September 24 through September 30, 2004

Friday September 24:

It's much warmer this morning, 54 under the RV at 4AM.  We drive state roads south from Casper WY.  This area is high and relatively flat, but some of the scenery is awesome.

The route is following valleys and occasionally passes close to the streams flowing in them.

If I convey the idea that this is BIG SKY country, it is not unintended.  The sky forms a huge part of the landscape on these high sage covered meadows.  

Numerous antelope graze in the meadows we pass.  This pair of bucks are fighting....

I assume one will win rights to the harem....  :-)   The sagebrush (short bush with yellow flowers in the motion blurred foreground of picture above) that pokes up among the grass in the meadows is very important to wildlife here, as it blows clear of snow in the high winds of winter, providing food for the antelope and sage grouse.  The scenery varies a lot, but the one consistent characteristic is it's BEAUTY.

It cannot get boring, as the beauty is ever changing.   We join I-80 in  Rawlins for the drive west to Rock Springs, passing through more miles of dry looking range land covered with grass and sage.  Occasional oil drilling rigs punctuate the skyline.

We wish them speedy results to ease our fuel prices.  Wyoming is a big oil producing state.  We arrive in Rock Springs and pass the Flying J to find the Walmart a few exits along.  Walmart offers gas quite a bit cheaper, so we fill there, intending to fill fuel and dump at Flying J in Evanston WY just before we enter more expensive Utah.  I spent a late night preparing the webpage, getting only about half finished.  

Saturday September 25:

I was up in the early morning hours to download e-mail and do our online financial work. I returned to bed shortly before Claire arose, and we decided to move out fairly early toward Salt Lake City.  We did stop at the Flying J in Evanston WY and filled fuel, but found too late that THIS flying J has no dump...we had that info on a Flying J pamphlet, but I had not checked it...DUHHH.  We were sent back a few miles to Bear Creek State Park to dump, had trouble finding the dump, then found they want a $5 donation to use it too...  We finally decided to pay and be done with the dump/water concerns, but this was not one of our better efforts at low cost RV travel....drive extra miles AND pay to dump.  :-(((   We continued on I-80 through a short tunnel which eased our way through the mountains.

We passed ranches with large stacks of hay bales piled up for winter stock feed.  

These are much bigger square bales than we are used to seeing back east, and they surely must be handled with tractor mounted lifting equipment like the big round bales, as they would be too heavy to lift by hand.  There were wind electric generators on some of the hills.

Evidently oil and coal are not the only energy sources in Wyoming...  We entered Utah, and stopped at the Utah welcome center for some new Utah tourist info.  Outside the welcome center we saw a stand offering free hamburgers, and assumed they were fund raising for something, as we have seen several places along our travels.  On the way into the welcome center we were approached by a smiling man in a cowboy hat offering us a free hamburger.  He emphasized this was just a group of friends giving away hamburgers as a friendly act, and invited us over when we got through inside.  I jokingly asked if a vehicle had hit a cow on the highway and he laughed about being part of the cleanup crew....  Inside we found huge amounts of info on Utah points of interest, and loaded up.  We were interested in visiting the Mormon area in Salt Lake City, and received detailed directions including EXACTLY where to park the RV.  We walked up the hill to the free hamburger stand, and found 6 or 8 people grilling, assembling, wrapping, and passing out hamburgers.

Along with the hamburger came a  business card stating we had just received a random act of kindness, and if we enjoyed it we should pass the card along with some act of kindness we do for another...  This is an INTERESTING concept, and can be explored more fully at www.actsofkindness.org  The people involved looked very happy and satisfied, even the guys sweating over the grill in the background.  :-)  They assured us it was loads of fun, and I believe them....  :-)  We proceeded to Sam's in Murray, finding "No overnight parking" signs in the lot as we drove in.  We parked to evaluate our options, and I wanted to price the Sam's gas in the newly opened station.  The gas attendant said the members only price was $1.719, and that it was OK for RVs to overnight in the lot...OK!  We stayed and I worked on the webpage while Claire shopped in Sam's.  Dinner was left over squash soup, perfect for a busy night.  I finished the webpage around 9PM, but uploading was slow despite the strong cell signal.  I decided to sleep now, and upload in the early morning hours.  We planned to attend the scheduled 9:15 AM Sunday Mormon Tabernacle Choir performance in Salt Lake City in the morning, so that meant an unusually early departure for us to get there, parked, and into seats in the Tabernacle.

