Day 67 – Wells NV to Salt Lake City UT
Today was supposed to be shorter. It was not.
The AC in the cock pit worked most of the day, but it was HOT in the desert, so we supplemented with the AC units for the living/sleeping areas like we did the day before. And then the generator quit. And then it wouldn’t restart. Even when things were working, it was still too hot.
The Salt Flats were very cool. They aren’t worth the drive out there, especially at this time of year, but they are very cool. I can see why people go there for bridal portraits and stuff. There are some smaller ones close to SLC, but they aren’t as vast and you can see the city in the background. Still, if you want to see them, stick closer to SLC unless you are going all the way out there anyway.
Our campground was okay. It was very nice looking and had an adult-only area with its own pool. But it was only 30amp….and in that heat, that mattered. I’m still wishing for that 30′ rig we wanted instead of this 37′ beast. (And we’ve been looking this whole time; what we want just isn’t out there.)
As soon as we settled in, I took a shower. We rested a bit before heading to a nearby Mexican place with tacos and alcohol.
Alcohol is weird in Utah, so we were surprised to find anything with it near a campground. It turned out to be good food, but a fully-understaffed restaurant, so the experience was bad. There was no salt on the table, they ran out of ice, I never got my drink, the salsas were weird, they insisted on table service even though they say some are counter, there was a tween in the 21+ area (Utah liquor laws), etc. It was just not fun. …and what we needed after a hard day of driving was a little fun with our good food.
I forgot how much I dislike Utah.
Ew.
I guess that means I have focused on the happy memories and the things I did like.
Day 68 – errands and an old friend
We found a good bagels place for breakfast. The cheddar jalapeño bagel was extra, in a good way.
Errands:
- We went to the Redmond Real Salt headquarters and store. I am stocked up on salt for a while, now. Like $100 worth. The mine is a couple of hours south and gives tours a couple of times a month.
- We got a new air filter for the engine. Alas, there is no cabin filter for the AC, so we don’t have high hopes that this will fix the problem. We are at 25,000 miles and that filter should be changed every 30k, so it’s not a loss it’s just not likely a fix to the bigger problem.
- We made a quick run to the grocery store for stuff to take to dinner.
- He reset the code (it was #36 based on three blinks and then six blinks / “can’t get fuel”) on the generator and it seems to be working again. Yay! Apparently, we were at too much of an angle that one time.
Dinner with his old friend (since Kindergarten) was good. He cooked us fajitas with all the fixin’s. He showed us pictures of the house they are renovating with their daughter, and we shared a few from some of our adventures. It was a great evening.
Day 69 – Jeepin’ Around
We spent the afternoon Jeepin’ Around near Timpanogos Cave near our RV campground. The day and the drive were both very pretty.
For dinner, we went to a distillery in Park City to meet some new friends that we met because of friends we have in common. Turns out, they happen to own an RV campground near where we stayed two summers ago. They also travel a lot (just not by RV, ironically). It was fun getting to know them. After they left, we hit a sports bar to watch some of the NFL pre-season.
Day 70 – Heber City UT to Rawlins WY
Windy. Because Wyoming. But we made it in the same number of pieces we started out with. BUT, the AC worked the whole time! Maybe the air filter was the fix…?
It was a bit sad being there without my friend from last year. The deal she was working toward fell through (because the hoarder owner is a liar who was always cagey with my friend about getting the paperwork in order…for her own legal reasons. cough l.i.e.n cough). I’ve checked on my friend a couple of times this year; I know she’s going through some rough stuff. It’s a blessing for her that the Rawlins place didn’t work out…but she’s still MIA to her online community. So, I’m a little sad and honestly a bit worried.
For our last night or two, we usually do a bigger deep clean…and boy howdy did we need it! We were pretty tired and did what little we could. We’ll get the rest on one of the trips for unloading.
I also wish we had access to an RV wash or a mobile one in our area. I don’t know the ideal setup, but we’ve only found one place in Denver with big enough wash bays; it’s for truckers, so we can’t get in without an appointment. Our old storage place was putting one in right before we moved to Denver.
Day 71 end – Rawlins WY to Denver CO
We rolled out a little early, about 10:30 instead of our usual 11am. This was not the way.
Not long after we got on the road, we saw a sign saying high profile and <40,000# can’t be on the road. The winds had gusts of up to 50mph.
We drove quite a few more miles but there wasn’t even a place we could even pull over. We found a parking lot next to a gas station. He went inside to buy a couple of snacks as a “toll” and got updates on the highway situation and which website to stalk for updates.
After lunch, we waited until….zzzzz I was “this close” to a good nap when he said the warnings went from red to yellow.
Of course, the delay meant we hit some rush-hour traffic. And there was construction, too. We finally put the rig to bed at ~5:30pm. So much for our early start.
After unloading and sorting our mail, I figured out dinner, got it thawing, and headed for a bath; he napped a little. Our late dinner was also a movie (the new Beverly Hills Cop).
That doesn’t wrap the whole season. We might have one more small trip in the works, but that’s the end of this one.