Thur Oct 28 - Torrey to Panguitch, UT - including Bryce National Park

Today was the completion of the second half of the route that I did in one day last year on the motorcycle -- and completed what I termed the "Best Ride."  Here is a link to today's route: http://goo.gl/maps/W31B .  The experience was very much the same (clear beautiful skies and almost no traffic) only better because Deb shared it with me and because in doing the trip in two days instead of one, we had plenty of time to stop at the many scenic and historic sights along the way -- including something I had foregone last year -- actually entering Bryce Canyon National Park and stopping at every overlook.  Deb again snapped photos all day -- and has posted a bunch of them here -- but for those with limited time, this one photo might be representative of a little of the beauty we enjoyed.

We found a room at the same little motel I stayed in last year -- at the same $49 price.  On to Zion National Park tomorrow.

Wed/Oct 27 - Best Ride of 2009 Redone!

For those of you who followed my blog of my 9000 mile cross country motorcycle trip last year, you may recall that I declared Utah Highway 95 and Scenic Byway 12 from Blanding to Panguitch as the "Best Ride of This Trip" in my October 16, 2009 posting here: http://ontwotires.blogspot.com/2009/10/day-43-oh-what-day.html .  Today was the main focus of this Smart Car trip -- to revisit that route with Deb so that she might enjoy what I had enjoyed a year ago.

We were treated to a similarly beautiful day and nonexistent traffic -- and as prearranged we reduced the distance by splitting the trip into two days stopping overnight enroute in Torrey, Utah.  This is the route we followed today: http://goo.gl/maps/PEKn

The route was just as good as I had remembered -- and we got a chance to enjoy even more of it with side stops/scenic routes at Natural Bridges National Monument and Capitol Reef National Park .  Capitol Reef is, in my opinion, one of those "bucket list" places that everyone should try to visit.  Because it is relatively "new" as a national park (established in 1971), it doesn't have the name recognition of a Yosemite or Grand Canyon, but to me it is a "must see" place.  I was delighted to be able to visit it for the second time -- this time with Deb.  Deb took over 300 photos during our 200 mile journey today -- and has posted around 100 of the best ones here:  http://picasaweb.google.com/debtog/20101027?authkey=Gv1sRgCO-A6-KF6KiTLQ&feat=email#

We arrived in Torrey without a reservation -- and happened upon these darling cabins http://goo.gl/maps/eqKN and decided to live-it-up a little after having spent the last two nights in a Motel 6 and Super 8 respectively.

Mon/Tues Oct 25/26 - Salt Lake City - Green River - Blanding

I've been negligent about posting -- and will try to catch up now.

We had a superb weekend at home getting in some time with the grandkids and catching up on the mail (and voting!). I even played in a gig with the Power Pep Band and we attended a condo auctiion (nope we didn't buy one).  We both agreed that it was nice to break up the trip with this quick trip home.

On Monday we were at the airport for a 6:45am flight back to Salt Lake City where we retrieved our car and luggage without incident and headed south.  The weather had turned much colder over the weekend and Salt Lake City was covered with a dusting of snow -- but it didn't interfere with our travel plans.  We followed this route (http://goo.gl/maps/49WK) which included more freeway than we prefer -- but it worked out fine both because there were not many choices and because of the snow.

After a brief, fun stop in Pleasant Grove to meet the brother and mother of a great friend, we arrived in Green River -- a pretty ordinary transit point but a good place from which to begin our journey into the first of the southern Utah national parks.  Here we checked into a very inexpensive Motel 6 and enjoyed a much needed rest.

On Tuesday we headed directly to the spectacular Canyonlands National Park and then to Arches National Park on this route (http://goo.gl/maps/msxc) -- first time for both Deb and I to visit these parks.  We were treated to beautiful blue skies and an easy, comfortable drive onto Blanding, Utah - a town I described in a posting last year as "ho-hum" but the place I started the "best ride" of my cross country motorcycle trip.  More on that in the next posting.

Deb posted many photos from these two days here:  http://picasaweb.google.com/debtog/20101026?authkey=Gv1sRgCOHovsyO1NL21gE&feat=email#

Thursday to Sun - Oct 21-25: Salt Lake City and home

On Thursday we drove over some more beautiful and curvy backroads over Snow Basin on in to Salt Lake City.  We continued to be treated to beautiful autumn leaves against a background of clear blue skies.  As planned, we stopped at the attraction rated number one by people who use "tripadvisor.com" -- the Red Butte Gardens on the campus of the University of Utah.  More beauty all around.

Our research on Salt Lake City also revealed that we could attend the weekly rehearsal of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir -- and we did just that after happening upon the Mexican restaurant that is rated number 2 among all 753 Salt Lake City restaurants on tripadvisor.com.

Thanks to the size of the Smart Car, we snagged a tiny parking spot that no other car would have been able to fit -- on the street outside the Temple Square and enjoyed a quick tour of several of the buildings there (all open til 9pm) before attending the choir rehearsal which was a treat by itself.

A few weeks before this trip started, we concluded that we wanted to be home this weekend to tend to some personal errands and business -- and we prearranged to stay at a motel near the Salt Lake City airport where we could leave our luggage and car and purchased tickets on Southwest to fly home.  So that's what we are doing.  We're flying home on Friday morning and returning to continue our "Nuggle" trip on Monday, October 25.  We'll continue the blog on Monday.

