Moving Day

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Today was another moving day. We left Winter Park at 6:55 AM and 39 chilling degrees and headed for Idaho. We wore shorts today, believe it or not, because the temperature in Pocatello, ID was going to be 81 degrees. Thanks to my seat warmer, I was kept toasty warm all morning.

The first leg of our trip took us west and then north and after half an hour, we were in the Arapaho National Forest and then the Routt National Forest. This was really what you might think of, when you think forest. The road took us through narrow alleys lined with Aspen, all standing tall, side-by-side, perfectly straight, with their picturesque white bark and delicate leaves fluttering in the breeze.

For 120 miles, we saw fewer than a dozen cars and it occurred to me that it would be dangerous to have car trouble out there, especially with no cell service and temperatures in the low 40’s. And as it was, we got a warning light on the dashboard. After referring to the Toyota handbook I was able to determine that it was a tire pressure issue. But we plodded on, because we blamed it on either the low temperatures or the changes in elevation, and it was likely a combination of the two because eventually the light went out, and we breathed a sigh of relief.

So, as I said, we saw no human life out there, but we did see a moose and two deer. We came upon the deer first and when they saw us they hopped out of the road and into the brush. I have never seen anything like it. They did a four-legged hop that would challenge any Olympian. I was really impressed. Later on we saw a young moose. He was in the road right in front of us when we came around a curve, and when he saw us, he started running up the road, trying to outrun our car, but eventually he realized it wasn’t going to happen, and he veered off the road and into the woods. Both sightings were the excitement of the morning.

We crossed the Colorado River once and we crossed the Continental Divide three times. When we exited the forests, we found ourselves in prairie lands. The ground was tan dirt and the low-lying sage brush was plentiful. In fact, it took over the landscape. It kind of looked like a field of rocks. No one was making use of this land. We saw no crops and we saw no cattle for a very long time.

We eventually came to a town called Walden, a tiny town with a population of 582. We drove back to see the downtown area which was quite charming with the Stockman Bar, Four Wines Pizza, Mtn. Valley Bank, Timberline Builders and Super’s Market. And just around the corner was a Family Dollar. Are they not everywhere? In Sarasota, population of 1600, we saw the Sage and Sand Motel (how appropriate), Hotel Wolf, Riviera Lodge and Mack’s Tackle and…Family Dollar. Gotta love it.

By 9 AM we were in Wyoming and we were seeing large dark-gray rock formations bursting out of the ground, standing straight up, looking like hundreds of fingers reaching for the sky. I have never seen anything quite like it.

We drove through Sinclair, WY, the home of Sinclair Oil and we saw their refinery which is immense, with the most incredible menagerie of pipes and tubes and chimneys. The photo I posted only shows about 20 percent of it.

The further west we drove, the smokier the air seemed to be and it became more difficult to see the mountains. Then the rains came from threatening black clouds that descended upon us as we waited by a flagger for half an hour to pass through a construction zone. We could not help feeling sorry for the guy who was just standing there trying desperately to keep control of his stop sign in the gusty winds.

The last leg of our trip, in Idaho, presented great vistas of plateaus and mesas of tan and orange and gray, standing tall, with stony crowns reaching for the sky, and rocky sand falling away at the bases, peppered with small green plants. I know I talk a lot about rocks and mountains, but I find them all incredibly beautiful and interesting and a feast for the eyes. When friends tell me they are bored on road trips, I tell them that they have to ride with their eyes outside of the car. There is so much to see.

Oh, and one last note. The speed limits today were off the charts, with 70 and 75 on two-lane roads and in Idaho, 80 MPH on a four lane road. I even took a photo to prove it.

We landed in Pocatello, ID at 4:30 PM after a 9 ½ hour drive and checked into our hotel. Tomorrow, we do some sight seeing in southern Idaho.

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Comments

[Kelli kernkamp]

Chilly and beautiful.
Your morning sounded like weather here BUT we haven't been down to 39, thank goodness. Have never traveled to Idaho so anxious to read about your sightseeing. Your day was such fun to read about and as always, your blog makes me feel as tho I am in your car with you.