St. George/Capitol Reef September 2011

Prep Day Tuesday

Dave only works a half day in the morning. He wraps up the last of one of his dept’s Win7-64 bit with wxp vm (virtual machine) swaps – manages remaining crises that have popped up, and at noon -  it’s buh-bye until Sept 19th.   Ya. Dave & Teri start a well needed break.

Teri finished up the packing, trimmed and bathed the pups, baked some chicken legs for the trip, Dave did last minute shopping, and topped off the tank in the truck. Whew, we almost need a break from prepping for the trip!

Day 1 Wed, Aug 31, 2011

Left Wed morning, 7:30am. Light drizzle. It didn’t last long.

On the road again…

Heading south towards Seattle

Snoqualmie Pass by the summit

The Columbia River - Oregon is on the other side

Stopped off in Marysville for McDonald's egg mcmuffins.  I-405 had some traffic issues but were able to burn through ok. Love those HOV Lanes. Caught I-90 and zipped over the pass.

Skipped stopping for gas at Yakima (Hello Cindy..) and continued on to Kennewick, where after a fill-up, pulled into a Wal-Mart parking area for a cold chicken lunch. Yummers.  Afterwards we watered the dogs and hit the road again. From there it was pretty much non-stop through the Blue Mountains of Oregon.

Hit the rest stop as we entered Idaho and took a quick look at the Snake River.  Arrived in Boise, ID about 6:30pm without incident. Made good time. Weather was blue sky with white puffy clouds. Stayed at the Candlewood Suites. Warm cookies and a free soft drink. The room was very nice with a full sized refrigerator, sink, dishwasher, microwave, cooktop, and separate bedroom. Go Teri!  After unloading some of the truck, we all had dinner and relaxed for a bit and snacked on the popcorn we popped that came with the room, before calling it a night. Tomorrow was another 9+ hour drive.

Living area

Kitchen area

Bathroom with granite countertop and tile floor

Day 2  Thursday

Left Boise 8am. Very light breakfast of cereal and a muffin but the Candlewood Suites was a very nice place and has a reasonable pet policy of only $12.50/night.  This might be our new stop in Boise from now on as long as they keep the pet policy the same.  We topped off the tank before we exited Boise and started truckin’…until we began to hit multiple sections of road construction. Eventually we got through it.  And after a time we hit I-84 and did the gradual swing right around the Sawtooth Mountains to head more South. The road had sections of never ending straights and it tended to make time slow down ‘aren’t we there yet?’ but we were doing 75mph now instead of the 65mph of Oregon. We had tumbleweed and sagebrush or fields of corn and golden wheat and other crops on either side. In the distance were chains of Mountains. Excellent views.  It still seemed a long drive.  We finally connected with I-15 and headed South. Ya!  Good ol’ Salt Lake City corridor traffic. Dave needs to wake up and stay sharp now. 

Taken at the first rest area just inside Utah

Lunch was at a Mexican Restaurant, recommended by several of Teri’s Utah friends, named Bella’s Fresh Mexican Grill in North Ogden (Farr West). Very good food! There were lots of mosquito’s bouncing around up and down in the air. Thousands of them.   We discovered that Bella's had a drive in window and got lunch to go (cool!) since it was warm outside and we couldn't leave the dogs in the truck, and then drove off to a quiet spot. Ate in the truck outside a Trucking distribution center next to a large green lawn and under some shade trees. Then it was time to get back on the road.  Salt Lake City traffic was nuts. 55mph speed limit was posted in the construction zones – everyone was doing 65-70. Very narrow sss-shaped lanes. Stress?  It’s a wonder we didn’t get sideswiped. Finally made it past Provo and back into a normal 4 lane separated freeway. 

Bella's Fresh Mexican Grill

We were getting very tired. St. George continues to be a long way off as the second half of day two drew to a close. 

Almost there!

Pulled into the Holiday Inn Express at Coral Canyon just north of St. George about 6:30pm. Huh.. It’s quite warm here. Outside truck temp hit 100 degrees. Checked into rm 135 instead of our usual 145 room. It’s ok. We have a West facing porch so can see the sunsets. Unloaded the truck, got some dinner and collapsed. 

Kitchen area

Bedroom 

Very large bathroom

Desert sunset

Day 3 Friday

Feel washed out but we got up anyway and had the complementary scrambled eggs, sausage, muffins & biscuits. Decided to move out before it got too hot and check out a few houses.

