Day 19, July 30

I'm changing my layout, placing most recent photos first and then comments about the previous day after that.  

Photos from Day 19

Comments from Day 18 

Our route for Day 18

We woke up to an incredible sunrise at our dispersed site.  Made our usual breakfast, and then changed plans and decided to head north passing through Picabo, stoping for coffee in Hailey, and then visits the big sites in Ketchum which for us included the ski areas, and Hemingway's grave. From Ketchum we gassed up in Stanley, paying $4.28 per gallon, the highest price we've experienced so far.  We started looking for a campsite at this point.  Several spots south of Stanley were full, but once we passed Stanley we grabbed the first vacant site we found in a National Forest Campground named after its location on the Salmon River.

Day 18, July 29

Comments about Day 17

Our route on Day 17

Leaving our Lake Hyrum campsite we continued north, stopping for a delicious breakfast in the lush university town of Logan Utah.  Joni ordered french toast with candied pecans and and I ordered  heuvos rancheros.

Crossing into Idaho we immediately noticed the ubiquitous potato fields that flourish despite the lack of rain since they are nourished by one of the largest aquifers in the country.  We stopped in Pocatello for groceries andsandwiches for lunch and then continued north across the barren Snake River plain to Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve.  The various lava rocks that cover this part of Idaho are differentiated by their Hawaiian names.  We spent 3 hours at Craters taking both a driving tour and several short hikes .

Leaving Craters..., we headed for the Silver Creek  campground.  As we drove across the high desert plain we discovered there are two campgrounds by that name and I had actually booked the wrong one, which was two hours away!  We had a difficult time finding the Silver Creek campground closer to us and drove across 10 miles of bumpy, washboard roads before finding a what is referred to as a  "dispersed site."  It had no toilets or any other amenities but it was a spectacular location, located right on the Silver Creek, and very private.  Our most likely visitors would be snakes or tarantulas!

 We chose not to cook outside since a storm was approaching, so we had a simple dinner of beer, pretzels, brie, crackers, and rose wine.  The wind, rain, lightning, and thunder put us to sleep.

Photos from Day 18

Day 17-July 28

Comments about Day 16:

We checked out of our campground after 3 great days.  We were in a tent loop and for the last two days, Sunday and Monday nights, most of the sites were empty, whereas the RV loops was almost full.  

Heading north, we followed the Pine Canyon Road up to Guardsman pass, elevation 9717 ft., and then descended passing the Solitude and Brighton ski areas. Our descent was through the Big Cottonwood Canyon which have used a lot of dynamite when the road was built.

We arrived in Salt Lake City and stopped for breakfast in a Scandinavian restaurant called Finns.  We had a great meal and ordered sandwiches to go.   

We then headed to Temple Square to check out the Mormon buildings, which were impressive, although the main Temple was covered in scaffolding which limited our views.  It was actually smaller than I had always imagined.

Leaving SLC, we drove to the northern end of the Great Salt Lake to Promontory Point where the Golden Spike National Historical Park is located.  The park commemorates the spot where the westbound  Union Pacific and the eastbound Central Pacific railroad finally connected on May 10, 1869 to complete the first transcontinental railroad.  

The magnitude of this achievement is overwhelming when you consider the geographic challenges that had to be overcome.  The 30 minute film at the visitors' center acknowledges that this achievement was at the expense of Native Americans whose land was stolen, and the Chinese immigrants whose working conditions were horrendous.  When the tunneling through the Sierra Nevada mountains, the Union Pacific progressed at a rate of 8 inches per day!  Promontory Point is truly in the middle of nowhere as a result of the railroad relocating its lines, so the desolation of the area really communicates what the railroad workers experienced.

Our route on Day 16

Photos from Day 17