Day 2 - Elko, NV to Jackson, WY
Highlights: Great Salt Lake, road over Teton pass, meeting up with the JordansWe're already starting to depart from our game plan.
We leave our Elko motel at a reasonable hour somewhere between 8 and 9am, but instead of heading north on Hwy 93 towards Twin Falls, ID, we continue east on I80 towards Salt Lake City. We decided it would be cool to see and drive across the Great Salt Flats, plus we have this thing about visiting all the states and Phoebe's never been to Utah.
Tristan and I marvel at the flat, white, barren landscape; we "oh" and "ah" and tell the kids to look out the window, and after a cursory peek, they quickly get back to their Gameboy and DS. Then we "oh" and "ah" as we come upon the Great Lake itself and tell the kids to look out the window; again, they give it the obligatory glance and it's back to Gameboy and DS. This scenario will repeat itself over and over, ad nauseum.
We stop just north of SLC to get gas, buy lunch - one of our rare coordinated stops - and within another hour or so, we've left Utah and entered Idaho. As we leave Utah, we realize Phoebe never actually got out of the car, i.e. her feet never actually touched Utah soil, so can we really check Utah off her list? In the end, I decided that driving through Utah for 3 1/2 hours counts!
We're now on I15 going north towards Pocatello, where some friends lived until recently, as in they just returned to Palo Alto a month ago. Further north at Idaho Falls we turn east on Hwy 26 headed for Jackson, our destination for the evening, where we plan to meet the Jordans who are coming from Boulder.
In another by the seat of the pants move, we decide to take the road less traveled and make a left onto Hwy 31 and then Hwy 22. It takes us past some of my favorite scenery on the entire trip, passing thru small quaint towns such as Victor and Wilson, driving up and down roads with a 10% grade, over beautiful mountain passes, including Teton Pass at 8400 ft. At that altitude there was still a lot of snow plowed and piled high along the side of the road.
Finally the road drops us into Jackson Hole and we sneak into Jackson via the back door. So fun!
It was a cinch finding our motel, the Elk Ranch Inn (on Pearl St., no less!), and our timing couldn't have been more perfect for there were Mary and Pete as we pulled in. The kids headed over to the picnic/play area and seemed to just pick up where they'd left off two years ago.
After dinner at Bubba's, we took a stroll around the Town Square where each corner boasts a tremendous elk antler archway.
We found a meditation labyrinth, but after 8 hours in the car, the kids were more interested in running than contemplative walking.
It looks like we'll all be sleeping well tonight.
Day's mileage: 534 miles, 8 hours driving
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We leave our Elko motel at a reasonable hour somewhere between 8 and 9am, but instead of heading north on Hwy 93 towards Twin Falls, ID, we continue east on I80 towards Salt Lake City. We decided it would be cool to see and drive across the Great Salt Flats, plus we have this thing about visiting all the states and Phoebe's never been to Utah.
Tristan and I marvel at the flat, white, barren landscape; we "oh" and "ah" and tell the kids to look out the window, and after a cursory peek, they quickly get back to their Gameboy and DS. Then we "oh" and "ah" as we come upon the Great Lake itself and tell the kids to look out the window; again, they give it the obligatory glance and it's back to Gameboy and DS. This scenario will repeat itself over and over, ad nauseum.
We stop just north of SLC to get gas, buy lunch - one of our rare coordinated stops - and within another hour or so, we've left Utah and entered Idaho. As we leave Utah, we realize Phoebe never actually got out of the car, i.e. her feet never actually touched Utah soil, so can we really check Utah off her list? In the end, I decided that driving through Utah for 3 1/2 hours counts!
We're now on I15 going north towards Pocatello, where some friends lived until recently, as in they just returned to Palo Alto a month ago. Further north at Idaho Falls we turn east on Hwy 26 headed for Jackson, our destination for the evening, where we plan to meet the Jordans who are coming from Boulder.
In another by the seat of the pants move, we decide to take the road less traveled and make a left onto Hwy 31 and then Hwy 22. It takes us past some of my favorite scenery on the entire trip, passing thru small quaint towns such as Victor and Wilson, driving up and down roads with a 10% grade, over beautiful mountain passes, including Teton Pass at 8400 ft. At that altitude there was still a lot of snow plowed and piled high along the side of the road.
Finally the road drops us into Jackson Hole and we sneak into Jackson via the back door. So fun!
It was a cinch finding our motel, the Elk Ranch Inn (on Pearl St., no less!), and our timing couldn't have been more perfect for there were Mary and Pete as we pulled in. The kids headed over to the picnic/play area and seemed to just pick up where they'd left off two years ago.
After dinner at Bubba's, we took a stroll around the Town Square where each corner boasts a tremendous elk antler archway.
We found a meditation labyrinth, but after 8 hours in the car, the kids were more interested in running than contemplative walking.
It looks like we'll all be sleeping well tonight.Day's mileage: 534 miles, 8 hours driving
View Larger Map
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