West Coast Ride – Day Ten

Another late start today. Planned on a short day so wasn’t in a terrible hurry to get on the road. But, I was packed up and out the door before 10:00am.

I jumped back on I-80 and headed through the Bonneville Salt Flats. 40 miles of absolute nothingness. Now, I said before (in either New Mexico or Arizona) that there was nothing too. This was absolute. The only vegetation grew on the shoulder of the road. The rest looked like white sand beach, heavily packed. And the road? The road was straight, not a single curve for 45 miles. These are the times when you lose yourself in your thoughts. Hell, maybe you find yourself. With nothing to do but sit and watch the white lines whisk by there’s not much else to do but think.

It can happen on curvy roads too but long straight stretches will cause it much easier. The wind in your face grows calm. The roar of the engine between your legs weakens to a purr. And suddenly, among all the noise of the world around you, peace and tranquility set in. You’re free to do as you wish inside your mind. Reflect on past event’s, think of things to come, look for ways to improve yourself or a certain situation you’re in, maybe even talk to God. There’s a lot of work that can be done while riding. I of course can only speak for myself but these are the kinds of things that roll through my mind out on the road.

Carrying on. After getting passed Bonneville and finally getting to lean even the slightest bit, I hit more desert. Nothing out here, but a helluva lot more than the flats. I eventually came to more salt flats but these contained a lot more growth and looked dirtier, a brownish tint to them versus the white before.

Stopped at a Denny’s off the road. Denny’s is something I can get at home but I wanted a quick, late breakfast. As I sat and ate, a humming bird popped up in the window and joined me for a moment. Then, off to find something more interesting, zipped away. Back on the road for me.

The smoke was still hanging pretty heavy on the mountains. I could still barely make out the mountain ranges around me. Was like this much of the way through Utah. I approached Salt Lake City and made my turn south towards Provo. Twelve lanes of city traffic for a good 30-40 miles. Not my cup of tea but got through it and in the process saw a license plate that spoke volumes to me, “ITLBEOK”. Off the interstate and back into the foothills.

So far on the day I’d seen absolute nothing, desert growth and now lightly forested mountains. I made my way into eastern Utah and back into the desert, short growth everywhere. After a short while the landscape turned to mostly dirt. The reds, greens and browns had changed to browns and gray. Not much grew out there but the formations of the Earth were incredible to see, and these weren’t even the goods ones. The good ones are farther south.

I made it down to I-70 and headed for Green River, my target for the day. Before heading to the campground I stopped at a roadside gas station to assess my situation. It’s only just passed 3:00pm. The day is still young and there’s not much in Green River. I decide we’re going to press on, we can get another 100 miles in. My ass hurts but I’ll be that much closer to my definite Denver stop tomorrow. On to Colorado.

Idaho and Utah are great for making time. Interstate speed limit is 80mph. Made short work of the extra mileage. We crossed into Colorado and finally started hitting some steady civilization. Found the Colorado River and followed it to Grand Junction, my home for tonight. Another KOA. I’ve come to love staying at these campgrounds. The staff is always pleasant, I can usually have a camp fire and at this one they even gave me the military discount, just because Dad was a former service member.

Tomorrow I head to Denver to stay with family I haven’t seen in far too long. And I’ll surpass the 4,000 mile mark. Sleep well my friends and enjoy your work day!