The (Long) Road Home

With some nasty weather moving in, we said our farewell to Moab (for now) and pointed the car towards home.

But, what's this?  Really?  A traffic jam before we even get out of town?  I suppose that 10 am on a Saturday is rush hour in Moab, but we were certainly surprised to encounter 15 minutes of stop-and-go traffic!  Shortly after we left town, the winds started picking up (30+ mph), and not long after that, the hard rain started.  We took 2 days to get back, and the wind hardly let up.  Fortunately, the rain was a little more cooperative.  As we went through Salt Lake City, we took a little detour on the scenic parkway, so Karen could see the Great Salt Lake.  Well, we went closer to the lake than the interstate, but she still wants to see it ... no sightings were had!

Looking back at the trip ... it was awesome!  Lots and lots of rocks!!  Some great hiking and mountain biking, plus fantastic scenery!  Lots of warm (even hot) weather, with a totally reasonable amount of sun (probably way more than Seattle in April).  No significant rain during any of our outdoor activities (just threatening clouds), and not too much when we were driving, either (except the way home).  We covered lots of new territory, and got a lot of new ideas for further trips in those areas.  

As a wrap-up for this trip, a few miscellaneous tidbits ...

Stats

• 17 days
• 3748 miles
• 24.2 mpg (way less than the advertised 33 hwy, but we were loaded down, had a big rooftop box, and faced some serious head wind almost all of the way home).

Some Unanswered Questions

• Why and how is the roof-top box migrating side-to-side across the rack?  It's cranked down as tight as I dare!
• What's the story with all these layers, colors, and formations of rocks?  (Just read the book, dummy!)
• How much rain does it take to make Utah's dirt roads impassably mucky?
• How much rain does it take to flood slot canyons?

Some Answered Questions

• Is Nevada a wasteland?  Answer:  Pretty much, but there are some nice looking mountains out there, too!
• Is all the Moab hype just hype?  Answer:  Absolutely not.  There's a ton of way cool stuff to see and do!
• Is the new car comfy and have enough room?  Answer:  Certainly comfy!  And the space sure worked ok on this trip, and there seemed to be enough spare room to add our backpacking gear, when we need to scale up. 
• Why does the car's sound system keep going back to the first song on the thumb drive shortly after the car is started?  Kinda complicated answer:  It seems that it generally replays (or finishes playing) the last song you were listening to when the car was turned off.  But, if that song is over before the stereo can finish reading the contents of the (really big) thumb drive, it will go back to the first song in the first folder on the drive (in our case, it was Cyberia by AfroCelt Sound System).
• Why do they sell 85 octane gas in these middle-of-nowhere states?  Is it ok for my car?  Answer:  Yes, it's ok for the car.  Thinner air at higher altitudes reduces the propensity for the engine to knock, reducing the need for the octane.  

Activities

• Driving and music, driving and talking, driving and podcasts!
• Sight Seeing:  Interstates 84, 82 and 90!!

5-Star Moments

• None

Tom's Daily Stress Points

• Driving in high winds and rain, constantly getting buffeted around.  Will these damn trucks stop going by?  They're causing a break in the heavy side-wind, sending me all over the road!
• Why is the car's mileage so low?  (probably the high winds, but ... )

Sleeps

• Mountain Home, ID:  Best Western (fine)

Eats 

• Mountain Home, ID:  Frankies Burgers (pathetic fast food)