Oregon Trail 2010 - Stage 3

They don't want to hear it. 
Lets get up!  Let's get moving! Come on!  We're burnin' daylight!





The Call of the Open Road - Early Morning Response

Our time at Wind Whistle is done.  I grab a towel and stick my head beneath a water source supplied  by the US Bureau of Land Management.  Thanks Mr. BLM!  I put a dab of shampoo on top of my head and wash, more out of old habit that out of need for full-bodied hair these days, squeegee the soapy water out of my beard, put on a fresh Hawaiian shirt and I am ready for The Road.  Another great day awaits.  We will finish this comparatively short day at my sister, Sheri's home in Meridian, Idaho.  She plans to have dinner for us as well as a couple of nice rooms for our overnight stay.   Our first order is breakfast, about 30 miles up the road in Moab.  We stop at the Pancake Haus (apparently actually run by Germans, hence the spelling of Haus).  I am good to go after a stack of apple cinnamon hotcakes.  We all brush out teeth and enjoy the indoor plumbing before tucking into the day's adventure.

Crossing over the Wasatch Range and descending into the Great Salt Basin, we note some brilliant red colors on the vine maples contrasting with the deep green conifers on the steep mountainsides.  Moving north on I-25 through Salt Lake City is an unwelcome change in driving environment to dense and intense traffic barrelling through narrow lanes frequently under construction.  Inga has been offering to drive all along the way, and once we get beyond SLC, and Ogden I pull into a Quickie Mart to fill up and reluctantly turn the joy of driving over to her.  We use the facilities, wash the windshield, attempt to convert a couple of Mormons to Calvinism and then exchange seats and head toward Idaho.  About 10 miles up the road, Inga asks, "Did you put gas in the tank?"  Now that I think about it, no. I have never forgotten to gas up at a gas station before.  Oh well, I know that there is a big Flying J gas station up in Snowville. and we'll fuel up there.

Inga maneuvers The Q from I-25 to I-84 as we cross the scablands of the Columbia Basin Basalts.  Even for a geologist, I find this terrain uninspiring.  We are in cell phone contact with Sheri and are feeding her out ETA.  She will be feeding us once we arrive.  As it happens, she is going out the door to take Daniel and his saxophone to marching band rehearsal as we pull in.  Tony is out at another event an is not expected home until after dinner, so Sheri, Sue, Inga and I sit at the well spread table together.  Big news from their household is that Tony has been selected for a HUGE international honor in receiving an award for his innovation with Java computer language and is preparing to receive the honor at next week's conference in San Francisco.  It is so good to talk of positives and anticipate good things that may come from Tony's international recognition for his creativity and hard work during his spare time.