Leg 43- Oct 23- Dead Horse Point State Park, UT

We were adjacent to Canyonlands National Park which sandwiches, along with Arches, a small park called Dead Horse Point State Park.  We heard the views there were better than Canyonlands.  The views were stupendous.  It is so intense that the view does not look real.  I kept saying it looked like Mars in the original Total Recall.  Wind was howling all day.  Dallas was much braver than I was in getting near the edges.  Towards the end of the day, Sasha and I went on our own where we experienced such a secluded experience.  I could hear no people, see no people or evidence of people.  It was magical. 

 

Leg 43- Oct 22- Spanish Valley, UT

I know we were in Moab, but our bodies and our Bounder needed more attention after our Arches Day.  We rested all day, we had planned to do so much but it ended up being all loaf.  It was neat to capture a photo out the Bounder of the La Sal Mountains. 
 

Leg 43- Oct 21- ARCHES National Park, UT

On the way up to delicate arch

I did not understand what the power of Arches was, and so many people tried to tell me, until I got there.  The almighty Gaia of it grabs you and pulls your spirit.  We pushed to do the hike to Delicate Arch.  It said there were climbs over slickrock and heights so we figured after some spooky bits on the way up, we had done it.  Ohhhh no way, by the end we were terrified as we crawled on hands and knees next to (for us) terror filled heights.  The cliff seems so sheer and the pathway was not wide.  I really wanted to go out to the arch itself.  A wonderful stranger named Liz offered to hold my hand and walk me out to the arch itself.  I was so proud of myself and absolutely exhausted by that point.  We hiked down then had enough stamina left for sunset at Landscape Arch.  It was a magical day, the sheer number of sights to see is astounding. 

Me, after my terrified scramble

Landscape Arch

 

Dallas and EP on a cliff

Leg 43- Oct 20- Moab, UT

Most of today was spent driving, we did spend quite a bit of time at an O'Reilly's diagnosing batteries.  Shockingly, they had two of the oddball 6V batteries we needed.  The drive was quite pretty but I spent most of the day working while Dallas drove.  We arrived in Moab, which has a cool drive in but I wasn't certain to expect...yet. 
 

Leg 42- Oct 19- Price, UT

I love the idea of this, breasts on corn

We thought to ourselves we should take EP somewhere she could run around.  What better than the College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum?  We saw dinosaurs, fossils, and human artifacts.  Some of the most we've learned about dinosaurs we learned from this one area of Utah.  There were also a number of discoveries of items from Native Americans in the region that were just sitting in caves and as old as 12,000 years old.  Afterwards we returned early to find that our RV power system was draining.  I spent a LOT of time playing with electrical connections (including crawling in the power bay under the RV with an electrical meter in my teeth) before coming to the realization that it was just low power in the batteries(and likely at least one of them dead). 

12000 Years OLD!

Leg 42- Oct 18- Helper, UT

Utah has huge sections of the state with no cities, then small pockets of a few cities together.  The only spot between SLC and Moab is 3 small cities.   We stopped in between at a campground next to a beautiful cliff.  The first evening, as we were hooking up our water, we turned around to find EP firmly ensconced in a fairly epic mud puddle.  I had to work that evening and the next morning so we hunkered down and rested.

 

Leg 41- Oct 17- Wallsburg, UT

After our mail stop, we spent day repairing the Bounder and refitting for the next leg.  The one cute thing, EP demanded a walk which was a lot of fun.  I did have to get more supplies at one point and noticed a photo of the girl from the meme on a poster for carpet cleaning (I wonder if it's the first instance). 

 

Leg 41- Oct 16- Provo, UT

The view from Brenden's

We popped into Provo to resupply from various stores (in a lot of spots we go, supplies are hard to find).  One spot we stopped was a former kmart (called NPS), it was the oddest store I've been to in a while.  It was mostly empty with mostly oddball things for sale (the staff were also incredibly kind).  Additionally, one of Dallas's good school chums, Brenden, had a house in Provo.  It became a double spot as she got to connect with him again (including some fantastic yearbook photos).  Additionally, he had agreed to be our mail stop so we picked up a bunch of materials.  He was a delightful human and I hope we can meet him again.  P.S. the view from his house is absurdly good.

Dallas, Cynthia and Forrest in HS

 

Leg 41- Oct 16- Wallsburg, UT

We had parked the Bounder overnight in Deer Creek State Park.  Right over the shoulder of the Bounder was the crest of Mt. Timpanogos.  We decided to try to climb as much as we could (i.e. not much).  It's hard to climb carrying a 22 pound alternating sleeping and bouncing baby.  Eventually we got to the snow line where it started to get kinda slick.  We hiked a bit farther but the ice was accumulating so Dal and I called it.  The mountain is incredible and has a deep draw to bring you in further.  I understand why those climbers get sucked into mountaineering (I also understand I'm still incredibly scared of heights). 

