Idaho and Utah

Cumulative miles: 4,090

Number of Speeding Tickets: 1

Number of states visited: 12

Lessons Learned: Yellowstone is as large as the entire state of Delaware and three times the size of Rhode Island

Hi friends! I'm now in Utah for my first time ever!

I left Idaho early this morning. Here's a pic of the little cabin I stayed in last night. Very cozy. We used to have "motor courts" on the east coast, but they've gone the way of the wind. Out here, however, they are still pretty common.

When I left my cabin, I cruised down 1-15 until I got to Salt Lake City. Along the way I hiked through a volcanic rock field in Idaho. Pretty neat.

Backing up though, i have some final thoughts on Yellowstone. It's a place for all Americans. I started looking at license plates as I drove through the park. I saw plates from 44 of the lower 48 states. The outliers were Rhode Island, West Virginia, Mississippi, and Louisiana. I think that is a pretty great testament to our country and its love of our natural environment. Over the three days I was there, I never heard anyone honk a horn, be impatient because the driver in front of them was going slow, nor heard a negative comment from anyone about anything. People were happy to be there and appreciated that they were surrounded by and collectively drinking in the majestic beauty of it all.

Once in Utah, I stopped at the Great Salt Lake. There was a six mile causeway out to Antelope Island, which is actually a peninsula, but I don't need to split hairs. On the google maps, it showed lake on either side of the causeway. It wasn't lake actually. It was salt flats. I guess if the water level in the lake rises, these area would flood a little, but today they were flat, white pans. When I got to the "island," it was very rocky and covered with sagebrush. A little road snaked around. I thought I'd go the water's edge, but it wasn't that easy. The parking lot that had "beach access" was about a half mile from the water's edge. I decided not to make the trek in the 90 degree heat. I drove around a bit more and saw a bison and her calf. I was a bit surprised that there were bison here, but this island is pretty remote and I guess they're a protected species.

From there I wanted to go downtown to see the Latter Day Saints Temple aka the Mormon Tabernacle. I'd always heard that it was a magnificent structure. However, when I got there, it was covered in scaffolding and inaccessible. Peeking through the construction fences, I could see that work was being done to the foundations. I wonder if is sinking or not stable? Disappointing, but not fatal. I pressed on south. My next planned stop is Las Vegas, but I'm going to look at my schedule tonight and may make revisions. I'd really like to see the Hoover Dam, though. Should I go for it??