Tues-Thurs/Oct 19-21: More Utah Beauty

After leaving Bear Lake, Utah, we traveled over the Logan Scenic Byway and enjoyed a leisurely 90 or so miles getting to our next destination -- another Worldmark condo at the foot of popular recreation destination near Eden, Utah (map of our route here).  This condo sits at the foot of a popular ski resort (Powder Mountain) in the Ogden Valley northeast of Salt Lake City.  Spectacular beauty of full autumn colors surrounded our trip.

Another fun stay in a superbly equipped condo for $30 a night -- and we even made $50 and got a free breakfast while here.  Deb and I have become pretty adept at taking advantage of timeshare promotionals when our schedule allows.  At some locations, Worldmark offers various promotionals (usually between $50 and $75) to attend what they call an "owner's update" but is in reality an opportunity for them to attempt to sell additional points.  For many reasons, including our own personal beliefs about sleeping on all financial decisions, we find it easier than many to just give the required 45 minutes of our time in return for the promotional.  Of course, it doesn't hurt that we consider the whole exercise a game -- even setting my cell to alarm at the end of 45 minutes to give me an opportunity to begin inquiry about "time management" of the presentation.  It's not a game for everyone -- but we have a high  tolerance for the conversational discomfort attendant to saying "no" and/or saying "time's up."

Anyway, after getting the free breakfast and $50 -- we headed off for a fun day of sightseeing around the area including a visit to a local Trappist Monastery.  We stayed two nights at this location and are headed into Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct 21 over more scenic byways and passes.

First 10 Days

The weather and scenery continue to be fantastic as we headed into Idaho Falls on Saturday night (Oct. 16) and we were able to find the top rated motel on "TripAdvisor.com" for $66 a night.  We arrived early enough to take in the Museum of Idaho that included a special exhibit on DaVinci's art and inventions (including 60 working models).  A very informative and fun stop.

On Sunday, October 17 we diverted from our planned route so that we could proceed over the Teton Pass into Jackson, Wyoming on our way over several scenic byways through Soda Springs, ID and our eventual destination - a Worldmark condo on the shore of Bear Lake, Utah (gotta love the off season price of $41 a night).

In addition to keeping us on our selected route, my GPS allows me to record the exact "track" of our trip including elevation along with exact time/location information.  I always enjoy reviewing the resulting data and charts -- and have included a couple below which I have annotated to show our stops:

As previously arranged, we are staying two nights here in Bear Lake -- so today, Monday, Oct 18, we took a leisurely trip around the circumference of the lake.  It's an interesting and beautiful area but we found it odd that the supposedly "lake-front" homes and camping sites that surround the lake are some 100 yards or more from the actual lake with clear indication that the lake is not at its normal level.  We wondered if this result was seasonal or indicative of a changing environment.  I stopped and spoke with a couple of locals and learned that a drought in this area beginning around 2002-2004 caused the lake to drop to its current level and while there is hope that it will someday recover -- it hasn't happened yet.  Lakeside residents/vacationers have adapted by now using tractors to haul their boats and water toys to the waters edge.  We couldn't help but wonder what it might have done to property values to have these luxuriously built "lake-side" homes that are no longer lake-side! Here's an easy way to see what I'm writing about on Google Maps.

Thur/Fri Oct 16-17 - McCall and Ketchum

Since we were staying two nights in McCall, it gave us Thursday just to explore and relax.  McCall is located on beautiful Payette Lake -- and I took this shot from a view point inside the nearby Ponderosa State Park:

Fridays trip was spectacular -- traveling over the Sawtooth Mountain range to Ketchum (map here). As I have described in prior blogs, traveling in this part of Idaho provides real life examples of Thomas Kincade's beautiful mountain scene paintings. Deb caught me here getting a snack from the hidden and convenient tailgate compartment:

We got into Ketchum early enough to do some exploring including a visit to nearby Sun Valley -- a resort developed in 1936 and celebrity destination for many years.  Both McCall and Ketchum give Deb and I the same feeling that Bend, Oregon gives -- except on a smaller scale.  Popular -- upscale destinations.  Ketchum  definitely has lots of "upper crust" shopping opportunites which don't interest Deb or me in the least.  Thankfully, rolling into town without a reservation -- we were able to score a reasonably priced motel room on the main drag near the center of town.

During our travels today we listened to the audiobook "Earth" by Jon Stewart which we both loved.  Of course we are avid fans and regular watchers of Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" but I think anyone with an appreciation for sarcastic humor would appreciate this book that purports to describe our planet, people, cultures, religions, traditions, etc to aliens AFTER the end of human life on earth.

Tonight we ventured out to the local theater to take in "The Social Network," based on the book "Accidental Billionaires: the Founding of Facebook" which has been getting great reviews.  Deb and I found it to be delightfully interesting entertainment without regard to its accuracy though it did prompt me to want to do some research into its accuracy both regarding the beginnings of Facebook AND the depiction of Harvard's secretive "Final Clubs" societies.

We're headed to somewhere between Blackfoot and Idaho Falls tomorrow -- again without reservations.