Day 3
I woke up ready to get on the road. Haley and Dave stayed up douple checking that they had everything they wanted to take to the east coast in the car. There were a few additions. So, another round of Tetris was required to get our suitcases for the trip loaded. But we managed! Plenty of room.
We said our farewells to Dave and Tom the cat. As we pulled away Dave called not to tell us he was missing us already, but to inform us that we had a break light out. No problem. We stopped at a local coffee shop and an Auto Zone.
While Haley ate her breakfast, I found a replacement bulb and installed it so we wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. After a few miles of LA morning traffic, we were on the freeway and on our way to the east coast.
As soon as we escaped the city of Los Angeles we found ourselves in no man’s land. We crossed over the San Bernardino Mountains and into the Mojave Desert. The following are samples of the terain we drove through for several hours.
We made sure not to let the fuel get to low because towns and gas stations were very few and far between. Found Zoltar at our first stop for gas.
And a UFO sighting!
We kept pushing on through the desert. Haley’s car was not happy with the elevation changes. Nor were our ears. We dropped down to 900 feet above sea level and climbed to over 4000 feet. Then down again and up again. Soon everything just went very flat.
We were looking forward to passing through Las Vegas. But it was very disappointing. I think it would have been more exciting driving through at night with all the lights.
We started getting a little hungry and found a Jimmy John's right off the highway.
I remembered to take a picture of my foid this time. I don’t think there’s really anything special about it, but here it is.
It was so hot outside even though it was a “dry heat”. And it was so bright too.
We drove through some more amazing countryside. I’m telling you right now these pictures do not do justice to the actual beauty of the rock formations. The colors are so amazing. But, I want to share some of what I took.
During all of this we passed through Arizona and into Utah.
We finally arrived at our first planned point of interest. Kolob Canyons. This is the north western section of Zion National Park. The visitor center was right off the highway.
Inside we talked to the park ranger who was very informative. We told him that we were planning to stop at Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore later this week. So, we bought an annual pass good for all National Parks. It was $35 for a vehicle entry and the pass was $80. So, we should get our monies worth out of it by the end of 2027. We got back into our car and headed into the park.
The wow factor is off the charts for how beautiful and amazing the rock formations are here. There’s really not much to say but just to share a little of what we experienced today.
There was a short trail that went up higher and we wanted to stretch our legs. Pretty tricky footing in some places. We really didn't have our hiking shoes on. But we mannaged.
On the way back out we pulled over and took a couple closer pictures of the rocks.
We got back on the highway and headed for our final destination for the day Salt Lake City. The terrain quickly changed from red rocky mountains to flat open pasture.
After 11 hours of driving and a little over 700 miles we areived at our hotel in Salt Lake City. A very nice hotel for a long day of driving.
The one thing Haley and I thought about were the original pioneers that originally crossed this terrain with horse and wagon. We both have a lot more respect for the grueling hard journeys those people had to endure looking for a better life.
Thanks for reading. Tomorrow we’ll be headed farther north to Yellowstone National Park and Old Faithful!
