Samsonov. I felt comfortable with them. I felt: it will be necessary to score - we will score. On the whole, the team was friendly. It was nice to be with Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich Fetisov, our captain Igor Larionov, Pasha Datsyuk, who had just started in the NHL, who returned to the national team Kolya Khabibulin. Yes, you can list all the guys. Everyone was patriotic. We wanted to play for the national team. We wanted to win!
- Now in front of Sochi there is a lot of talk about security. The Salt Lake City Olympics took place just six months after the terrorist attacks in New York. Did you feel any tension, excessive attention from security at the 2002 Games?
- Yes, I did not seem to notice anything special. The usual checks of the bus when we arrived at the palace. I was more strained by something else. To practice 30-40 minutes, we had to spend three or four, and sometimes even five hours! After all, we were training in the reserve arena, and the uniform was in the main palace. From the Olympic village we drove to put on protection, then a long drive to the training rink, the training itself, again to the bus - and back. It knocked me out of the rhythm a lot. Moreover, the NHL has never faced such problems.
- In the semifinals with the USA, our team suddenly got up - 0: 3 after the second period with 11–38 in shots. What happened?
- The Americans, being the hosts of the tournament, went to the match more mobilized, charged for the fight. We got involved for a long time ...
- How was it in Vancouver in the quarterfinals with the Canadians?
- I would not like to compare. There we were mentally prepared, but physically devastated. In the first ten minutes, during which the game was made, they could not catch up with the Canadians in speed.
- Returning to the semifinals with the Americans: after all, with the score 2: 3, after Samsonov's throw, was there a goal or not?
- It is interesting that the other day I was just reviewing this moment on Youtube. Judging by the video, the puck did not cross the goal line. I was then on the ice. I saw Samsonov throw up his hands. I thought, I hoped - a goal. But he himself did not see where the puck hit. I drove up to Sergei. He said that he also did not know whether there was a goal or not: the puck was under the goalkeeper, crossed the ribbon or not - it is not clear. But after a minute I understood from the behavior of the judges: the score will not change, - said Fedorov.
