Monday Never Lost In Utah

This will be a short blog as it was a travel day for us as we returned to Salt Lake City in the late afternoon.

I also made a mistake and took the more scenic route, which, according to Navigation, was only fifteen minutes longer, but wow, was it desolate. This meant there were no rest areas, open places you would want to stop at, and endless ranges with cows for more than two hours of the four-hour driving. Deborah–Says she is still speaking to me.

Starting from the beginning, we both rose early, packed the rest, and got our stuff together. We are sorry to say that a gal from below us asked us to knock it off as they were trying to sleep. The walls (and floors) are thin in Ruby’s Inn, and we had kept them awake. We felt bad about that, but we did not make much more noise than usual.

We headed to the restaurant and enjoyed another included breakfast. We decided to take another trip to Bryce Canyon National Park to see awesome again. It is only a few minutes away from our hotel. We had to show our pass as it was after 8. Next, we stopped at the Visitor Center, saw Ranger Ben again, thanked him, and picked up a few items and another stamp on the paper map they give you. Next, remembering from our last visit, we headed to the Zion Lodge, parked there, and walked to the rim of the canyon. This time, we ensured we found Thor’s Hammer (we had a picture from the guidebook), and I discovered I was looking at the wrong hammer. The hoodoos have many shapes, and there are thousands. We enjoyed the view and just marveled. We were both smiling from the awesome, headed to Zion Lodge’s gift store (this one was always closed when we were there before), and found a few more things we needed.

We returned to the hotel, grabbed a luggage cart, and quietly gathered our stuff into various bags (most already assembled) and rolled to the front desk, checked out, and loaded the Hyundai (with 3/4 a tank). I then picked one of the three routes provided on my iPhone, not thinking that there would be routes for hours through cow lands with no services (unless you are a free-ranging cow). We then drove down roads that eventually had no painted lane lines, few signs, and often no phone service. Lucky for us, dead-reckoning navigation systems have greatly improved, and we found our way.

The canyons were lovely, and had there been a rest area or a coffee shop somewhere in the tiny towns, the trip would have had less difficulty. The massive ranges with only cows and a few areas with irrigation and plowing equipment to grow, we believe, hay. Some pastures had sheep and horses. Deborah looked for a place to stop, and we learned that most towns had fewer than a few hundred people and did not have gas or a general store. I did wonder where folks get their groceries. This is the dry highlands of Utah; you cannot grow much here. We also noticed that many of the cows were in areas with small creeks and lakes, which answered the question of how the cows survived. There is no shade, but water would help.

We were thrilled to finally reach the vicinity of Highway 15 and some truck stops. We used the 76 Gas Station facilities (having stopped drinking water when we realized what we were up against) and then had lunch at the attached Denny’s. All this bounty was found just outside of Scipio (population about 350), still without gas or any stores in the crossroads that suggested a downtown area.

Relief, walking, food, and refueling the car, we were ready for the next ninety minutes to reach SLC. Traffic immediately became more complex and seemed a duel between three types of drivers: Those who went fast and did not care if other vehicles had to brake for them, those who went fast and stayed calm and polite, and the scared drivers who went slow and then suddenly did something. I tried to be the middle one, but stayed to speed limits (plus a wee bit more) as I did not want my rent-a-car to become interesting to any local officials. I did not want to help fund Utah’s local governments besides my spending on gas and food.

We used navigation to find the delightful Little America Hotel (across from the Grand America Hotel, which was built, we were told, for the Olympic Games, as the only 5-star hotel in SLC at the time). Our room was fabulous and not as expensive as other nearby hotels (though breakfast was not included). Parking is $18 a day with or without valet.

We were tired, napped, and enjoyed the room for a while. We found dinner in the bar, but I forgot my wallet (you must have an ID to order drinks, one that can be scanned), so I went back and retrieved it. We had a wonderful (though expensive) meal and then collapsed in a heap in the room. The food is brought from the Coffee House to the bar, we learned. All good.

Sleep was broken as usual in a new hotel. We had trouble getting the temperature right.

Thanks for reading!