The sixth day of our Salt Lake adventure was the first opportunity Cliff had to meet in person with his entire team after more than 10 years with Western Governors University. While Cliff spent some time earlier in the day getting a new tire (it was beyond repair) and shopping for supplies, Jon logged an entire day of remote work. At about 5:30, we headed to Squatters Pub Brewery for the main event.

Located in the historic Boston Hotel building, the 35-year-old, award-winning brewpub is a Salt Lake City institution. Construction of the Boston and adjacent Newhouse Buildings took place between 1907 and 1915. Financier Samuel Newhouse named one structure the Boston Building (because of his extensive business interests in that city) and the taller structure after himself. The Boston and Newhouse Buildings were the first “skyscrapers” in Utah and were designed by New York architect Henry Ives Cobb in the beaux-arts architectural style.

Cliff’s colleagues gathered in the Potting Shed, a midsized private space built for the 2002 Winter Olympics. If asked to use a single word to describe the gathering, it would be: electric. The energy, the vibe, the interaction between people who have spent their entire working relationships in a virtual world was energizing. Unfortunately, the space was so “live” and the ambient music so loud that we strained to hear one another and ended up with sore throats from having to shout for more than two hours.

We ended up splitting a Pub Reuben, with Niman Ranch peppered pastrami and sauerkraut on marbled rye with Cajun remoulade and Swiss cheese and a side of crunchy tater tots.

Afterwards, we returned to Cloud 9, where we dropped into bed, exhausted.