OGDEN, Utah — There's an idea I've pushed on friends for years, and this month's Max Tracks let me test it out. If you need a weekend getaway from anywhere along the Wasatch Front, go to your nearest FrontRunner station.
My ticket from Murray to Ogden cost $6.10. Other than a good deal on a hotel room, I had no plans and no vehicle, but I knew my hometown's iconic 25th Street wouldn't let me down.
The FrontRunner experience itself is part of the adventure. Unlike the stop-and-go of daily commuting, riding the train feels like you're truly going somewhere.
Walking into downtown, I discovered 25th Street was closed off for an evening car show. The "Olde Farts Club" was already setting up their display.
"Are you guys the old farts?" I asked a group of men under the "Olde Farts Club" canopy.
"We are the old farts," one confirmed with a smile.
"When did this all start?"
"Oh, we've been coming here for years," another replied.
My wandering took me to Union Station, where I walked into a tattoo convention. Inside, I met Maddie Edwards, a tattoo artist from West Jordan.
"Do you enjoy it?" I asked as she worked on a client's beautiful black and white landscape tattoo.
"I love it," she replied without hesitation.
"Why?"
"Just to be creative every day and connect with clients and their stories and giving them a tattoo that they love."
Later, I encountered dedicated tattoo enthusiasts competing in a "color tattoo" competition. One had a tattoo covering his entire right leg, and the other had his whole left arm covered. "He sat for 30 and I sat for 27" hours of tattooing said the guy sporting the colorful sleeve.
The spontaneous nature of the trip led to an unexpected decision. I've thought about getting a particular tattoo for years, and the perfect moment presented itself.
I talked to Maddie's mom Margaret who volunteered to hold the camera while I got tattooed.
"It's for my sons. When they were little, I'd always tell them, I love them more than mountains and rivers," I explained as Maddie created a beautiful black and white drawing of mountains and flowing water on my upper left arm.
(It's my second tattoo. The first is on my upper right arm. It's a simple tulip, which reminds me of my wife Natalie, who's family is Dutch.)
As evening fell, 25th Street transformed with the roar of engines and crowds cheering for the parade of hot rods leaving their assigned spots. The excitement peaked with a car on hydraulics bouncing along the historic street.
Saturday morning brought a complete change of pace. The farmers market stretched along 25th Street, where I met Kenneth Bingham displaying paintings of iconic Ogden scenes.
"That Union Station is actually sold," he told me, pointing to one of his works.
"I love this because so many people have memories of that place," I said to Kenneth when he showed me a painting of the Cinedome movie theater, that used to sit above Riverdale Road. "I saw Star Wars there. I saw E.T. there."
Nearby, retired metal sculptor Sheldon Cherry—known as "Weldon Sheldon"—worked alongside his grandson Dashton.
"I've been wanting to do this for my whole career. Now that I'm retired, I've got time to do it well," Sheldon explained.
Dashton added, "I've been watching him and my dad weld all the time, and I've been able to do it more here and stuff. So I've been into it much my whole life."
All this, and I'd barely scratched the surface of what was available within walking distance of the train station. Ogden's Event Center was hosting a Latter-day Saints history convention. The Treehouse Children's Museum was offering free entry for kids. I could have done indoor surfing at Flowrider or indoor skydiving at iFly next to the movie theater. On many weekends, I could have taken in a Raptors game or a comedy show at Wiseguys.
Ogden holds a special place in my heart, but I think this weekend would have been a really fun trip for most people.
