Sunday, July 12, 2009

Summer Vacation 2009: Salt Lake City

My longest drive of the trip was from Minden to Salt Lake City. That trip on I80 is soooooo boring, and they are always doing road work. The distance is about 550 miles. I stopped at the city of Battle Mountain, for the fourth time, and ate a a McDonalds there for the 4th time. Nothing special about the town or that restaurant, it is just that the town is at the midway point on the trip. As I got closer to Utah, a storm started to brew, and next thing you know it is raining and lightening is striking nearby. Plus the wind is blowing. Since the freeway goes through the salt flats, the dust mixed with the rain creating a dirty, salty mess on my car. I made it to my aunt and uncle's place by 6:30 PM and they had a fresh pot of stew waiting for me for dinner. After dinner and an evening conversation, I turned in for the night.



The next day we had nothing planned, so we went to Park City. I had been there many times before in the summer and winter, so there was nothing particular I wanted to see. We stopped at a farmers market with was more of an arts and craft fair. Then we drove to a out-of-the-way restaurant for an early dinner. We were the only customers so service was good as were the onion rings. Then as we started to walk, the afternoon rain hit. Back into the car we went and after a quick trip up Main Street, where I took a picture of this very pink house, we headed back home.

The next day I woke up and got ready for my bike ride. Last time I had my bike I rode from the house to the top of Immigration Canyon and then back to the house. This time, once at the top, I coasted all the way back down to the bottom of the canyon near the zoo and This is The Place park. After a short break, I rode back up to the house. The total distance I rode was 17 miles with an elevation gain of 1400 feet. I'd saw over 100 people make this ride every day as I saw a constant stream of bikers all day long.


Later in the afternoon, I went with my aunt and uncle to pick up other aunts and uncles to have dinner at the Cracker Barrel. This place serves simple, American style food like meatloaf and turkey with gravy and mashed potatoes. I didn't make it to a Chuck-a-Rama this time - maybe next year.


After two full days in Salt Lake City, it was time to leave for my last stop, Las Vegas. I thank my Aunt Mary and Uncle Robert for their hospitality. I finally felt totally relaxes at this point, so it took a week to wind-down from my job-related stress.

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