Sunday September 26:

I was up around 2 AM and was able to upload the webpage AFTER turning off Zone Alarm…it has some undesirable effect causing the FTP site to disconnect frequently.  After turning it off, the full upload went with NO disconnects.  By 7:45AM I was finished with the web, e-mails were sent, and it was time to get ready for an 8:30 departure for Temple Square.   Claire found the place to park easily, I was driving.  The entrance gate was painfully narrow however, requiring full use of the wide street to get in.  Fortunately there was almost NO traffic, and I was able to back out and go in straight....  There was nobody at the open gate, so we assumed the Sunday parking was free.  We joined a few RVs on the far end of the lot, pulled the curtains, and proceeded to walk the three blocks to Temple Square.  There were numerous greeters with name tags ready to offer directions, and soon we were seated in the balcony where it was expected I might get better pictures.  Claire had her purse searched twice...even here they are quite security conscious.  The Choir was just completing it's pre-broadcast rehearsal as we took our seats, and pictures were permitted before and after the broadcast performance.

The organ is a MAJOR presence in this hall.  The choir took a short break, there was a brief request for us to minimize noise during the broadcast, and EXACTLY at 9:30 the broadcast started.  It is carried live on some radio and TV stations, and recorded for airing later all over the world.  The choir may be comprised of unpaid volunteers, but this performance is professional in every sense of the word. This is the 79th year of their performing for Radio and TV every Sunday. The choir is over 300 persons, and there is much competition to become a member.  Members must retire from the choir upon reaching age 60, or upon completing 20 years of membership.  We enjoyed the performance very much.  The acoustics in the hall are extraordinary.  We received a bonus performance after the regular broadcast ended.  A group of foreign tourists had requested they sing their 1959 Grammy award song "Battle Hymn of the Republic", and they did.  

It is certain that none of the present choir was part of that Grammy award performance over 40 years ago, but this choir did a SUPERB job with it.  :-)  We took a 30 minute guided tour of Temple Square after the performance, hosted by two young Sisters of the Church.  We then wandered casually just a bit before deciding to return to the RV for lunch.  We changed into more comfortable clothes for the warm afternoon, and returned to the area for more wandering.  The ever present Mormon missionary guides were quite anxious to help us find what we wanted to see, and explain their religion in any detail we wished to hear.  This center is a showplace for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and is totally professional in the quality of the displays, videos, and presentations by the guides.  They are well trained and enthusiastic, eager to spread the word about their faith to anyone who will listen.  We entered the beautiful Assembly Hall.

Here an Elder of the Church takes much time with us to explain his religion, and how members become worthy to enter the Temple (which is the only building in this complex not open to the public).  

They must certify that they live by a prescribed code (which I understand forbids coffee and alcohol, but includes living by the 10 commandments and tithing a percentage of income to the church ), and get their certificate signed off by their bishop. This certificate must be renewed every two years. In a visitor's center we are invited by a young lady guide from Mexico to use a computer terminal connected to the family search genealogical library located here. It is closed on weekends, but we could get lots of info from the terminal.  I enter my last name, and find it knows of my mother and father, some eight other relatives I know about, but not my grandfather or great grandfather.  There is nobody new that pops up...  I'm a bit disappointed, but decline to take advantage of the offer to search in other ways, as it is not an hour's task, but days, and we have much to see here before we leave today.  The young lady emphasizes that marriages performed in the temple are not valid just until the death of one partner, but for eternity.  This concept is comforting...unless you think about folks who might wish to remarry after the premature death of their spouse.  I was not quick enough to ask this question at the time, so I do not know if Mormons forbid remarriage....  DUHHH!   We enjoyed some of the commemorative artworks on the grounds.

This one honors the immigrant converts that came to Salt Lake City in the 1850's on foot, pushing hand carts with their few belongings, as they could not afford better transportation  I know it seemed a long DRIVE to me.....  I cannot imagine the hardships they suffered. Suffice to say over 250 died on the trip from Iowa, but 3000 arrived in Salt Lake City this way.  The Seagull Monument honors seagulls who saved the early settlers crops from a plague of crickets threatening them with starvation.

This is said to be a modern day miracle, and it is interesting that the seagull is Utah's state bird.  It is said that around 70% of Utah's present citizens are members of the Church.  This Eagle Gate arches over State Street as it approaches the state capitol building.  The gate has an eagle statue with 20 foot wingspan  weighing 4000 pounds  It was erected in 1859 as the entrance to Brigham Young's private farm.