Decided to head to Hurricane and check out the homes we had seen online there – the house by the orchard and the other one close by around the corner on the tree-lined street. Nice area – limited view. :(  We also saw the Brick house on the large lot we had been looking at online, but it had been sold recently.  Checked out a few houses South of 9 on the hill just before Hurricane. Excellent Views! Teri said, Yes…this is more like it. I could sit on one of these balcony’s in the morning with my cup of cocoa and just get lost in that view of the Pine and Red Mountains and all the red rocks. I must say, it did have a lot going for it. 

Stopped by the St Geo Chamber of Commerce and picked up some information. Then got an order to go from Don Pedro’s Mexican Restaurant to take back to our room. Dave hit the pool after lunch and then it was **nap time**. Sadie and Joey were already out. Teri and Dave, rather than going against the grain easily succumbed to the trend. Zzzzz.  Heated up some leftovers for a light dinner, went over our plan for the next day, took a dip in the pool, and relaxed that evening.  Also saw another great sunset over Coral Canyon!

 

Day 4 Saturday

Breakfast was the dreaded Velveeta Cheese Omelets. We skipped that. I had biscuits and gravy. Teri had cereal and a yummy hot cinnamon roll.  

Today we went through the rest of the houses on our list and some new ones.  This time we were headed to the Washington Fields area.  Looked at Sandia Drive area, Seminole and El Camino Real – by the Roundabout. Took another look at Majestic area.

Picked up lunch at the Panda Garden Chinese place. It was rated very well. Teri had  broccoli beef, Dave had Mongolian beef. Very tasty.

Later in the afternoon, Dave zipped over to the liquor store in Coral Canyon to get some Utah Beer. Ha ha. Truck temp read 114. The seat belt, steering wheel and shift lever were so hot he could barely touch them.

Tomato soup & English muffins for dinner.

Day 5 Sunday

Today will be warm. 104 they say.  Sausage links, scrambled eggs, biscuits and off we go again. Today we check out Crestline in St. George, and a house in Ridge View in the area to the South on 9 just before Hurricane.

Crestline. That is the ridge that I-15 splits just as you enter St. George from the North. I always thought it was kind of goofy looking to park a row of houses up there. But that was from down below. Once we found our way up there we saw unlimited views of Zion, Pine Mountains…heck we were even above the old airport. There was one house we wanted to look at.  For only $280k. 

Two story with penthouse Jacuzzi on the roof. Wrap around balcony on the 2^nd floor. Spiral staircase up to the Jacuzzi. Inside on the ground floor was a curved staircase.

It was in the center of the ridge rather than some that were perched on the edge. Great party house.  It didn't really feel like us though.

We zipped back to the hotel to grab something.  Pulled the truck up to the back door next to our room so Teri could just jump out and dash in.  Teri got out of the truck with just her keycard in hand and didn't see the edge of the the curb due to handicap ramp right there, and down she went. Face plant right on the concrete sidewalk. Did a number on her nose, upper lip, both knees and hand/wrist areas.  It looked bad and the sidewalk won't be the same either.  Grabbed some tissues from the truck to slow down the bleeding, then she made it into the room on her own (her keycard worked even though it was scratched up too) while Dave parked the truck and brought the dogs inside.  Helped her get cleaned up to make sure nothing got infected. Had her lie down on the bed as deep shock set in. She rested for a while trying to stay warm. We had tomato soup and after lunch she said, Well, let’s go check out that house in Hurricane. :) She is amazing. 

So, we piled back into the truck which by now had warmed up considerably. 113 degrees. That was outside.  Inside it was a comfortable 111. Poor Sadie and Joey. Huh…poor Teri and Dave too!  Cranked up the AC.  After a bit it cooled off to 93 and then into the low 70’s. Love that AC.

We checked out the grey house with the two tower entrance.

It was about $260k. $20k less than the Crestline house:

 

Two story, slightly smaller yard than Crestline house, but I think it had a better angle on the Pine Mountain/Red Rock view. The area between the back yard and highway 9 was clear…but could easily support strip malls or a hotel which is a concern.  We drove by it several times. It had quite a bold look. Maybe not quite the statement we were looking for but it definitely had potential.

