Big City to Little Town

Friday, 8/20

Salt Lake Shower

(NOTE:  TO ENLARGE PHOTOS, PLACE YOUR CURSOR ON THEM, AND CLICK AT LEAST ONCE.  You may not be impressed, but at least your screen will be filled with views instead of words.)


Cashing in our Enterprise car, we headed north to I-84E to maneuver with other bigger rigs numerous 55 mph curves along a scenic river until we reached I-80 and entered Wonderful Wyoming.  So little traffic, we enjoyed reminiscing (at least I did) about my hitchhiking through this country before freeways in the 60s as I made my way from Vermont to Oregon State University to conclude my undergraduate studies.  Sure wouldn't do it now, but I met so many people/family/ultimate friends.  Ah, the good ol' days really were good for me when I had only $40 to cross the country, with most of it intact at my destination.

After homemade lunch, Doris took the wheel and did a great job of keeping Betsy between the white lines in strong crosswinds and big rigs.  Refueling in Rawlins, we drove the streets of "downtown", deciding that friends Rich & Jackie, Jim & Linda had chosen a rather quiet place to "camp" back in May at the local RV park.  Major clue:  The first JC Penney Catalog Store I've seen in a half century is a hot spot in downtown Rawlins.

We're dining at home tonight.  Fred's Burger Shoppe & Taxidermy didn't impress us.

Stormy Morning. Beautiful Music.

Thursday, 8/19

The plan was to spend the day exploring downtown Salt Lake.  Nature had other plans.  Morning became very dark and very windy.  And then the rain began. BOOM!  Lightning, thunder seldom see in California made a good show ... from inside the coach.  No sightseeing this morning, but a good opportunity for housekeeping and reorganizing our possessions to make life more enjoyable.

Nature also has a way of enhancing our trip.  Mid-afternoon, the skies cleared, the temperature had dropped to the low 70s and the strong wind became a light breeze.  This was perfect for a ten minute drive to downtown Salt Lake and its wide streets with so little traffic that we felt we had the city to ourselves.  A visit to "The Gallery", an attractive two story, outdoor shopping mall incorporating the historic Union Station was a highlight.  While completely empty, the main lobby of the station is decorated with murals and stained glass windows depicting the Old West.  Back lit by the afternoon sun, the windows were a visual treat.

Dinner at Lamb's, the oldest continuously operating restaurant in Utah, complete with original furnishings and antiques, provided comfort food.  No nouvelle cuisine here, but definitely a calm, enjoyable dining experience.

The highlight was to come when we walked into Temple Square and viewed the Mormon Tabernacle, Conference Center and surrounding buildings.  Paths through the abundant trees and flowering gardens encouraged serenity.  We entered one smaller church to enjoy a men's choral group, and another building where an organist was practicing.

At 8pm, we began to experience the primary reason for being in Salt Lake on a Thursday evening:  Witnessing the rehearsing Mormon Tabernacle Choir and accompanying Orchestra.  My words and pictures cannot adequately describe how the efforts of more than 400 singers and musicians lifted our spirits.  Absolutely awesome.  With the backdrop of the numerous (and enormous) organ pipes, the all volunteer group gave us their renditions of "Oklahoma's" 'Oh What a Beautiful Morning', plus "Morning Has Risen", and one exquisitely delivered hymn.   

At the conclusion of the 90 minute rehearsal, we were treated to a clear sky with a half moon rising above the pristine white, multi-spired Temple.  Like the rising voices of the choir, the moon gave us a special lift and an ending to a very special day in Salt Lake.

Tomorrow morning, we leave for Wyoming, taking beautiful memories of Utah with us.

Utah at Rest

Wednesday, 8/18

It is HOT!  Skin cracking dry too.  Yet, dawn meant it was windshield bug removal time if we wanted to see the rest of the US.  The hot task seemed to drain all this window washer's energy.  Meanwhile, my favorite Taiwanese laundress was busy exercising our washer/dryer.  In the end, the only sightseeing we did today was a run to Ogden, an industrial and rail center city north of us.  Home to a renovated Union Pacific rail station and museum, we happened on the dedication of a newly arrived engine from the D&RG, aka Denver & Rio Grande.  Along numerous engines and other rail cars, both commercial and military, all were open for close inspection.  Kids of all ages, including this author, clamored about.  Doris kept out of the sun and missed meeting a retired UP mechanic educating his children, grandchildren, and me about the inner workings of these behemoths that we see on the rails, and how their engineers manage those 1.5 mile long trains.  It was an honor to be his student for 30 minutes.

