Day 13:  Jerome, ID to Bend, OR. (423 miles)

We got up around 7:00 and went to breakfast.  They had made-to-order omelets and eggs.  The crowd was quite different from the families and tourists we encountered in Utah.  This crowd seemed to be mainly truckers.  The weather was cloudy -- the honeymoon is over -- back to the rain.

Actually it didn't rain until just outside Bend.  We went through Boise which seemed like a piece of cake after Salt Lake City.  Then got off the Interstate at Ontario to take highway 20 back to Bend.

We went back through the Painted Hills.Teresa had gotten used to the 80mph speed in Utah and Idaho, so it seemed like we were going slow through the countryside.

We passed through Burns again.  I noticed a sign for the Paiute Indian Reservation.  Teresa told me that the Malher National Wildlife Refuge had been created from Paiute land originally.  She said that when one of the out-of-state demonstrators was speaking and demanding that the government give back their land, one of the towns folk said, "shouldn't they give it back to the Paiute Tribe?"  The demonstrator had no answer for that.  

We continued on highway 20 passing through Stinking Water Pass soon followed by Drinking Water Pass.  There must be a story there.

We arrived in Bend around 1:30.  It was a great trip.

Day 12: Red Cliffs Lodge to Jerome, Idaho. (521 miles)

There was a beautiful sunrise against the red cliffs and the river.  The moon was still out and shown brightly although not full now.  A beautiful setting.  We got up before 8am, took a short walk and had breakfast in the lodge over looking the river,. Then we packed up for a long travel day.

Teresa had researched tanking what looked like a shortcut to Salt Lake City (highway 6 which makes a diagonal track to Salt Lake through the barren lava hills that make up dinosaur country then through the mountains just east of the city).  She found that this stretch of highway used to be one of the most dangerous highways in the US.  That is, until they made recent improvements including adding some passing lanes and counterintuitively INCREASING the speed limit.  In addition to this information we found that in this case the Interstate "is the most scenic route."  So we hopped back onto Interstate 70 and off we went.

And it was scenic.  We followed the road as the twisted rock rose from about 4000 ft. to 7000 ft. This area is referred to as the "San Rafael Reef" and continues for about 70 miles north to south which created quite a barrier for passage through for settlers.  Even today, there are few roads that traverse the reef.  Once we were at 7000+ feet the "mountains" were called "knobs."  We passed through the San Rafael Valley and stopped at the Salt Wash viewpoint again. Then the knobs turned into mountains and the red rocks turned into a landscape resembling that of Zion again.  

We got off the Interstate at Salina and headed north on highway 28 to Nephi. We passed through farm country and small towns as we took this shortcut to I-15 north.  Back on the Interstate, the traffic and lanes increased as we got closer to Salt Lake City.  When we encountered the HOV lane and numerous trucks we knew we were in for a long big city drive.  We stayed straight in the middle lane mostly (as the road increased to 5-6 lanes).  Teresa was a trooper.  It took several hours but we finally left the traffic and trucks behind and crossed into Idaho at 2:32pm.

This is a desolate stretch of highway with no services to speak of until you get to Burley.  The Idaho clouds were spectacular.  We saw many formations.  The sky was like an art canvas.

We finally stopped just north of Twin Falls in Jerome.  Actually the motel was across the street from the Walmart we stopped at before (the one with no photo equipment.)  The room was down the hall from the pool, but seemed to be humid and warm.  We were suspicious when we saw the previous guests had set the air conditioner at 65.  We had to open the window several times and I didn't need an extra blanket here.

We should arrive in Bend early tomorrow afternoon.  The last leg.

 Day 11: Arches NP and petroglyphs to Red Cliffs Lodge.

We got up early and packed up and headed for Arches hoping to beat the crowds.  It's Sunday with unseasonably warm weather so we expect the park to be crowded.  There are a lot of families with kids eating breakfast at the hotel.

