and another day on the road, Thursday; overcast and damp. The Parry Motel’s complimentary breakfasts not worth the wait we set off for Mt. Carmel Junction in hopes of scoring a ho’ made pie but cresting the 6500′ pass north of town in light snow
were soon experiencing some disconcerting fourwheel sideways action so turned back to Kanab. Since the pass over the Breaks [which tops out at a little over 9K] would most likely have been closed
we backtracked, after commodious eggs at Nedra’s, south to Fredonia, west across the Strip
to the giant creepy breeder-boxes [not shown] of Colorado City and returned to Utah;
Hurricane [pron. “Herkun”], La Verkin, Toquerville, Cedar City a mere hour behind our anticipated arrival and after gas onward, slightly snowing,
to Minersville, then beneath low skies
to Milford
and beyond.
An hour or so later the two-lane got sketchier
and, despite the UDOT maintenance station at the border, untouched for miles. Those busy Utah bees all snug in their hives with multiple queens make for hazardous travel – not a footprint around the facility despite the storm.
In Nevada conditions somewhat but not entirely improved;
we stopped for cold Kanab egg remnants west of Ely
and then,
highway dry after Eureka, L. drove until
things fell apart east of Austin.
After Austin she tried again into the
very early dark but around Middlegate and all across Dixie Valley it dumped disastrously
so I took us on to Reno
for Thai food with Super8 adjacent and
pathetic TV for our last night on the road.
Friday was slimy wet through Truckee, cars inexplicably backed up well onto the interstate in both directions, slimy wet over 7200′ Donner
but by 2000′ California greenin’ had us easily home
to the chill damp of sunny Benicia in time for lunch.
But enough of that; we’re joining the Cockroach Party and heading for the Cracks…Happy Inauguration!
M
say what? What are creepy breeder boxes, not shown and what is the cockroach party?
Kirk has the Cockroach Party idea nailed [see below]]…”breeder Boxes” being my term for the immense windowless multi-story mansions in which the outlaw Mormons keep their multiple wives and the offspring resulting. Usually painted brown and particularly ubiquitous just south of the border in Colorado City.
Quite the cross-country saga, replete with detours, sketchy roads but happy endings! As always, an excellent photo documentation of the journey. Welcome back to soggy California!
I’m guessing you’re going to hide out (like a cockroach) as the administration of billionaires gets inaugurated. Yep, might be a good idea to lay low with your subversive ideas of global warming, science, renewable energy, equality, freedom of speech, women’s rights and other un-patriotic treacheries that are not making America be great. Otherwise they (the exterminators) may be coming for you. Oh, by the way…. I did not write this.
quite a change of scene once over Donner, not sure for the better
yeah, I’m not entirely sure, either, but the Toyota was nice…
This was the trip I worried about you two having to make! At least you are experienced experts!
I’m interested in a round of cosmic bowling…
Aren’t we all?
Glad you made it back safely…in heavy snow it’s easy to get a little too close to the edge coming up from Reno to the lake.
The bowling alley could look good!
We were lucky that way; no heavy snow on 80, just residual slush…the borderless roads were out east of Fallon the night before, and pretty empty.
Future studios and habitations; abandoned shopping centers with huge parking lots! [bowling alleys included]
We made that trip in the same conditions, going the other way about twenty years. “Creepy breeder-boxes” is a term I hadn’t heard, we’ve camped above Hildale – a couple of great hiking canyons – and driving through town is creepy, we were not welcomed.
Hildale remains unwelcoming, Colorado City even more so…hidden in the proliferation of boxes [though interestingly this time there were a number that seem to have been abandoned in mid-construction]
lives go on, somehow.