Next we zipped over to Knoll Drive off River Rd to look at a house with a style that Teri thought was more us. It was a one level Spanish style. Kind of that washed orange-ish color, tile roof. Had a nice entryway, Rv driveway on one side, a back yard that ‘might’ support a pool. Front yard was nicely manicured with grass and bushes and flowers. A few shade trees. Nice. There was a grassy lot in the back yard. With a large butte several miles away,  there was just a peekaboo view of the pine mts. So if the butte was removed and the other houses around it weren’t there, it was a possible. It was listed at $274k.

Well, that is enough excitement for one day.  Texas Roadhouse barbeque chicken and ribs, mashed potatoes with vegetables & 4 rolls for dinner. Ya. We were stuffed. No Nascar Atlanta what with Tropical Storm Lee dumping 2 inches of rain an hour. They will try again Tuesday.

Teri watched the MDA Telethon minus Jerry Lewis.  Dave watched some intense AMA superbike racing.

Day 6 Monday

Happy Labor Day.   Ha, sorry, we’re on vacation! :)  Hotel breakfast again today – Pancakes for Teri (just push the ok button and they roll out), biscuits & gravy for Dave. Caught up on the trip log. Today is overcast. It should be a little cooler. We plan on hitting Kolob Canyon this morning to pick up a park pass so we can just zip through Zion tomorrow morning on our way to Boulder.  Now that Teri's injuries are scabbed over, she did her magic with makeup to the injuries on her face and you could barely see it!  No shorts the rest of the trip though as she didn't want to put makeup on her knees and they looked pretty bad between bruises and scabs so she didn't want them to be seen.

Overcast most of the day. Sprinkles off and on. Got lunch at Dairy Queen in Hurricane then off to Kolob Canyon for an annual national park pass. We checked out the canyon. It looks different with overcast and sprinkles but still awesome. 

Back to St. George to look at the Green House on Seminole again and then to the Fields to get views of Pine Mountains and the Red Rocks. Back to the Hotel after filling up the truck with gas and then a break. Dave hit the pool and Teri got on the computer while the pups snoozed away.

Last chance to see St. George!!! Oh MY!!  Jumped back in the truck and cruised up to Ivins  and Tuacahn area, then back down Bluff Rd to catch the freeway airport exit – zipped into the Sun River development first – there was no secret over-the-hill route out of the airport so reversed our path until River Rd and then stopped in at Pizza Hut (since they sponsor our friend Eric Dodge and his band here in St. George) for take out pizza and back to the hotel. Saw an awesome sunset and a mystical rainbow. Very cool. 

9:20pm - Have all the preliminary repacking done. Tomorrow we leave the St. George area, drive through Zion and Bryce National Parks, and spend the night in Boulder, Utah.

 

Day 7 Tuesday

On the way to Boulder, stopped off at the two towers house again, looked closer at the area, and talked to a woman at the Utah Title office who gave us some insight to the local housing situation. Then headed towards Springdale and drove through Zion National Park. Awesome views.

Left Hurricane and heading towards Springdale

Coming into Springdale

Zion National Park

Zion National Park

Zion National Park

Zion National Park

Zion National Park

Zion National Park

Left Zion, heading towards Bryce Canyon National Park

Getting closer to Bryce Canyon!

Caught 89 and headed North East-ish to Highway 12, then to Bryce Canyon. Got some Fish n Chips at a place near Ruby’s called the Canyon Diner, then into the park to eat. Went to an overlook after that.

 On our way out of the park the clouds we really hadn’t noticed before began to let loose quite a lot of rain. Got rid of the bugs on the windshield so it was a welcome thing. Got back on highway 12 and drove a little ways to the town of Cannonville where the weather had cleared up.  Turned off on Kodachrome Way and wound our way to the turn off to Kodachrome Basin State Park, quite a distance off the highway.

Entering Kodachrome Basin State Park - note the blue skies

We drove through and found different rock formations than what we've seen.  However, there we were deep off the main road and quickly the sun disappeared and the sky got an opaque color and then we saw a flash and quickly heard "BOOM".  And then we saw big drops hitting the windshield. So we decided we should probably make our way back to the main road and headed back.

Leaving Kodachrome

We continued on through various towns and Escalante. After Hatch we started up the staircase and got some amazing views while driving on the bare edge of nothing. There was nothing on either side of the road. No shoulder, no guardrail, no nothing just a drop that went down and down. Inspiring.

