---

Friday, October 21, 2011

Uneventful I-84
With around a thousand miles still ahead of me, I started off early in the morning. I was headed east when the Sun began to come up, revealing a landscape of more brown hills and sage brush. I don’t mean to represent the landscape as ugly, it has its qualities. Like all the basalt rock leftover from an old volcano, which has since migrated to Yellowstone. Somewhere before entering Idaho I passed a sign informing me that I had entered Mountain Time (one hour ahead of Pacific Time). Shoot, I just lost an hour of drive time!

Drive Straight Ahead
From the time I left Portland, towns became increasingly spread apart. Some of the town names I found comical, like Bliss and Eden. I thought to myself, “Bliss, here? Really? You might want to rethink that.” I drove straight through the state, stopping only in Boise for gas and in Twin Falls for some hopeful sightseeing. But any exciting geological formation in the second town was too far off the freeway, and I ended up making a loop around the mall in a vein attempt to find a Starbucks. I hadn’t seen one since leaving Portland, and the hotel lobby coffee wasn’t enough for a complete day of driving. Instead, I resorted to more Cool Ranch Doritos, my chip of choice.

The Great Salt Lake
There is little access to the lake directly off I-84. I found Willard Bay State Park, which was convenient, but it seemed to be mostly abandoned by the state. There was no one at the gate, so I skipped paying the entrance fee. I just wanted a couple photos. The air had a salty smell, but nothing as extreme as low tide. After filling up my gas tank, I was back on the road. I switched from I-84 East to I-15 South in Salt Lake City and experienced “traffic.” The stop-and-go motion on the freeway was enough to fluster these drivers, but it was nothing more to me than the Saturday afternoon traffic through Northgate on I-5 South. During the day the speed limit increased from 65, to 75, to 80 miles per hour. The landscape, even in its monotonous form, was interesting at these high speeds.

Go Green and Stay There
If you like trees, don’t ever leave western Washington. If you enjoy the high desert environment, however, you will love the drive from east Portland all the way through Idaho [I]and[/I] Utah. The scenery does not change. Yeah, maybe a hill will pop up every now and then, but for the most part it is pretty boring compared to the temperate rainforests of my homeland. I wondered if this landscape is what the rest of the country is used to, and then I felt happy to know what it was like to have lived in a place where trees grow on their own.

Turning In
I made it to Cedar City by 8pm local time. The Sun had just gone down, but the plethora of lighted billboards advertising local business guided me to the Super 8. Yes, a repeat of the night before, but if it works, it’s fine. Free internet and breakfast. Unfortunately, cable is not nearly as exciting tonight.

---