We got to the park and the unmanned toll booth says the park was open.  We headed to the Wolf Ranch parking lot which is the trailhead for the Delicate Arch Trail, a three mile round trip trail to the iconic arch.  It starts out at Wolf Ranch which is a one room dwelling that the original settlers used, very rustic.  Behind the ranch were some very good petroglyphs etched into a rock face.

The trail started out well defined, but when it got onto the rock face (slick rock) we were to follow the rock cairns.  We found those markers were few and far between so we tried to follow the footprints when we found them and other hikers -- not too many.  It was quite a climb up the rock (although no comparison to the Angels Landing hike) and we took a few wrong turns, but finally ended up on a rocky overlook across from the arch.

There were already three guys there. They were very good natured (Australian?) and gave us their spot as they continued on the path up the rock face to the arch.  I told them to wave (which they did) when they got there because we were going to stay right here.  The light was right to view the arch from here and we were tired.  You had to go around a rock ledge to get to the arch and it would be backlit.  We saved that hike for another day.  

We got lost coming back down, but found some hikers coming up and got back on the trail.  Then as we got to the top of the first climb, we passed a park ranger going up the trail and putting up rock cairns.  Made the trip much easier to follow the new cairns from there.

We got back to the car and drove to the end of the road and took the hike to landscape arch stopping at pine arch and tunnel arch on the way back.  The park was getting quite crowded by then.

Then we drove to the Windows section of the park and parked at the trailhead to Double Arch.  We climbed around and took pictures then hiked back to to other windows section.

This section had a great view of new arched forming.  We stopped by Balanced Rock an the Visitor Center and left the park around 2pm.

We took the Potash highway (279) along the Colorado River to the west in search of more petroglyphs and dinosaur footprints.  We didn't find the dinosaur footprints, but did manage to finally spot the petroglyphs along the cliff face along the highway.




In the process we passed a number of rock climbers with their ropes climbing the cliffs.  It was a beautiful day with the colorful hills reflected in the Colorado River on one side and shear cliffs on the other.

We had been told that the Red Cliffs Lodge would not be serving dinner tonight so we went into town for gas and a Subway sandwich to take up the river for dinner.  Strangely enough Teresa gave the kid at the cash register a 20 dollar bill and he gave her a roll of quarters ($10) as change then just disappeared before she could object or offer to pay by card.  Seeing this, I used my card with the girl that had stepped up to the cash register.

We stopped at the rock shop before heading up the river to the lodge.  They had lots of dinosaur bones, but none as nice as I remembered and the polished ones were from Mexico.  No joy.

We headed up the river to the lodge (milepost 14).  It was a little farther up the river than I remembered, but beautiful country with bike trails and parks and places to launch water craft.  The lodge was in a beautiful setting with horses grazing in the field.  It is right on the river with red cliffs close by.  The winery was closed (opens in two days, but I can't get Teresa to stay that long.) But the restaurant was OPEN so we saved our subway sandwiches and made a reservation.  

There were very few guests, we had a whole section nearly to ourselves.  Rooms were great.  I highly recommend this place.  Very nice and peaceful setting. Not sure how peaceful it is in high season (we did find a BUS parking area...  We walked along the river then visited the gift shop where they were selling wine (no tasting).  I bought some wine and Teresa asked if they would like $10 in quarters.  We were all happy.  Dinner was great.

We will be homeward bound tomorrow.  This was a great end point for a great trip.

Day 10 - Dead Horse State Park and Island in the Sky.

Note:  We traveled 460 miles yesterday from Zion to Moab.

We had breakfast at the hotel (Comfort Suites) and headed back north to the cutoff (highway 313) to Canyonlands National Park. The road climbed through very picturesque red hills to a plateau even with the top of the hills.  We took the left fork to Dead Horse State Park.