Returning to the RV park, we met new neighbors, John and Sally from North Carolina.  Acccompanied by their parrot, "Ben".  Sweet couple, fun bird that took a liking to Doris who once owned Ben's cousin "Charlie".

Ben & Doris:  Mutual Admiration

Home to catch up on the blog, fine dining with local fresh corn and one of Doris's grilled, marinated steaks.  This will be followed by a recorded session of History Channel's "Ice Road Truckers" to remind me that life on the road isn't always as decadent as we're privileged to experience. 

Tomorrow?  Salt Lake City and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearsal.  We're excited.

Crossing Utah

Tuesday, 8/17

Leaving the parking lot and immediately crossing into Utah, we're reminded of the WWII significance of the Wendovers (NV & UT).  With the recent reminders of Victory in Japan, we pass the Wendover airport, once the secret training location of Colonel Tibbets and his crew of the B-29 "Enola Gay", and the crews of other aircraft who prepared here for the dropping of the bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  Even now, there are few to witness local events.

The Control Tower.  We listened on AM radio to drivers, crew, vehicle info and speed results.

Unless ... you're with us and spontaneously decide to drive onto the Bonneville Flats to see just what it's like to be on this large and magnificant salt bed.  We've done the same on the pristine gypsum beds known as White Sands National Monument in New Mexico.  This experience was different because we arrived to witness several of the speed trials during the annual Bonneville Speed Week.  Cars and motorcycles of every description are driven to their maximum speed while being officially timed.  We've seen such activities in car commercials.  Yet, there's nothing like being on the starting line, watching the crews prepare, the driver strapped in, or on, then witness the attempt to break records.  All this while trying to preserve the eye balls from the searing sun reflecting off the white salt, while in 96 degree heat.  We met another coach owner who liked our TV mods and, more importantly, owned the photo'd "Streamliner" that had just broken its own record of 200 mph on one of the three speed trial tracks.  We had a front row vista from our panoramic windshield.  This allowed us to enjoy and learn in air conditioned comfort while others stood in our shade.  If only we had cases of cold beer for sale, we'd have paid for the trip.

Lee's 200 mph Streamliner.
The umbrella protects the cockpit from the brilliant sun.

Moving eastward on I-80, we crossed along the shores of the Great Salt Lake.  Straight miles, minimal traffic, the Wasatch Mountains of eastern Utah began to replace the brilliant white of the seemingless endlessness of the salt beds either side of the interstate ... a welcome change.

North Salt Lake, UT is now our home for three nights.  Beautiful RV park, a great dinner, then sightseeing in the hills of Bountiful (no kidding!) with our rental car was a special treat.  Beautiful homes in the foothills with magnificent scenes of the basin, mountains to the west ... and a very special sunset that brought out the locals as well as two California transients.  Southern Utah has soooo impressed us.  Now we can say the same of the Salt Lake area.

Monday, 8/16 - Crossing Nevada

9:30am and we're rolling out of Reno toward the Nevada/Utah border, 400 miles distant.  Some would say the scenery is boring.  Perhaps if one does this route every week, but not if it's an occasional trip.  Arid range land; dry lakes topped with salts; occasional towns, supported mostly by the railroads, mining and ranching; occasonal mountain grades to test one's skill.  The rest?  Minimal traffic, mostly big rigs that are courteous, signaling us back into their lane when we pass them, thanking us for doing the same when they pass us.  Mutual respect on the road is important to safety.  I personally like Nevada for its law enforcement signs indicating that if you act improperly near big rigs like ours, you will be ticketed.  Yess!!!  Thumbs up to that one, officer!

After lunch, Doris took over the wheel for 1 1/2 hours, covering 100 miles while I read the paper, relaxed, even napped  Good job, Doris!  Refueling at our favorite Flying J truck stops left us drained of $237 for the 594 miles traveled so far.  Our normal fuel burn is 7.2 miles/gallon, but the mountains we've crossed bring down the average for this portion of the trip.

Oh well, it's a dinner of dirt and warm water tonight.  No cold water here, as the temps are in the high 90s, and severly dry.

