index_2

NOTE: - Click on any picture to enlarge, click again to reduce to normal size.

May 26 Early on Tuesday morning we left Fallbrook on I15. In trying to escape the rush hour traffic, we waited until 8am. The overcast skies stayed with us until we climbed Cajon Pass. It’s heating up (big surprise) as we cross the desert. Cheapest gas? $3.52 at Barstow’s Flying J. The travel day was uneventful……traffic moving nicely (except for Las Vegas), no wind to blow us about and, 370- miles later, we arrived safely in Mesquite at 4:30pm. Temperatures topped out at about 95*. The night was nice & cool. Spent a peaceful late afternoon and slept through the night.

Our lane of choice as we slowly make our way up one of several passes on I15

The vastness of the desert is apparent as we cross it. Never ceases to amaze.

So many hotels that I guess there aren’t enough live performers. Kept seeing signage for performances by very famous dead ones.

I know we’re kinda old and out of touch, but what the heck is this?

Drive up Mariah Carey?

A minor fender-bender put I15 to a virtual standstill. We were about ready for an appointment with Dr. Reefer.

May 27-Wednesday We left a sun-drenched Mesquite at 7:30 am for our 300 mile jaunt to Provo, Utah. Cheapest gas? At Mesquite’s Smith’s market it was $3.19. Traveling on the two-lane I15 with few passenger vehicles & lots of semis, we are soon leaving the somewhat flat desert landscape and entering Arizona and the Virgin River Canyon Recreational Area. For about 7 miles, the freeway becomes a twisty mountain highway. The capricious wind pushes through the dramatic mountains with their craggy peaks and rocky, boulder strewn valleys. And far below, the muddy Virgin River flows through it. It is rather an unusual desert setting. Miles later we pass through St. George, Utah. A popular retiree community, it has grown leaps & bounds over the last few years. There is every shop & restaurant a person could want. It is usually hotter here than in Las Vegas. Beautiful red-rock formations provide the background for the city as we zoom past. Just when I think I cannot stand one more mile of the desert landscape, the freeway begins a slow, then quicker ascent into mountains where the temps begin to cool and the surroundings now include the type of pine trees found at higher desert altitudes. We are now passing popular skiing areas and alpine-style dwellings dot the off-ramps. And we continue to climb until we are on a large plateau surrounded by mountains. The very wide valley is used for agriculture. It is cool. We reach Nephi, Utah where the cheapest gas was $2.92. We haven’t seen these prices for at least a couple of years. Last year it was $3.56. We’re lovin’ it. As we approach Provo, the freeway widens out and is pretty full of vehicles. Good, new freeway. We check into Lakeside RV Park, where we stay each year. Well-kept, tree-covered and full of flying critters.

St. George, Utah. This Mormon place of worship dominates the town.

Some beautiful, snow-capped peaks are still in view. There seems to be a lot less snow than we usually see, though.

Very peaceful even though it’s right next to the freeway. The cows seem happy.

And always there is road construction. These heavy equipment operators do have a dangerous job!

And here comes the rain.

Outside of Nephi, Utah. Bits of snow cling to the mountain tops.

Impending rain does not slow the utility workers. They just keep on working.

View of the gorgeous Wasatch Mountains as we enter Provo. The rain clouds have hidden the sun at 2 pm.

I missed seeing the one about free bunion removal by the same research lab listed on this picture. Drat. However, I thought going to a research lab to have wisdom teeth removed sounded a bit like Frankenstein. Hmmm.

I never know the proper name for these structures, but these giant granaries positively dwarf the freight train gathering up whatever these granaries are belching out. I always think of trains as massive.

We see a number of amusing, eye-catching billboards as we travel through Utah.

Yeah, like that’s gonna happen. To lengthen the life of our tires, our top cruising speed is about 62 mph. However, the trucks seem to like this speed limit. Zoom, zoom, zoom!

Now, how did this get its name? No stores to browse. Must be a cattle thing.

May 28- Thursday After a cool afternoon in Provo, an evening playing Yahtzee and a good night’s sleep, we began our 395 mile day to Dillon at 7am. We missed the rush hour traffic in Provo, but not in Salt Lake City. A few miles north of SLC is a newer community of Thanksgiving Point. There has been massive development going on there for several years. Passing by on I15, we would see mountains being graded away and commercial & residential areas being carved out of the land. And, of course, that meant a major reconstruction of the freeway through the area. The clouds are heavy with moisture and now & again we get a few raindrops. As we pass by Ogden, Utah, the weather lightens up. The temps are quite comfortable and passing giant clouds take the glare away. We cross into Idaho and stop for the cheapest gas at McCannon, ID Flying J. $2.72 per gallon. Somewhere along the way we began noticing that diesel fuel was cheaper than unleaded gas. Haven’t seen that phenomena in years. Sometimes as much as .20 per gallon, sometimes a nickel. We got into Montana and they set things straight. Diesel is, once again, more expensive than unleaded. But not by much. The rest of the day was uneventful, thank goodness. Once out of Utah, the traffic is very light and as we pass the freeway interchange, where you choose Pocatello or Boise, Idaho (east or west extremes in southern ID), the traffic becomes almost non-existent. Lovely way to travel. We arrived at Southside RV Park in the late afternoon where our usual spot was waiting for us.

Near Thanksgiving Point, Utah there is major, major freeway expansion going on. Some of the hugest equipment we’ve ever seen in use in spite of the imminent storm.

In northern Utah, ranches edge the freeway. These horses have plenty of room to roam. Check out the one in the background, left side. Up to his hocks in grass.

I really wanted to see the models that go with this sign. Suppose they’re upside down, too?

Some Montana scenery as we drive the last 50 miles to Dillon.

Note: We’ve included in this post some pictures taken when we stayed at Blackfoot, Idaho for a few days last year. We stayed at the county fairgrounds campground and found the town very nice. As silly as it sounds, the Potato Museum located there is delightful. Housed in the old train depot, it gives you a comprehensive story of the potato. It can be done in an hour. Facts, displays and history are all there. Well done and incredibly interesting (who’d have guessed?). We were very glad we took the time.

Headquarters for a delightful museum.

In between displays, these fact-potato signs give us some smiles & insights.