The capitol is topped by the white beehive like dome visible on the right of this picture (capped with a gray roof).  Utah is known as the beehive state, perhaps highlighting the work ethic of the Mormons.  One foundation of the church is they will help members who are out of work or otherwise needy, but the recipients are expected to work in return for the help they receive.  We had about as much fun as we could in one day, and were seeking a quiet place to rest before returning home, when we wandered into a secluded corner of a visitors center and were greeted by two young ladies who popped out of the shadows, approaching as if they had seen nobody to talk to for too long.  :-)  They were Sister Sanfai from Hungary and Sister Martinez from Argentina, and had been invited to this place for missionary work.  My understanding is that all the missionaries pay their own way (or their families pay their way), and receive no stipend from the church.  These young ladies were quite personable, and talked for a long time about everything and anything.....and finally asked if we would like a Book of Mormon.  Claire agreed she might read it, and Sister Sanfai hurried off to see if she could get one, while Sister Martinez stayed with us.  Shortly the Sister Sanfai returned with a book with their names in neat hand writing inside the cover, and noting recommended parts to read first.  We thanked them, and proceed to return in a straight line to the RV, not stopping anywhere....  :-)  We considered where we should spend the night, it being mid-afternoon.  We had thought to go to Antelope Island tonight, but now it seemed a waste to pay for a nice campground just to SLEEP...and that was all we had the energy to do now.  On the way north on I-15 we passed an oil refinery seemingly right in the city.

It did  not diminish the beauty of the mountains clothed in fall red and yellow colors though.

We found a Walmart listed off I-15 to the north near the entrance to Antelope Island, and decided that was the place....it had several locations shown on maps, but we went with Street Atlas this time as it had been most correct in the past.  The road name was mis-located by two I-15 exits, and we made an extra 4 miles of driving coming back to find the location was just as described by the RVers overlay for Street Atlas, and the program itself was wrong in it's location of the address AND the Walmart.  I do wonder how they enter this information....when they are wrong, they are so VERY wrong.  We bought a few items in Walmart, and the checkout clerk said overnight parking would be OK.  :-))  Dinner is pork chops, left over jambalaya, and cole slaw.  It is good, but as soon as dishes are finished I'm ready for bed...too much up time in the early morning again this weekend.  :-)  A quick final check of e-mail, and off to bed I go.

Monday September 27:

It was 65 under the RV at 6:45 when I awoke.  I felt rested after the long "catch up" sleep, and caught up on the neglected RV log.  Today we will move to Antelope Island early, and spend the day and at least one night there.  At Antelope Island we found camping available for $11 the first day, $8 additional days. The drive took us over a 7 mile causeway built out into Great Salt Lake, and it frankly looked a little flat, low and dismal  heading out there. We had paid for only one day just in case we found it unpleasant.  At the island end of the causeway on a peninsula protruding into the lake we found this memorial to 12 Army Rangers and Air Force Commandos killed performing their duty in 1992.  

There were names, but nothing about the place or circumstances that caused their death.   As we looked toward the center of the island we could see pretty high mountains and hills The roads were being paved, and traffic patterns were altered due to that.  The paving equipment being used did not seem to leave as smooth a surface as the pavement being repaired...dunno what is going on here. The visitors station was up on a hill with a nice view of part of the lake and mountains. We could look down on the causeway we had just crossed.

From this vantage point it looked far from dismal.. On the way to our campsite we found a dump station with a rinse hose dispenser placed very near (4 feet) the one faucet carrying potable water.  Hopefully other campers are careful about their sanitary procedures.....   I had a maintenance chore to do first while the engine was still warm from the drive and the campground was deserted except for us.  It was tiring, but after completing it we took the bikes down for a half mile bike to the beach.  The lake's waters were low, and we were surprised to find footsteps in the sand...

We had heard from the ranger in the visitors center about the free ranging buffalo herd here, but did not expect to share the beach with them.  :-)  We went for a swim in Great Salt Lake's cool but not frigid waters, bobbing like corks in the 14% saline lake water at the beach we used.   OK, we waded out to knee depth in the shallow lake, but we DID float unsupported by the bottom.

We easily floated without wetting our hair, hats or glasses with the whole top surface of our bodies above the water.   This is kinda neat, after you get over the swarms of tiny brine shrimp sharing the swim with you...  Two men who had returned from the hike from beach to water as we started had complained that the water smelled bad.  We found the smell was associated with the organic material washed up on the beach, NOT the water, which had no odor at all.    We did appreciate the fresh water showers at the beach house afterwards, to wash the salt crystals off our skin.  We did not find it necessary to use the pay hot showers at $1.25 for 4 minutes, but elected to endure the free outside cold water shower;  the sun was so intense that the cool shock was forgotten fast, and we soon dried off in the low humidity, even though we had decided not to bring towels. On the trip back to the campground we found a couple of the buffalo we had been sharing the beach with...

