Always Unexpected Utah

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I've said it before, Utah should be called the Unexpected State. You never know what's going to be around the next bend in the road, but it will be special.

When we left Vernal this morning heading west on Hwy 40, we could see that it was snowing in the mountains to the north and raining to the south, so we figured we'd drive through rain at some point. At Duchesne we had stopped at a convenience store, when we noticed a Greyhound bus in the parking lot with snow caked on the front of it. I asked the driver where it came from and she told me it was really snowing at Strawberry Reservoir, the roads were a mess, but the snowplows were clearing it. Well, that was 40 miles away, and we thought it would be over by the time we got there or at least letting up. We started seeing snow on the ground within 2 miles of Duchesne, then snow falling lightly, then not so lightly, before we got near Strawberry Reservoir. The ground, the trees and the mountain tops were covered with snow, the clouds were so low you couldn't see the tops of the mountains, and still it snowed. The plows had been through, so the roads were mostly clear, with just a little slush here and there.

At Strawberry Reservoir the sky was so dark that the water was steel blue against the white of the snow on the shore. We saw a boat racing across the water and thought he was either a dedicated boater or really picked the wrong day. We crossed Daniels Pass (around 8,000') and started the steep downhill. The roads were clear and the curves easy, so it wasn't a white knuckle descent.

At Heber City, the snow had stopped, so we got fuel and ate lunch before continuing on. We could still see the snow on the ski runs around Park City and Bob pointed out a ski jump.

Salt Lake City looked so pretty with snow on the mountains all around. We went out I-80 to the Great Salt Lake. It is huge. It smelled just like the salt flats at low tide at the ocean. The water was surprisingly green and there were whitecaps due to the gusty winds.

We went north from SLC watching snow and rain clouds all around us. We're in Heyburn, Idaho, for the night, camped next to the Snake River.

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Photos

Strawberry Reservoir
In the snow

Poor Visibility
Low clouds and snow on the mountains

Over the pass
The roads were pretty clear

Great Salt Lake
Salt Lake City, UT

North of SLC
storm clouds over the mountains

Heyburn, Idaho
Pink snow on the mountaintop at sunset from campground

Comments

[Linda]

In SLC 5/24 too
Hey there, I was on my way to see son, Tom in Montana by way of SLC on Monday. So I was there, too! Weather played into my trip, too. Got diverted to Helena, instead of Butte where Tom is living. He ended up driving up to get me; weather prevented landing in Butte after 2 atempts. Anyway, all is well now. Love all the pictures. Travel safe!

[Joe(y) Solla]

La Vida Loca
Last week I drove thru a light misty rain that just hung in the air near Charlottesville, VA. But it was there and back in a few days for me - not the long leisurely journey I've always wanted to take. I'm jealous (a little) - You've got the whole country, and each other to share it with. Enjoy - be safe.