Soon after that we pulled into Boulder and checked into our room at the Boulder Mountain Lodge. Got takeout dinner at the Hell’s Backbone Grill. A bit pricey but organic and very tasty.  Being that far out, the wireless internet was pretty spotty and it was Eric's radio show night.  Luckily the cell reception was very good so we were able to listen to his show over the phone!  Ah technology!  Later that night while taking the pups outside, we saw quite an impressive display of stars in the clear desert night. This is a very peaceful area!

Day 8 Wednesday

Skipped breakfast as the least expensive item was a bowl of oatmeal at 9 bucks. There were two other places to eat nearby but paying $15 bucks for a hamburger was just a bit extreme. 

We took a scenic drive down the Burr Trail through Long Canyon until it ended and we came out at an amazing overlook. 

 

Back at Boulder we continued on Highway 12 to another amazing overlook as the road climbed up the side of Boulder Mountain. The high point of the pass was 9,300 feet. There were large individual patches of white aspen trees there. Then it was down the other side where after some time we pulled into Torrey. Just outside of Torrey was our Best Western Capitol Reef hotel and all around were the incredible sights of Capital Reef. We finally were able to get something to eat at an old time hamburger joint called Slackers Burger Joint where they made real hamburgers. 

 We ate at an overlook with a view of the red rock walls of Capital Reef.

 

Still some time before check in so decided to take a drive to the Visitors Center to pick up some maps. When we walked out we noticed they were doing some asphalt work and there was a big line of vehicles queuing up to drive the scenic route. Decided to continue on East along 12 toward Hanksville. Good decision as there were some amazing sights. 

Popped a U-Turn at Cannonville and headed back to check into our hotel. Relaxed and finally crashed. Mexican dinner at La Cueva, a nice quiet place just up the road from the Hotel.

Thursday Day 9

Early in the morning, around 2am, we awoke to Sadie giving out yelps like she was in big time pain and she was having a hard time getting comfortable and it seemed to hurt when she moved or we touched her. We gave some thought to the possible reasons and figured it might have been the altitude change at Boulder Mountain effecting her Syringomyelia?  Some other issue? Unsure. We had done some traveling with lots of altitude changes the last couple days, so decided to take a day off and relax rather than do a lot of sightseeing and see if it helped her. We were staying two nights here so we had a little leeway.  After giving her an extra dose of pain medicine, we tried to go back to sleep until breakfast and after a bit the meds must have kicked in because Sadie seemed to settle down and went to sleep.  Got some breakfast at the hotel for $17 for two of us. Meanwhile Sadie got some more medicine and recuperated on the sheet we had placed on the extra bed. Dave hit the pool (brrr…) and the hot tub (Nice!) We filmed a bunny that was hopping around the grass.

Swimming Pool

Hot tub

Views around the grounds

Views around the grounds

The bunny

Time for lunch and a test -  so carefully put Sadie (and Joey) in the truck and drove up to the Mexican restaurant a short ways away, picked up some lunch and brought it back to our room. Sadie seemed to handle that short drive. So later on in the afternoon we loaded up again and took the slow scenic drive through Capital Reef. Shot some digital movie film and stills. Unbelievable stuff. On the way back we stopped off at the orchard – pick your own for free – and old time one room school house. 

U-pick orchard

Old one room schoolhouse

By the time we got back to the hotel, Sadie seemed almost her old self but we still took it easy and carried her everywhere in her kennel so as not to risk hurting her. Dave hit the hot tub again for the last time and watched the evening come on and the changing light play on the red mountains in the distance.

Watched Roger Federer play the French guy Tsonga in the US Open. They played at Wimbledon and even though Roger was ahead two sets, Tsonga was able to regroup and come back to win the match.  Patrick and John McEnroe were announcing and commented that since Roger had reached age 30, people were beginning to wonder if he still had it. As playing got under way it became clear that Tsonga had some work to do.  It was classic Federer. John stated several times that Roger didn’t move like normal tennis players but rather floated above the court. Tsonga was at a loss of how to adapt to Roger’s game plan. Roger demolished him in three sets.

Friday Day 10

Well.. it has finally happened. Today we pack up and start heading back. We got up and after breakfast, packed up the truck and headed out. Sadie seemed her perky self. We had one pass at 8,400 feet to climb over. We would see how that went. At least it isn't a long travel day.