We had been warned not to approach buffalo any closer than the point at which they take notice of our presence and change their behavior....and any closer approach to this guy made him stop and look; there are no fences here, and these animals can charge at 35 miles per hour over considerable distances....  Our campsite is pretty, and right on the beach.  

The nearest island in a mirror smooth Salt Lake peeks out through the mist....  This place is far from dismal and boring!  :-))

Tuesday September 28:

Today we decide to hike to Frary's Peak; it's 3.5 miles each way, but the peak is almost 6592 ft elevation and the trail head parking lot is 4528 ft.  We have our work ahead of us with over 2000 feet to climb up!  

Claire starts first, after pointing out the goal, which is the distant peak poking up over the flower covered hillside on the left side of the above picture.  The climb starts steep, but the scenery with the mountains overlooking the lake and it's distant shoreline is MAGNIFICENT...

The RV is kinda fading into insignificance from here...... and we've only started!   We continue up....the trail levels for a while, then up again. It's soon time for a break, and we choose a spot shaded by the rocks.

The view just keeps getting better... As we approached a staircase built to ease the climb up a steep hill, Claire asked if an animal on the rocks at the low edge of the meadow was a deer... I looked and said it was an antelope, as it disappeared behind the rocks.  Next, I saw the unmistakable curved horns of a big horn sheep peek over the rocks, then proceed to climb towards us up the meadow.  This was a ram, shortly followed by a ewe which was the first animal we'd seen.  We stood motionless for what seemed to be forever as they grazed up the meadow towards us.  

I snapped picture after picture, with them alerting sometimes from the camera "beep" when the picture completed, but they continued to advance.  The wind was light towards us, which undoubtedly  prevented a full bolt.  When it appeared the sheep were higher in elevation than we were, I decided to start walking towards them, expecting they might bolt UP the mountain. Instead they ran straight away from us and slightly down to disappear over distant rocks.  

The ram on the right is already starting his flight, while the slightly more trusting ewe on the left is still evaluating me....but not for long!  This is the closest approach we had to them, but we were THRILLED.  These are very shy animals, not often seen, and a trail volunteer we met later said he had seen the ewe but not the ram...lucky us!  Further up we saw hawks, possibly a kestrel among them, and numerous ravens playing in the wind currents below us on the mountain. Nearing the top, we saw a communications repeater bristling with antennas.  

It was solar powered, with no link to the outside world but radio...and the enclosure was a section of  big culvert pipe roofed over.  The door was bolted closed but not even locked.  I'd imagine the door was alarmed though, to send a message by radio if the door was opened.  There are few ways back from here that an enforcement officer could not be waiting at the trail head LONG before a criminal made to back....  The hike was said to take 4 hours...but we are that long getting here, with over half the distance still to go.  There is a higher peak ahead, and the trail winds on, going DOWN from here....we give up hard gained elevation!  :-(  We soon climb again, and the trail gets narrow and steeper.

A trail volunteer  is repairing the last series of steps to the peak.  This one man repair crew had hiked in this morning carrying his tools and had worked all day.  He did say he was getting tired...I guess so!!  He appears in marvelous physical shape as he makes way for us to pass.  Our cellphone has good service here, so I imagine he can summon help if needed, but it is unlikely that anyone would just happen by if he got hurt.

We thank him for his efforts, as we had enjoyed the secure footing his freshly dug repairs had provided earlier in the climb.  It is not a long climb to the peak and we soon look down on the lake for 360 degrees.  There are dark clouds to the west with the look of rain....

It's been a big effort, but there is a sense of accomplishment that comes with a nice flat rock to rest on...  The weather forecast includes a chance of thunderstorms.  We are a bit uneasy about that dark cloud, but hear no thunder.  On this peak a thunderstorm would be EXTREMELY dangerous, as the lighting strike probability is almost certain, and the lightning tends to travel on the surface of the rocks seeking ground that is not there...  Even the orange marker tower has a ground stake attached.  We take time for a few more pictures, but do not rest as long as we would like to.

We started the descent, although there remained a bit of uphill to return to the communications repeater.  No matter WHAT folks say, down hill is easier than uphill!!!  Claire had a short leg cramp as we started the uphill climb to the repeater, but it passed. Her muscles had already gotten used to DOWN....  On the way back I saw a strange color and shape hanging in the grass about a foot off the ground, and peered closely to see what it was. I thought it was something molded and decayed, then I noticed the 5 toe nails....

This was a BAT, hanging upside down sleeping the day away in the grass, unsheltered but well camouflaged.  If I were in that position I would worry about hawks...but it had survived most of this day already.  We did not disturb it, but continued on our way.  A light rain shower fell for a short time, but just lasted long enough for me to plastic bag the camera and cellphone.  We are TIRED now, and all we want is to be back in the RV.  Claire volunteered to drive before...and I took her up on her offer!  We saw the brine shrimp  harvest boats along the harbor.  