We arrived just before 9am and paid our $10 fee at the Visitor Center.  The ranger told us the best view was at the point a mile and half down the road, so we headed out there and parked.  The view of the canyon carved out by the Colorado river was spectacular.  The colors were great and the river made many twists and turns in front of us (goosenecks).

Dead Horse State Park has an interesting history.  The natural features were such that early folks used the area as a natural coral for horses.  There is a very narrow "neck" along the rim of the canyon that widens out into a wider area that is surrounded by shear cliffs (and island).  If you run the horses onto the island and block off the neck, they are effectively caged.  At one point the horses were corralled and the people never came back to open the fence.... A sad state of affairs that gave rise to the name of the State Park.

There is a rim trail that we hiked starting to the right along the canyon with some spectacular views.  We passed the "neck" where we saw a twisted branch fence on the side of the road that may have been part of the fence used to keep in the horses.  The neck was the width of the road with about a half width on each side.  We had to walk next to the road to get through here (on both sides).

We continues several miles along a slick rock trail looking for rock cairns (I call them rock pagodas) that are used to mark the trail (since you are on stone and the trail is often not obvious).

We strayed from the path several times but always eventually found a marker.  We took several half mile side trails to view points along the canyon.  We could see Canyonlands Park across the canyon.

Finally we arrived at the Visitor Center again for a break.  Then we took the shorter trail along the east rim out to the point again.

We could see the neck and island aspect of the point easier from this side.

There was also a very blue pool of water which we discovered was a desalination facility used to get the salt out of the land here.  Evidently they put die into the water which makes it more scenic.  This area is called the mini Grand Canyon.  The cliffs are only half the height of the Grand Canyon but the scenery is similar.  I even saw some similar looking rock formations.  This is a very beautiful park.

We made it back to the point and our car and drove to the Visitor Center for a break, then headed back to 313 and on to Canyonlands National Park Island in the Sky.  This park also has a neck and an island surrounded by cliffs, but no horse history that I know of.

The gate was closed with a sign to go on through and the Visitors Center was closed, but we stopped there at a picnic area and had some lunch out of our traveling food bag.

Then we drove out to the Grand View area (about 12 miles). This area is on the island and looks down at the canyon carved by the Colorado river and the Needles area of the park.  We took the trail (2 miles round trip) to the view point where you can see the Colorado and Green river meet up.  Then walking along the rim of the Green River canyon.

When we got back to the car we drove down the Green River side to a view point and then north to Upheaval Dome, a strange feature that is perhaps a meteor crater.

We climbed up the trail to the viewpoint.  This is Saturday and the weather is great so we encountered quite a group of people at the viewpoint.

On our way out of the park, we stopped at the trail to Mesa Arch.  We followed the loop slick rock trail and were reward with a great view of the arch and preview of the arches we will see in Arches National Park tomorrow.  The inside of the arch provided a nice view of the canyon and the La Salle Mountains in the background.

We stopped again at the visitor center for a break and a last view of the canyon made more colorful by dusk.  We stopped at a La Salle Mountain viewpoint on our way back down 313 as it wound bad down to Moab.

A full and exhausting day with lots of hiking and sites.

Day 9 - Zion to Moab (switchbacks to goosenecks)

Last night we decided on a Polygamy Porter and salmon cakes instead of the pp margarita.  I woke up at 3:30 so went out to take pictures of the moon.  It was really beautiful with the full moon glowing on the mountain peaks, and very peaceful. Hope one of the pictures comes out.

We had breakfast and packed up.  Headed out at 9:05.  We passed through Springdale.  (Note:  when we were there the other day, the clerk told me that a water main had broken the day after we got to Zion.  It flooded the town and no one had water.  Lucky we didn't leave the park that day.)

The views are spectacular as you take the road to the freeway.  Back on the highway we passed the snow-dusted hills and took I-70 east just north of Beaver.  We started worrying about gas since we knew a 100-mile no-man's-land was coming up.  We went through a pass at about 7,000 feet then through exits with "no
services" before we finally came to Eisinore with a lone gas station.  We filled up -- gas for the car; Dr. Pepper for us. 