Well, not really.  We've reached West Wendover, NV for our overnight.  Free parking at the Peppermill Casino, along with big rigs from every state.  Next door is the casino and a decent buffet dinner.  The free parking turned into a $50 loss at the casino as we walked home for a good rest.

Tomorrow, on to Salt Lake City for a 3-night stopover and touring.

Leaving California for Nevada

Sunday, 8/14 - 9:30 a.m.  "Betsy the Bus" began her roll away from our "first home".  With daughter Lexi waving us on, we began our way eastward toward our first destination, Carson City, NV.  Beautiful  weather, light traffic aided our adaptation to the realization that we were leaving the known, the friends and neighbors who support us, and our college grad daughter for the ever changing life on the road.  Not a lot of conversation for awhile.

The familiar, well experienced roads gave  way to the rising Sierra foothills and the ever-higher Sierra Mountains themselves as we traveled I-80.  Time to really pay attention to speed control and gearing/braking.  We don't need to contribute ourselves and 36,000 lbs of possessions to the scenery "down there" in some rocky canyon.

"BANG!"  Just loud enough to reeaaallly get our attention, my first thought was that we'd blown a rear tire.  No.  The side panel tire pressure monitor indicated all was OK.  As Doris got up to check the interior, I suggested she look in the pantry for an exploded chip bag.  Sure enough, there was a bag that had exploded, and others looking mighty ready to "entertain us" if we climbed much further.

That was not to be.  A minute later we crested the Sierras at Donner Pass, 7227 feet, parking at a vista point where we had a view of Donner Lake.  With a spectacular vista from the front of our coach, we had our first lunch on the road.  Doris's cooking is among the best, accompanied by those chips, newly released from captivity.  It would be interesting to learn how chip makers prepare and ship chips everywhere, having to consider altitiude changes so that bags arrive unexploded everywhere.  Same goes for ice cream.  We've had 'fresh churned' (i.e. fluffed with air} do the same thing in our coach freezer.  Bought at sea level, stored in the freezer, traveling  with us as high as 8,000 feet, we found the top had been lifted and the ice cream coming out!

Continuing east to Reno, we turned south on US 395 and headed up the scenic route to the mining town of Virginia City.  We soon found ourselves grinding up the mountain side on a narrow two lane highway, mostly without guard rails that really would serve little purpose if we inappropriately attempted to straigthen any of the numerous curves.  Doris made it known that she wasn't enjoying her edge-of-the pavement/edge-of-eternity view seat.  From where I sat at the controls, I said not to worry, I'm quite experienced with this driving environment.  Retorted Doris, "You may be the driver with experience, but I'm the passenger with feelings!"   

Serious as she was, we both found ourselves laughing so much that this exchange has become the lingua franca of the trip. 

Virginia City.  Mining in the 1800s, destroyed by fire in the same century.  Rebuilt.  Interesting history and old buildings.  But ... very touristy.  Ice cream, burgers,  mulitiple shops selling the same old stuff; some antique shops worth viewing.  We learned all about Pickle Castors, priced from $50 (knockoffs from China and India of poor workmanship) and $2,000 antiques.  Nice people having a good time; challenging town to drive to and through.

Back to Reno for a night parked at the Super Walmart. for free.  Shopping wasn't free as I cracked the screen of my touch screen camera.  Do that and you know longer have a useable camera.  Grrr.  Walmarts usually allow overnight RV parking for a reason.  They have the space and they know we wanderers will find the front door and cash will be siphoned from our pockets.  They got a bunch from us tonight.  At least Doris's prepared dinner at home was found to be far superior to the nearby fast food restaurant offerings.

Ready to Launch: California to Maine ... and back

Home On The Road

We've been leisurely packing for days.  It feels like we're moving out of our home to some faraway place.  If I'm not careful, I'll be taking the kitchen sink; I'm on such a roll!  However, packing for our three month road trip around the US is only the finale before actual liftoff tomorrow morning.  A trip like this entails considerable reading, choosing places to inspect, friends to visit, selecting primary and secondary routes, preparing for every weather offered:  hot to freezing; dry to excessively humid; clear to stormy, even snowy.  Then there's making sure the RV is road worthy and comfortably livable.  In reality, we've been working on this journey for three months. 

The process has been most enjoyable for me.  Doris has given me free rein, asking only that we see new and interesting things and have fun connecting/re-connecting with people.  What an opportunity.  What a challenge!

Tomorrow, we'll commence the journey and begin to learn how good a job I've done so far.