They scoop the brine shrimp cysts (a form of egg; these critters have a really COMPLEX reproductive cycle) floating on the water and sell them as food to Asian prawn farmers and the aquarium industry world wide.  Millions of pounds of the shrimp cysts are harvested annually...kind of hard to believe!  This day was full, but not QUITE over.  Claire made tuna salad for dinner, and it was really perfect for the time...we were both EXHAUSTED.  We were really happy to have a toilet in the RV when we looked out toward the campground toilet in the deepening dusk.

This picture is blurred, as I could not hold the camera steady enough in the low light to get it sharp, and buffaloes do not hold still on command either...it is darker outside than it looks in the picture! Still, this buffalo is clearly a bull, and directly in our path to the bathroom.  :-)  We had not seen the expected big herd of buffalo from the mountain top....they were out of sight somewhere.  I guess this was our reward.  :-)  Both of us were in bed almost as soon as darkness fell....even dishes can wait until morning!

Wednesday September 29:

This is a down day after the hike. It seems the mosquitoes are worse now in the cloudy, showery weather that has moved in.  It seems OK that we do not feel much like doing anything strenuous. I greased the RV chassis. I was concerned about the mosquitoes, as there had been a West Nile Virus warning posted in the visitors center.  Some deet based repellent on my work clothes and hat brim seemed to do the trick, but moving around under the RV doing the greasing brought some of the aching over hiked muscles to extreme prominence…  :-)  The generator oil and filter was due for a change, and this is an ideal place to do it, and an ideal time, we being the only folks in the campground. I find a fairly good time in between the showers to do that. It rained HARD with small hail just after dark, and throughout the night.

Thursday September 30:

Today is another slow day.  We will leave here before the 2PM checkout time.  The hiking muscles are even MORE noticeable the second day, and that is today.  :-) The rain stopped before dawn and the sun was out in the morning, with HORDES of hungry mosquitoes visible through the RV windows.  We MUST hang the bikes back on the rear rack before we can depart, and I choose a jacket with hood tightly closed around my head to keep them visible and minimize exposed flesh.  Wearing the hat I deeted yesterday on top, I accomplished the task with no recognized bites, but lots of hand waving to shoo them away.  We killed 4 inside after I returned;  they swarm around the door, and might also have ridden in on my clothes.  We shower, then Claire prepared black beans for dinner. We proceed to dump and take on water on the way to the visitors center.  We say our good byes to this unexpectedly beautiful place....

We find there is no pay phone in the park to make some necessary 800 number business phone calls, so decide to head to the Layton Walmart to make those calls and replenish supplies.  Afterwards, we continue to Sam's in Murray where we expect to fuel as cheaply as possible in this area. We find the price is up 3 cents since we were here last Saturday, but it is still 7 cents cheaper here than at Walmart in Layton 35 miles up the road.  Fuel prices sure are strange...  We discuss where to go next, and decide a scenic drive in Unitas National Forest might be nice, and we could stay in a Sam's in Provo if the campgrounds in the forest did not prove suitable.  The black bean dinner is delicious, we plan to watch the first Bush-Kerry debate, and Claire shops for a few things in Sam's.  I send a business e-mail using end of the month cellphone minutes.  We might as well use them for something.  I was ready for bed tonight, and slept quickly.  Claire watched a bit more TV.

PLANS:  Our immediate plans are a bit undefined right now.  Snow is possible in these parts any time, and indeed has already occurred in some high places in the area.  Fortunately at this time of year it does not last long on the ground.  We have decided not to deviate east to revisit Arches National Park, and have also decided it is not worth rushing to see the north rim of the Grand  Canyon again, as it closes around October 15.  The south rim is open all year.  We will proceed south along I-15, deviating where interesting places present themselves.  Our immediate plan is to do a 38 mile scenic drive between Payson and Nephi UT in the Unitas National Forest, and possibly pick up a night or two in a national forest campground there too.  Beyond that we want to see Bryce Canyon National Park again, and Zion also.  We would enjoy more time in Page AZ to tour the dam there.  The roads in this area are few, the miles long, and we must follow the good roads with our motorhome.  We would like to see Mesa Verde, but must figure out how to rent a car to do that, as the roads to there are not good..... On our last trip here two years ago the cellphone coverage in southern UT and northern AZ  got pretty spotty; we'll see how much it has improved.  We must meet a plane home in Yuma AZ on the morning of November 16, and that part is VERY defined.

Until next time..... ENJOY!  We sure are.  :-)