We came to Salina which had a few more services and then passed the sign announcing that it was 105 miles to the next services.  The snow-dusting became heavier as we climbed to about 8,000 feet.  At Salina the map designated the highway as "scenic."  That can be a good or bad thing.  Actually, the road was pretty good.  The only snow along the side of the road was in the shady spots and the temperature was around 55.  There were a number of scenic overlooks.  We stopped at the Salt Wash Overlook with a fantastic view of the canyon lands.

Near the end of no-man's-land (Green River) we descended about 2,000 feet (from 6k to 4k) to the river valley.  The white snow beside the road was replaced by white salt patches.  We got off the freeway at Cresent Junction and took highway 191 south to Moab.

We checked in to our hotel on the north side of town and then took a walk through town. They had several very nice Indian Craft stores. We stopped for a gelato and found a all-purpose grocery to get another SD card for my camera.

After a brief stopover at the hotel, we walked about a block to a Mexican restaurant.  Margarita and good food.  We walked back to the hotel to plan our day tomorrow.   

Day 8 - last day at Zion

We decided to take it easy today so after breakfast we walked along the Sand Beach Trail and turned off at the Court of the Patriarchs exit.  We walked up to the view point and took some pictures then followed an unnamed trail along the beach back to the Lodge.

We had lunch at the lodge then continued on the beach trail towards the Grotto (the trail we have taken twice before).  It is a nice trail with great views of the canyon with the Virgin River in the foreground.

We got some shots of the Angels Landing trail and folks zig zagging up the cliff.

After a rest and some packing we plan to head out to the Canyon Junction where we saw several photographers waiting for sunset yesterday. We will head up the Pa'rus Trail and be back for sunset.

We noticed prickly pear margaritas on the menu, so plan to celebrate our last night in Zion with one of those and a light dinner.  

Off to Moab tomorrow.

Day 7 - Zion National Park

 After another robust breakfast at the lodge cafe, we started off at 9:15.  We took the Grotto Trail and then connected with the Angels Landing trail.  It was a strenuous climb with many switchbacks.  We knew about Walter's Wiggles, and thought we were there two times before.  LOTS more switchbacks.  

The first set takes you up the side of the mountain facing the Grotto then you go through a slot canyon (your footsteps echo) to the other side and go up another set of switchbacks.

Finally you reach the bottom of the wiggles.  Actually after the previous climb, the wiggles are not that bad.  There are 21 of them but they are short.

After the wiggles you find yourself on a plateau of sorts with a view down to big bend.  A short path leads to the next section which is like rock climbing with chains to hold on to.  I decided -- no way.  Teresa had me take care of  her stuff and she started out.  She made it up the first chain.  There was a gap to the next chain.  Teresa wisely decided to abort.  

We sat sown and enjoyed a protein bar and watched folks going up and down the rock face.  Several we talked to turned around as well before the top which was a half mile "trail."  We noticed that all that made it to the top were young.  And even they said it was "scary."  Teresa overheard one comment that it would be a great place to commit suicide.

There was an "emergency only" out house which I decided was for senior citizens like me.  We decided to continue on the West Rim trail for a while and found a nice rock plateau that had great views of the River Trail and Big Bend.

We decided to name it the Senior Angels Landing.  It was a great spot and great lookout.  We went back down the trail and walked along the River to get back to the lodge.  We got there about 2:30 and took a break.

We got in the car and went to Visitor's Center.  Took the Pa'rus Trail to the end at the bridge ;where highway 9 takes a turn to the east.  Took some side trips to the river for some photo opportunities.  We got back about 6pm to Visitor's Center for a great sunset view of Watchman.

Back at the lodge we found that the housekeeper had evidently noticed our wine bottles and left us 4 wine glasses topped with the cardboard circles used on regular glasses. 

