Tuesday, April 26/2016

Headed down I 15 towards Salt Lake City

It was raining and dreary today and a good day to travel as long as this rain does not turn to snow and actually, we were pretty lucky that way as it remained dreary but roads were good.

Lots of snow on the mountains

It seems like forever when you are traveling this section of highway.  It is wall to wall traffic for miles and Salt Lake City seems to go on for miles which really isn't true but there are so many smaller cities along the way that all run into each other so in fact, one is in the urban area for at least two hours depending on traffic.  The lanes on the interstate go from 2 lanes to 6 lanes at times and everyone seems to be in a damn hurry.   Man, I just do not envy Kay in this traffic as she travels this route everyday to get to the job site!!  Nasty!!

Out of Utah and into Idaho

We managed to get through all the congestion of Salt Lake City and area unscathed and crossed over into the state of Idaho.  It is much quieter here and we ended up parking for the night at exit 31 near Downey.  There is a sweet little campground behind the gas station that is free is you fill up with gas.  It comes complete with power, sewer and water.
We pull in and before too long we are joined by a rather disheveled looking old bus and its occupants look like they are from the backwoods of the Appalacian Mountains!!  Oh dear, we have a gong show going on and do any of these people actually have teeth??!!  OMG.....I really need to stop with this judgmental stuff.  They are probably very nice folks.
Another bus drives in and it appears as if these folks know each other.  Well "Howdy there friend"!!
They both get busy doing some repairs on their vehicles and John and I got to watch the show.   It was cheap entertainment.
It was soon time for supper then off to bed we head.  Tomorrow is another day and there are still lots of miles to go........

Monday, April 25/2016

John's and my 35th wedding anniversary is today so Happy Anniversary to us!!
It was raining and rather dreary today again and the temperature is in the 40s so basically, it sucks here!!  Kay and I went out for breakfast and bought a few groceries for our trip home then it was time to get things straightened out in the trailer and do some laundry.  So, this basically covered our day.
We wandered over to the bar this evening to say Hi to Bill and Maureen and Johnny B and Tina.  It was poker night and the tables were busy but we did manage to chat a bit with everyone and it was good seeing them again.
John and I headed over to One Man Band for supper and then it was back to the bar for one more drink and then off to bed as it was a travel day for us tomorrow.  We have to be back in Canada on Saturday and there are a lot of miles between here and there!!

Sunday, April 24/2016

Headed out of our spot by Overton, UT

Tank in Overton

Headed down I-15

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Our final day of travel was upon us.  Today we will be in Nephi and Kay's journey home will have ended and ours will continue.
But First......we had to find the damn cats.  Neither one of them would come in last night so we let them stay out and this morning it is proving to be a not so very wise decision as they are nowhere to be seen.  They are definitely NOT on the gas tank as we had hoped and they are not coming when they are called.  They do not even respond to Kay's whistles - and they ALWAYS come to the whistles!!  Oh Sweet Jesus, we have lost the bloody cats and I am dying a thousand deaths thinking how they will never survive out here in this harsh environment without water!!
I went over to a nearby trailer and asked if they had seen two cats and no, they hadn't.  This is not good.   Kay and I looked for about an hour before Kay finally crossed the highway and called and whistled for them and out pops Mowgli from a culvert where apparently the two of them had spent the night!!  The little buggers had crossed the highway during the night and now that daylight had arrived, the traffic had increased and I imagine they were too scared to cross back over.  Anyway, the lost had been found and both Kay and I were breathing a sigh of relief and thanking the Lord above!!
With the lost being found, we finished the packing up process and headed down the road.
It was an uneventful trip except for one thing.  Scotty was in the neighbourhood and we actually managed to meet up with him at the Flying J in Scipio, Utah for a short visit.   I got several "Scotty" hugs and John even got one!!  LOL  We caught up on some of the news from back home then he had to head off down the road and we did tool
We arrived in Nephi in good time and an hour or so later, the trailer was set up and Kay's new campfire site was in full swing.   The stinking wind was blowing and there was rain in the air but that did not stop us from enjoying the evening.   It was so good to have this first leg of our journey over with and the cats home safe and sound.  Those two, by the way were very busy exploring their environment and I swear, they remembered where they were as they were anything but shy when it came to familiarizing themselves again.   Life is Good.....

