In the previous post, my second trip report, I covered the territory from Stillwater, Colorado outside the Rocky Mountain National Park to Moab, Utah, where we visited Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. This third report covers the three days we spent getting on into Boise to visit the family. We’d enjoyed Utah so far, and were interested to see what else it presented to us before we crossed into southern Idaho, on the homestretch to Boise.

Day 9, Aug 30: We began the 9th day of our adventure with our departure from Moab, including a quick stop for ice and coffee at the local grocery store. We then headed north on US191, which runs through the desert on I-70 for a while, and then in Green River leaves the Interstate for a northward run through more Utah Desert. We stopped at a pulloff along 191 (have I mentioned how convenient it is to pull our bathroom in a trailer behind us?) where I photographed a sunflower growing in the desert. An interesting event happened just before we headed out again. A car came in from the north and did a u-turn in the lot, pulling up behind us. Three Japanese folks – father, mother, and teenage daughter. The daughter spoke some English, the parents none. They had been driving north on 191 and saw our T@b as they zipped by. The father did a quick u-turn on 191 and came back for a tour of our trailer… Only in America?

The drive stayed pretty flat until Carbonville (this is coal country), when we entered the canyon of the Price River. This was completely unexpected, but thoroughly enjoyed. We made a stop shortly after entering the BLM-administered Price Canyon Recreation Area, where where Ford Creek enters Price River.  I took the opportunity to photograph a railroad tunnel. In the past this was a very busy passenger train route, and Amtrak’s California Zephyr (Chicago to San Francisco) still uses it daily.

We continued to climb up the Price River Canyon until it widened into a valley near its headwaters. We finally reached the pass at Soldier Summit, where we began a steep downhill run along Soldier Creek. We made an interesting stop at Tie Fork Rest Area. This rest area has clean restrooms and picnic tables – pretty normal stuff – but it’s built like an old train station, and behind the “station” is a reproduction of an old railroad roundhouse, a water tower, and a reproduction of an old railroad helper engine. Since this was a major train route, and the run up to Soldier Summit from the town of Helper (named for the engines) is steep, helper engines were added to the train for the 15-mile run. Much history of the area, and specifically pertaining to railroads, are presented at this museum / “rest area,” which is located on the other side of the mountain from the town of Helper.

We were headed for Willard Bay State Park, about 30 miles north of Salt Lake City, for a 2-night stop. The rest of the drive to Willard Bay through Provo and Salt Lake City were unremarkable, except for TRAFFIC. It seemed like a lifetime since we had traffic like this, even though it had only been a few days – I guess 3 national parks in 5 days, especially the magnitude of those we’d just left, changes one’s perspective on time. We were looking for a few landmarks we wanted to see in Salt Lake City, but didn’t spot them from the freeway, so decided that with 2 nights at Willard Bay we could make a run back to Salt Lake City to see them the next day. At midweek, even without reservations it was easy to find a suitable campsite in Willard Bay State Park, so we set up under the watch of Willard Peak – a beautiful mountain which shares the name with many features in the area of … Willard, Utah.

The campground host had a recommendation for a restaurant – The Rusted Spoon, in Perry, Utah. Up to now, other than a quick breakfast in Boulder, Colorado, we’d prepared all our meals in the T@b kitchen or on my Coleman grill / stove outside. But it was so hot here next to the Great Salt Lake that the air conditioner in the camper wasn’t really keeping up with the heat even without the addition of heat from cooking, and I was ready to take a break from cooking in the heat outside – as in Moab – so we decided to give The Rusted Spoon a try. Definitely a good choice; the food and service were excellent. When we got back to camp after dinner and were about to settle in, we noticed the sunset colors starting up, so we drove over to the nearby beach on Willard Bay to get a view over the water.

Day 10, Aug 31: The next morning I got up (in the cooler time of day) to see the sun rise over Willard Peak. As lunchtime neared Cindy decided she wasn’t feeling well enough (heat-induced asthma) to make a trip into Salt Lake City, so I decided to check out the relatively nearby (about 15 – 20 miles) Bear River Migratory Bird Preserve. I had learned about the place from Mia McPherson’s photo journal, On The Wing Photography, and wanted to check it out, even if it wasn’t in the migratory bird season. Cindy was OK with resting and trying to stay cool in the air conditioned trailer, so I headed out. The preserve is in the floodplain where the Bear River empties into the Great Salt Lake, forming Bear River Bay, between the eastern shore of the lake (accentuated by Willard Peak) and the peninsula in the lake formed by the Promontory Mountains.

Initially I was a bit disappointed by the number of birds I was seeing, but after all, it wasn’t season for migratory birds. I had resigned myself to the excellent scenery and the occasional bird. However, after making the turn to the south as I continued driving on the one-way dike upon which the road was built. These dikes and a series of flood-control devices control the water levels in the preserve, maintaining some water in sections during the dry season. After making that turn south, I spotted a few American Pelicans flying over; exciting stuff. But then I started seeing a lot more birds – a LOT more birds. Here are a few pictured below. I’m not certain on some of the identifications, so leave a comment if you think I’ve got them incorrectly identified.

I was so excited about the birds that I went back and got Cindy, who was feeling well enough by then to take the several-hour ride to and through the Bear River Migratory Bird Preserve. If you’re in the area, I recommend that you check this place out.

Day 11, Sep 1: Our final day on the outward-bound leg of our Boise trip! We had less than 300 miles to go, and moved along I-84 enjoying the scenery of this high desert area. We were greeted with a rainbow as we moved into Idaho and were leaving the depression of the Great Salt Lake’s larger predecessor, Lake Bonneville. We reached Twin Falls, Idaho by lunchtime, where I expected to stop, but didn’t find anything suitable within sight of the Interstate, so we kept on moving. Twin Falls is the town where Evel Knievel failed in his attempt to jump the Snake River Canyon on his rocket-powered motorcycle 42 years ago, but where stuntman Eddie Braun successfully made the jump with a very similar vehicle only two weeks after we drove through.

We pulled into Boise in mid-afternoon, and stopped at the Cracker Barrel for a late lunch – the same Cracker Barrel where Cindy would spend many meals with grandsons over the next 5 weeks while we were in Boise. We really enjoyed our visit.

In the (hopefully near) future I’ll report on our 18-day return trip from Boise to Flintstone, including visits to Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, and Carlsbad Caverns National Parks, as well as a visit to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument in New Mexico.