I think we will sleep well tonight.  Last day at Zion tomorrow.

Day 6 - Zion National Park - Springdale

Decided to rest for a day before tackling Angels Landing.  We had breakfast and the host mentioned an unmarked trail along the river from the lodge to the Grotto.  So we took that and ended up at the trail head for Angels Landing.  So we decided to reconnoiter  The path was quite nice for a ways and then began to climb.  It is paved and not bad.  Then we got to the switchbacks which we thought were Walters Wiggles -- they were only the pre-pre Wiggles it turned out.  We went up about three switchbacks and then came back.  We will tackle the entire climb tomorrow.

Went back to the lodge along the Grotto trail, took a small break, then headed out in the car to the trail head for the River Trail.  We followed a small trail along the river and only joined the main trail at several points.  Great views.  A very nice hike.

Then we went back to the Lodge for lunch, another break and then headed out in the car again.  We parked at the Visitor Center and hiked into Springdale.  There are some very nice shops and a great Indian Craft Center.  Had an ice cream when we got into town to give us enough energy to get back.  Stopped at several shops.  I got some gloves -- it was a cold hike this morning.

 Back to the Lodge for a rest before dinner.  We'll go to bed early to prepare for the hike to Angels Landing tomorrow.

Teresa got a poster of the hike and it turns out that the Wiggles are on the other side of the mountain.  This should be challenging.  Also Teresa was reading about the top part of the trail (about a mile and a half to the top of the mountain.)

They lost many climbers who fell until recently when they installed chains along the steep part of the trail.  Teresa says they haven't lost anyone since 2005, but I'm still skeptical.  We'll see tomorrow.

Day 5 - Zion National Park

We have a great room: 106 in the Sentinel Unit right out front facing a beautiful view.  We had a full moon and the mountains were lit by the moon.  We tried to take a picture to capture it, No luck so far, but we will have 4 more chances to catch the moon.

Got up and had breakfast at the lodge (included in our room rate).  Great buffet.  We are getting spoiled.  We started out on the Sand Beach Trail (7.6 miles) a little after 9 am.  Weather was a little cool and breezy, but that didn't last long.  Trail had some fantastic views and we took many pictures.  We traveled at the base of the Sentinel, walking through an area where they had a landslide a few years ago.  It is a majestic peak.

The path is actually a horse trail where they take horseback tours from the lodge in season. We found a picnic table and out house at the end of the loop, so rested and had some protein bars before the treck back.  Highly recommend this trail -- lots of great views.

Got back about 1am and rested for a few minutes, then took off (by car) to the visitor center to try and get some cell reception.  I had no service, but Teresa did so I was able to check in with Jim. We then took the Archelogy Trail behind the Visitor Center (about 1/2 mile) and took pictures.  Then we followed the river on the Parus Trail -- walked for about 2 miles.  

Back to the lodge, we had dinner and I think we will sleep well tonight.

We plan to take the Angels Landing trail tomorrow.

Day 4 - Cedar City to Zion NP  

We went to a small winery in town last night called Iron Gate Winery.  They and using the initials IG and transitioning to the name Instant Gratification -- interesting.  We were able to see the wine master and general manager cleaning out the barrels form their last bottling through the glass window in the tasting room.  We were the only ones tasting and after a while the manager came out with a Tupperware pitcher.  He offered us the "left overs" of their Tempest wine just bottles.  It was very good for barrel dregs.

The wine was excellent and the tasting host was very interesting.  He was a journalist until he got the wine bug and started working for IG.  He does their marketing.  They have three tasting hosts, one wine master, and one general master.  They are outgrowing the house where they moved in 2012 and looking for new space. Made for a very pleasant and interesting evening.

We left this morning and took a side trip on our way to Zion to Snow Canyon State Park near St. George.  It was great.  We did two trails and another one where we got lost and made our own.  The park has a variety of rocks and geology, from petrified sand dunes to several types of lava from ancient flows.  And of course all that red rock was all around.

