TWNW #8

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Wow today was pretty exciting!

Despite getting hardly any sleep in the crap-hammock, I got a good start out of Moab, maybe at 10a or so. The ride was fantastic. I'll go ahead and say it: Utah is freaking gorgeous. Straight out of Moab it's these wonderful pink rocky canyons that you get to carve through, then it bleaks out a bit till Price but even the bleak stuff is pretty in its own lunar-hellscape way; no curves on that stretch though so we'll go ahead and call that 60 miles the low point.

But after Price? Hijole. From there till the Salt Lake metrospazz is just one jaw-dropping tear-inducing postcard vista after another, with the green meadows and the snowy peaks and the rivers that crash alongside the highway. Utah's very considerate, too, because they've put frequent turnouts and passing lanes on the two-lane stretches just for me, so I don't have to get caught behind semis and toy haulers.

You'd think that such wonderful scenery would be best enjoyed at a slow leisurely pace but you'd be wrong. In fact it's best taken at wacky speeds for some reason.

Speaking of, I came very close to receiving my first performance award of the trip; Deputy Jessop didn't say how fast I was going but he did say that it took him six miles to reel me in.

(I've got a theory that the moto and I are invisible to radar; I've blown past plenty of fuzz and have been ignored time and again. Deputy Jessop was awfully vague about how fast he thought I was going, so maybe he never actually clocked me?)

Anyway the deputy and I had a nice chat and he gave me a warning and told me to slow down, which I did until I crossed the Idaho line three miles later.

Idaho's pretty great too, especially in the late afternoon when the grass is super-green and everything smells incredible and there's sparse traffic.

And speaking of traffic, here are a few things:

-If you camp out in the left lane while we more-advanced humans pass you on the right, you are an idiot.

-If you don't know what it means when the person behind you in the left lane flashes his high beams at you, or if you don't check your mirrors often enough to notice when it happens, you are a double idiot or even an idiot squared.

-If you know what it means but instead of scooching over to the right lane where slower traffic belongs you get indignant and hostile, you should find a grown-up and give them your keys at once.

-If you live in Utah and you drive a Subaru Forester, you are a 50 year old Lesbian (based on research I conducted recently).

-If you work at a deli attached to the Chevron station in Provo, you made me a delicious sandwich today.

-If you are polite to Deputy Jessop, he will give you a warning.

So anyway it was a fine day on the road, and now I'm at whatever this motel in Mountain Home, ID is called (motto: "Hammock-tents: Not even once.") and I'm actually falling asleep between letters here so I'll sign off. Sorry no pics of the awesome scenery, I need to figure out a better way of taking pics while riding. Tomorrow, maybe, on the way over the Cascades into Seattle.

Stay tuned, thank you for reading.

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Photos

Rooms for Let:
$.50

Don't make fun.
I'm just as God made me.