Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Day 3...Wyoming to California

Metaphor: Tree of Utah (Tree of Life) Utah

Mural outside the Penitentary.

Sightseeing in Rawlins.
A great start to our day in Rawlins.


A good night's sleep made us alive and alert, time to keep going. We stopped at Penny's Diner, a wonderful little Sunday morning breakfast spot. The diner is vintage from the fifties and the employees were friendly and the food was great. The windows in the front look out on a beautiful view of the Rockies. The church crowd was filtering in and everyone seemed to be enjoying the sunny, not a cloud in the sky day.


We headed through town and since I had the Eastern Penitentary in Philadelphia pictures, I figured, why not stop at the only jail that ever held Billy the Kid. The hour was too early for us to go in so we walked around the grounds and took some photos. Rawlins is in the middle of a very rugged area. We imagined what it would have been like all those years ago to be hauled to this place to sit out a sentence for a train robbery. All the westerns I'd ever seen came to mind and it was pretty cool. We headed out of town and found ourselves back on I-80.


The song 'Home on the Range' became our companion for the next couple of hundred miles. We saw mountains, wide vistas with distance snow covered peaks and lots of deer and antelope. They were everywhere. Wyoming is such a wonderous state with all of its scenic landscape. The 75 mph speed limit again was our friend and before we knew it we were seeing signs for Utah.


Let me clarify the drive a bit so far. Nebraska slowly brings you on a steady but barely noticable incline to the mountains. Once you get across the continental divide you have to start navigating the big things and other than once or twice going through mountains in tunnels, the rest of the time you go up, up, up and down, down, down. Salt Lake City and the surrounding area is breathtaking. The mountain passes are steep, the traffic was heavy and everyone was going 80. For the first time in our trip, I thought RTC was going to dump me out of the car. I kept saying slow down as we raced around curves in four lane traffic, semi brakes screaming alongside of us and yet we kept going. I thought I was going to have heart failure.


In between my nervous moments we were awed by the beauty of the area. As you approach the suburb towns of Salt Lake City the houses were splayed across the mountainsides in a very interesting way. The neighborhoods looked as if they had been planned to produce a relaxed, integrated area. The house colors all blended nicely with the terrain and were painted in natural colors. Salt Lake City itself was nestled between the peaks around it as if it were a sanctuary. I can well imagine why it is the place where so many Mormons settled. After the long journey across the mountains, it is a natural place to find a haven from weather and what was to come in the next twelve hours.



We took a number of pictures of the Great Salt Lake and the land flattened out somewhat as we headed toward the Great Salt Lake Desert. One hundred and one miles of desert seemed like such a difference from where we had just come. The last gas station until Nevada sported a group of vintage cars that had just crossed from the other direction and we filled up the car with gas, grabbed a couple of cold drinks and watched some hand gliders floating across the edge of the desert. The temperature was starting to climb into the mid eighties so we headed out.


We found some interesting phenomena in the desert. First of all, it's not really sand near the highway. It looked like brackish water in places and you could see where vehicles had done some pretty large donuts along the side. The highway is divided by a large desert area between the lanes going east and west and for the duration, that 'ribbon' of highway is striking to see. We had our first experience thusfar with the 'mirage' thing and yes, you can photograph a mirage! The other fascinating thing is the strange messages made with dark rocks that people write in the sand along side. Hundreds of messages were written, some as simple as 'I love you Jason' and others as profound as 'Peace to all in the world'. About half way across we saw this sculpture that is called 'Metaphor -Tree of Utah'. It is on the eastbound side of the highway and you can't stop or pull over, although the woman in front of us did, with little shoulder to move to. An explanation and picture of it is at this link...http://www.utah.com/amusement/metaphor_tree.htm

It was an amazing thing to see. We continued on, marveling at the immense distance of the desert with railroad tracks and trains seeming tiny when compared to the vastness of the land we were traveling through. On the trek back, it was just as cool.


By the time we saw the sign for the Bonneville Salt Flats and Wendover, Nevada, just on the border we were ready to stop for a bit. Casino time! We drove down main street, picked out a place with glittery lights and spent our $40 bucks and almost two hours. It was perfect, just what we needed. I'm used to the Connecticut version of casino time. Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods are large absolutely beautiful buildings inside with very classy design. Nevada was smaller and everyone looked bored! I guess that's what happens when there are slot machines in every convenience store. We waited out a vicious lightning and rain storm in the Burger King as we ate a late lunch and then tackled the rest of the state.


I thought Nebraska was dull....Nevada is a REALLY long drive with not a whole lot to see. Four hundred and ten miles to be exact if you pay attention to the mile markers. A few herds of cattle, some horses and plain landscape. The Sierra Nevada Mountains wind throughout and we were on the lower end. They looked inhospitable and it became apparent to me how difficult it must have been to search for Steve Fossett when his plane crashed in them last year. The folds in the hillsides and canyons were never ending. Everytime we came to another town (and there weren't all that many along the highway), we noticed the letter of the towns first name was emblazoned larger than life on the hillsides. That was a good diversion. They also had lots of prisons. Good place for them. There isn't much else out there. The US Gov't occupies a good deal of the land as training and gunnery ranges. Good idea. We decided if you ever wanted to dispose of a body, this would be the state. Not many people, lots of hiding places and inhospitable climate. Enough said about all that.

Hours later we saw the signs for Reno. That meant California was just a heartbeat away. Of course our destination wasn't but we had made it! The fun part was just coming up. I was ready to throw myself out of the car before Richard did. The Mountain refrain.....what goes up, must come down. Donner Pass was coming down....





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