We made a stop at Kayenta Art Village and had a great drive through Santa Clara on our way back to the Road to Zion.  The drive to Zion was beautiful, the rock formations are multicolored and hadr to describe.  I thought check in time was 3:00, but turns out it is 4:00 so we had to wait.  Good news/bad news -- Teresa locked her keys in the car. A park ranger helped us get in, and it took almost exactly the amount of time we had to wait to check in.

We will be in Zion for 5 days.  The Internet access here is very slow so I will probably group our Zion stay together and post again when we get to Moab on Friday.

We are staying in the Sentinel with a beautiful view from our room. We are on the first floor almost exactly below the room Jim and I had before.  There are a lot of folks milling around, but nothing like the crowds in-season.  Most of the folks disappeared by Monday and we ran into very few people on the trails.

          Looking forward to some hiking tomorrow.

Day 3 -- Cedar City to Kolob Canyons and back.

Headed out early and got on the freeway to drive 19 miles south to the Kolob Canyons section of Zion National Park.  It is right off the freeway and we drove up to the visitor center to present my golden pass.  The ranger gave us some maps and told us we were the first of the day, so to be careful of any rocks that may have fallen on the road.  He recommended a trail at the end of the scenic drive (half mile) and another longer one (5mi) than followed a creek through the canyon.  He said that one would probably be muddy with melting snow.

We did run into some other people, so maybe they didn't check in or were camping.  BEAUTIFUL scenery. We took the first trail and discovered it was very muddy with patches of snow.  That sucking mud that tries to remove your shoes. 

 We continued on and were rewarded with beautiful views Coming back was even more muddy and we wondered how far the folks we ran into going up the trail with flip flops and another family with a stroller were going to get. There was a pile of snow at the parking lot that made for a great shoe cleaning station.

 Hard to describe so I'll just let the pictures do the rest of the blog.  

After a morning at Kolob, we went back to Cedar City for a Mexican lunch.  Then we drove up highway 14 for a while and took in the wonderful rock formations and color.  Since Cedar Breaks National Monument is closed for the winter, we turned back and parked at the Cedar Canyon Park just outside of town and walked along the paved (no mud) Coal Creek Walking Trail for an enjoyable 4 mile walk along the creek.

We are off wine tasting this evening for dinner.  Off to the mail Zion Park tomorrow.

Day 2:  Twin Falls to Cedar City

We decided to avoid the Interstate and headed south on highway 93 towards Nevada.  We passed through flat, treeless plains framed by snow dusted hills in the background.

The high winds of yesterday (reportedly up to 50 mph) were diminished today so the tumble weeds lumbered by instead of attacking as we drove.  It was a very scenic and peaceful drive.

As we approached Nevada, we started to see casino billboards and as soon as we crossed the Nevada line we found ourselves in Jackpot, a small berg consisting of about 15 casino/hotels, the State Line Liquor Store, and an RV Park.  Soon we were back in the scenic zone. 

We passed back into the Pacific Time Zone as we crossed the Nevada line where the time zone makes a sharp turn to the east and doesn't drop south again until the Utah state line. We found ourselves in the mountains and cruising at about 6000 feet.  We turned east onto I-80 at Wells roughly following the Historic California Trail. 

As soon as we got to the Utah border, we found ourselves on a long strait road through the salt flats of the Great Salt Lake.  This is a marshy wetland, sometimes wet, sometimes white with salt, and sometimes something that looks like quick sand.  I imagine many a covered wagon got stuck as they were traveling the California trail.

After 99 miles of straight flat highway, we got off at Tooele for gas and tacos at the Travel Center.  Back onto the freeway we got a glimpse of the Lake off to the north.  The white, snow covered mountains and wispy, white clouds framed the lake perfectly.