 

Leg 41- Oct 15- Midway, UT

We rolled south into a beautiful valley, Heber Valley.  Dallas described it as a fairy wonderland.  It was rolling warm pastures surrounded by jagged snow peaks.  We decided we had to do something special so we took EP into town to a cheese farm that was doing a haymaze.  We at first EP just ran around shouting and darting anywhere she wanted.  Later, Dal and I split up to try to solve the maze.  Papabeans was the champion so Dal handed her over the maze and we escaped first. 

Leader of the maze

Papa made it out

Dallas trapped in the maze

 

Leg 40- Oct 14- Coalville, UT

This day was odd.  Dallas took the car with EP south to pick up materials at a drop box.  I moved with the Bounder (which is slow, and big, and slow) and Sasha and headed to an interim campground.  This stop was to be just an overnight before we moved on.  Noteworthy was we were next to a reservoir.  The water level was so low I'd say it was 1/10th of what could be.  We walked into the dry reservoir and we walked amongst dryland plants next to buoy anchors, picnic areas that years ago would have been underwater.  It was very startling to see.  

On a sweeter note, EP found sticks which she demanded to carry while holding our hands in hers.  It was beautiful. 

 

Leg 39- Oct 13- Salt Lake City, UT

Thank goodness my brain was working and I remembered to message my longtime, excellent and truly special friend; Darcy.  She invited the family down to SLC where her wonderful Mama gave us a tour of the LDS Church History Museum.  I, quite frankly, did not know much history of the LDS Church.  The folks were super friendly and it was neat to see artifacts from 180 years ago.  Dallas's ancestor is a martyr in the LDS Church so she has history back to the founding.  EP seemed to be a huge fan of Darcy and let her carry moments after meeting.  It was great catching up with a good friend and lovely person. 
 

Leg 39- Oct 12- Brigham City, UT

Snow is here

We woke up to a nice dusting of snow and a balmy temperature of 21 degrees.  Sasha was not keen for her morning walk.  I took my first work call today of my remote job which was exciting.  We stayed at a very pretty park but mostly rested up as we were wearing out.  Coming south, out of Snowville, the wind coming over the passes was INTENSE.  Dallas drove like a champion but I could feel the Bounder getting pushed.  I think it spooked us both. 

Snow is coming

 

Our first day next to the mountains. 

Leg 38- Oct 11- Corinne, UT and Promontory, UT

Gemini Rocket Section

This was an absolutely rocking day that we took as a day trip.  We had to go south to head towards Promontory and on the way we passed the Morton Thiokol (they built the Gemini Spacecraft and Solid Boosters on the Space Shuttle).  A little park off to the side had a ton of artifacts just sitting in a field you could visit.  I foamed at the mouth and took a picture with a piece of a Gemini space launch vehicle.  We moved onto Promontory, Utah where the transcontinental railroad met.  It is mindblowing to think about this achievement (and the terror it portended for the Native People's living in the west).   Famously (or not famously depending on your viewpoint), William Tecumseh Sherman would say in 1865 that he didn't think he'd live long enough for them to complete.  The railroad was completed in 1869!  The sheer amount of labor utilized by poorly paid persons from China, Ireland and the LDS community were travesties in terms of human life lost.   Just near the national park, there were 9 cut and fills of stone moved by hand.  You can now drive your car on the old railroad grades (which is incredible and I highly recommend).  What I think is really great is the Central Pacific sent their best train engine, the Jupiter, while the Union Pacific just sent a good utility workhorse train engine, the 119.  

Reproductions of the Jupiter and #119

Later in the evening, we returned back to the RV where a snowstorm was building and wind gusted to 45 mph.  We could barely keep the RV warm as the wind whistled through various small RV gaps.  I did manage to take our diaphragm pump apart, rebuild the connectors, and reinstall it.  It feels good to make some part of the RV better.   

EP bundled against the roaring wind

Driving one of the cuts

The beginning of the snowstorm

 

Overlooking the Great Salt Lake

Leg 38- Oct 10- Snowville, UT

EP and Cows in the distance (just for Kobra)

The area heading into Utah had super expensive RV parks.  We were really into a pickle until a small park in Snowville opened up.  They had a 4 acre 'dog park' that became a 'toddler park'.  I worked most of this evening while Dallas and EP ran down the road (40 minutes!) to get groceries. 

Sunset in the RV Park

 

Leg 38- Oct 10- Elba, ID

Driving out from the park, there are only two roads in and out.  We had to chose one and the one we chose had adventure.  As we tootled along, I noticed something on the road up ahead.  Needless to say, traffic was intense,  The cowboys on either side herding them just waved at us to keep on coming.  I drove the Bounder along, the cows would gradually get out of the way (some much slower than others).  A few seem to challenge me as if to say, "hey pal, I know you are going to wait for me".  Also, cows are quite pretty