The day was overcast but with breaks of clouds and sun. Good travel day. We drove through Torrey, and down the road a ways, did a quick photo shoot of Teri and the pups while we were still in red rock country. Moving on Hwy 24 we passed through various small towns on the two lane road. It was easy driving. Not much traffic, speed was between 50 and 65, nice road rolling up and down and this way and that as we cruised North.

Met up with Highway 6 after a time which led to Spanish Fork (Hi Emily G!) and good ol’ I-15 and all its wonderful construction. It wasn’t as bad as when we came down. Traffic was actually doing close to the 55 mph limit rather than doing 10 to 15 over. The gas gauge dropped lower and lower. The last time we’d filled up was way back in Boulder. Even with the AC on we had gone over 400 miles before we pulled over just short of our final destination in Layton. After we pulled off the freeway, the low gas light came on. Put 21 gallons in it and it’s a 26 gallon tank so ‘according to the manual’ we still had another 5 gallons.

Checked into the Hampton Inn.  It was a great room!  It was one of the larger rooms we had been in, a nice living area with a sofa, flat screen tv, desk, easy chair, and a kitchenette, and then the sleeping area at the end nearest the window.  Dave had road buzz none the less and needed lunch/dinner. Teri suggested Marie Callander’s which was nearby. Dave picked up a couple comfort food dinners – Turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberries and cornbread –“Oh yeah, and don’t forget a slice of chocolate cream pie please!”

It was delish! 

Kitchenette

As Dave pulled out to return to the hotel he could see I-15 Northbound moving at a crawl. Teri’s friend Emily G. reported via Facebook that there was an accident blocking two left northbound lanes. She was trying to get to the Fair and had been stranded on the highway for over two hours. Looks like we just missed that one!

Now we are all comfy after dinner and are either crashed out on the couch or watching tv.

Tomorrow we may backtrack slightly and shoot West across Highway 80 to connect with 91 or 93 and then continue north to pop out at Twin Falls, Idaho. But since that will add an additional 2 plus hours to our time, we may just opt for the quicker route.

Sept 10:

Had a full hot breakfast courtesy of the Hampton Inn.  We decided to stick with the quicker route and stayed on I-15.  It was too early to hit Bellas so will have to stop in another time.  We have been on this route many times so not much to report.  It was early so traffic was light.  We stopped for lunch in Mountain Home, ID and let the dogs out for a potty break.  Got gas and a snack in Boise. 

Finally arrived at our destination for the night, the Red Lion in Pendleton. They were just getting set up for – The Pendleton Roundup. The front desk said it would be a wild time. We had never stayed here before.

What a huge place it was. Lots of separate banquet rooms, large painted murals on the walls of cowboys and cattle drives, a cocktail lounge with sports tv’s, a large bar with huge windows that overlooked vast expanses of lawn and trees and views that went on forever. Then a complete dining room adjacent to it. Whew. We got an ok room on the SW wing, a little small and dated but clean and fine for one night. We had a sliding glass door that opened to the outdoors and a sheltered section of lawn. Perfect for the pups. It was quiet while we were there but the cowboys were starting to arrive so our timing to get in and out was just about right.

Sept 11:

Checked out of the Red Lion after a tasty breakfast.  After crossing the Columbia into Washington State (so long Oregon..), we took a flyer at Kennewick/ Pasco and headed North for a bit to see a different view of Ag Country. Lots of large grain/fruit/produce processing plants and rail yards filled with thousands of railcars to transport the grains and fruits to all parts of the US. Pretty impressive. Eventually we connected with I-90 and headed West. But after Moses Lake decided to take another alternate route and instead of Snoqualmie Pass and Bellevue and all that traffic, took a right to angle North. We drove along the Columbia River and crossed it at Wenatchee to hook up with Highway 2 and Stevens Pass. We drove through Leavenworth and through the small town of Cashmere looking for Tiny’s. We had lunch at Subway in Cashmere.  Then it was pretty much down, down, down. Snohomish, Goldbar, Mt. Index, Startup and finally Monroe and I-5 at Everett.

Freeway. Northbound. Mt Vernon and Burlington. We’re in familiar country now. Finally arrived in our city and then that final turn down our road and into our driveway.  Another great trip. We’re home.