Soon we were surrounded by traffic (don't know where they all came from) reminding us that we were on the outskirts of Salt Lake City.  We took I-215 south to I-15 in 7+ lanes of traffic. That lasted until we got to Spanish Fork where the lanes were once more down to a reasonable number and the traffic thinned.  

Soon we were back into the scenic zone and with the speed limit back to 80 mph we decided toget as far as possible. We made it to Cedar City after about 8 hours of driving.  We will stay here two days and then head to Zion on Sunday.

We walked the 9 blocks into town and had dinner at the Centro Woodfired Pizza Shop.  Asparagus pizza with a local beer.  Really hit the spot.  We walked back through the campus of Southern Utah University.  We will do some local touring tomorrow.

Trip to Utah. 

Teresa and I are off to Utah.  We decided to skip the Tuscon Gem Show this year and head for the National Parks instead since they offer enticing off-season rates.  We are headed to Zion National Park and then if weather permits to scenic points in eastern Utah.

Day 1 - Bend to Twin Falls.

Jim and I arrived yesterday in time to see Marlow after his first hair cut.  He looks good and is a very friendly puppy.  This morning when I got up and looked at the forecast it said Bend was "clear and snowing."  Looking out the window we saw snowflakes falling on and off but fortunately not sticking.  We headed out about 9 a.m. and headed east on highway 20 into the Oregon Badlands.

It is very desolate country high and dry with a dusting of snow and fog.  Sage brush and Juniper --  resembling the Mojave with Juniper instead of Joshua Trees.. The first town on the map was "Brothers" which consisted of an old building called the "Brothers Stage Stop."  Then nothing.

As we got closer to Burns, we saw a sign announcing "Welcome to Public Lands."  By this time the Juniper had disappeared and it was definitely ranch country.  Burns is really out in the middle of nowhere.  Closest civilization is 70-100 miles in any direction you go.  We finally came to Hines which might be called suburban Burns (they run together).  Fortunately, the recent occupation events are over.  Burns must have really been overrun with news reporters, FBI, etc.  

After Burns we passed over "Stinking Water Creek."  After a while riding through ranch country with some rolling hills we passed a sign telling us we had entered Mountain Time Zone.  The time zone snakes through the southeastern corner of Oregon before sliding far to the east at the state line.

The country became hilly as we entered the "Painted Hills."  This is very scenic country around the small town of Juntura.  Lots of different colors and the clouds added some dramatic lighting.  It was very windy and we tried to dodge numerous kamikaze tumbleweeds blowing across the road. 

As we approached Ontario we saw a sign announcing we were in "Onion Country." and the hills were replaced by flat farmland. We stopped for gas and a diet Dr. Pepper at Ontario and then got onto the Interstate (84) heading toward Boise.  As we hit the Idaho state line we saw that the speed limit was 80 mph.  Going from Oregon's 55 mph speed that was quite a change and gave us hope we could make it to Twin Falls before dark.

Dodging trucks (many of them doubles and triples) and scattered rain showers (heavy at times) we did make it to Twin Falls (exit 173).  I made Teresa stop at Walmart in Jerome just outside Twin Falls so I could get an SD card reader (I forgot mine) to download pictures to the computer.  Turns out they did not carry cameras at all.  Maybe they don't take pictures here?  But they directed us to Best Buy just over the bridge to Twin Falls where I found one.  Only problem was that I was taking pictures in RAW only...So no pictures today, hopefully tomorrow.

We are settled in at the Fairfield in Twin Falls.  We did not want to get back in the car so we walked over to the local Culvers.  Teresa had their special "Butter Burger" and I tried their Wisconsin Cheese Curds.  They deep fried the curds but Teresa showed me how to peel off the breading (similar to peeling a hard-boiled egg) and those were better.    We walked over to Walgreens and Teresa picked up a "black box" (wine) which we will use as a sleeping aid.

On to Nevada and Utah tomorrow.