August 1, 2011 - Twin Falls, ID to Moab, UT

Leaving Twin Falls: more miles of Idaho with warnings like: Deer migration area next 10 miles. Or: Game Crossing - Use Caution. Or this one: Severe wind and dust area - Do not stop on freeway. Uh, let's get outta here.

Finally, we arrive in the Beehive State. The industriousness is readily apparent. And a welcoming spirit - many well-equipped rest areas.After so many empty miles, here I-84 and then I-15 take you through an endless metroplex that rims the Great Salt Lake. To the East are the Wasatch Mountains - today they are shrouded in dark, looming clouds and we get wet. On and on through Ogden, Salt Lake, Provo - and then our cut-off on UT-6 which takes us quickly and steeply up into the Wasatch range. Twisting, curving, steep mountain passes in the mist and the full-blown rain. A bit of a white knuckle adventure but stunning. It's chilly and wet at the summit (7477 ft) - feels great. Then descent to a flat, barren world but one surrounded by increasingly dramatic mountains. Then we turn off on the little highway to Moab and it sure looks like a promised land:

We like Moab. We don't want to leave. We feel like we're actually on vacation now. We are even staying at the fanciest Motel 6 ever envisioned.