Saturday, April 23/2016

Heading out of Williams, AZ

Lake Mead

Today found us headed out of Williams and onto Utah.  John didn't really want to travel through all the traffic of Las Vegas so we decided to go through Lake Meade State Park.  It is alwasys pleasure driving through the park as the scenery is quite beautiful.   The lake itself is huge and the water an incredible blue but I think it is the surrounding rock structures and the desert fauna and flora that make this area a magnet for bicyclers and motocycle enthusiasts.  Not to mention all the boaters and lakers!!

Beautiful scenery throughout the park

Another great fire

We travelled into Utah today and stopped just south of Overton for the night.  We are now one day away from Nephi where Kay will once again be staying with the cats for the summer.  It is soon time for her to go back to work so tonight, we will take some time to have one final "road" fire and enjoy the evening.
I don't think the cats were too impressed with the hard gravel and rocks this place had to offer but it was for only one night and if we could manage to not trip and twist our ankles, then they too would have to put up with it.  When it was time to head into bed though, neither one of the little buggers wanted to come in for the night so they in fact, stayed outside for the night.  Shit, Oh Dear,  stupid cats.  Oh well, we all thought they would climb up onto the gas tank of the truck and sleep there. After all, they had not ventured very far from camp in the past week so we really were not too worried about them!!

Our spot for the night, outside Overton, UT

Friday, April 22/2016

Downtown Williams, Az

Kay and I woke up early today and headed into town.  We had a few things to pick up and since we were going in early, we might just as well have breakfast!!  This is a bit of a habit Kay and I had gotten into the last month of our stay at the park as we had been so terribly busy that it was simply easier to go out for breakfast than to waste time cooking it.  And besides.....no one had to do dishes this way!!

Downtown Williams, Az

Williams, Arizona is on the historic Route 66 so like so many other towns with this distinction, embraces the fact and has actually done it with a lot of success.  Everywhere you look, Route 66 memorabilia, signs and store fronts offer one of a kind items for sale.  It is only Friday and this place is packed with cars and people.
Williams is also the home of Bearizona.  A one of a kind wild life experience so of course we had to check that place out.  It consists of two parts - a drive through and a walk through.  It was incredible and well worth the $22.00 price of admission.  John of course, pretended he was not impressed!!

Entrance to  Bearizona

Beautiful woodwork at the entrance

Mountain goats

Sleeping....

Deer

Burro

We actually have seen several of these in the wild

wolf

more wolves

white arctic wolf

bear

thirsty bear!!

tired bear!!

White buffalo and her newborn

Beautiful white buffalo

close up of baby

There is just something about these majestic creatures....

lazy sheep

white peacock

badger

swift fox

fancy chicken

ravens sitting in the tree waiting to steal food from
baby bears 

river otters

sleeping baby bears

overhead sign going into Williams, Az

so many older cars - route 66

the town embraces its route 66 heritage

Bar hopping

After touring Bearizona, it was time to tour a few of the local watering holes.  We started off slowly but managed to finish strong with three bars entered!!  Drinks were reasonably priced and the history of some of the bars was interesting

The "world famous" Sultana bar.   

The world famous Sultana Bar was pretty amazing with the inside of the walls lined with all kinds of wild animal heads.  Many of them were atypical deer heads with massive antlers shot in the area.  I asked the bartender what made the bar "world famous" and she said it was a combination of three things.  First, the infamous Sultana ruby (never heard of it!!), Second, a ship that went down during the Civil war caring prisoners of war that claims to be the biggest marine disaster in history and stating that the lives lost exceed the Titanic losses and, last but not least, the Third reason is that the Sultana bar is the longest running continuous liquor license in the state of Arizona.  It was the first bar to be awarded the license at the end of Prohibition.  Soooo, now we all know why the Sultana is "World Famous"!!
We played a few games of shuffleboard at the Sultana then headed to the third and final bar of the night that also had a shuffleboard and karaoke!!  Woo Hoo.....have not sat and enjoyed karaoke for a while now so that was a lot of fun.

lots of "heads" around the bar

A sign for Gary (back home)

All in all, it was a very good day although John and Kay did say they would feed me (and I really needed to eat!!) they in fact,  did not and I ended up just going to bed while John made grilled cheese sandwiches for himself and Kay.  Life is good.....

keg urinals!!