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"They don't call it The Highline Trail for nothing. It's like the planners were trying to outdo each other with the ridiculousness. The road builder guy was like, 'watch this!' then the trail builder guy said, 'hold my beer.'"
Snorted coffee out my nose over that one!
GREAT writing and photos, thanks much for sharing your road trip with us poor slobs chained to our desks toiling away. Someday ...
Thanks, everybody. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to top this one but I seem to say the same thing after every one of these and manage to find a way to set the bar higher. This will be the final chapter... Until our next epic adventure.
...continued.
Day 8 (Mile 2,031 - 2,686)
I'm not sure if it was all those days of endless driving or night after night of less-than-ideal sleep or the long hike but when I woke up Friday morning I didn't even remember going to sleep the night before. I was reluctant to unzip my tent, knowing it would be the last time I set eyes on this beautiful place for a while.
Dammit. This place would not make it easy to say goodbye. We packed, slowly, neither of us were in a hurry to leave. The dampness from yesterday's rain lingered. When everything was dried and packed away we drove into the village for breakfast and then out of the park through West Glacier en route to Salt Lake City. We had a 655 mile drive through four not particularly small states ahead of us, a drive we embarked upon with equal parts excitement, disappointment and trepidation (old Jeep + 650 miles = "did you hear something?").
We tried to avoid the route we took going up so that we saw new things as much as possible. We were, mostly, successful. Despite the path being different, the landscape was familiar in a comforting way.
The recent rain had done little to slow the wildfires, they continued to rage to the west and, later, to the east. They filled the valleys with smoke and reduced the visibility more than these photos suggest. Many of the small towns with populations of a hundred people or less were playing host to several times that many firefighters set up in tent cities, their helicopters, trucks and tenders parked along the periphery.
Makeshift roadside helipad.
We saw these antelopes playing as we drove across the range but there were no deer.
The air cleared as we made our way south. Not because the fires were being extinguished but rather because they were now burning to the east of us.
With the exception of the Potato Museum it really seemed like there wasn't very much going on in Idaho. Full disclosure: We didn't see the whole thing. I'm sure we just missed the really exciting parts.
Pictures from the passenger seat.
We were almost able to go the speed limit going up this hill!
Cap'n Davi at the helm for the Idaho part. We decided to switch off by state.
Looking back and wondering how we can make this trip last a little bit longer.
Crappy picture of a raging forest fire to the east of I-15.
10:53pm - Our last state of the day. Our first shower and real bed in three days awaited! Just 105 miles to go [sigh]. Despite the ridiculously long day on the road we both had trouble falling asleep. We sat up discussing the trip so far and we both decided that neither of us were interested in another 650 mile drive. We pulled out a map and unfolded it on the bed (paper maps are still cool). We traced our planned route south, looking for someplace interesting that was not too far out of the way. We decided on Zion which was a little over 300 miles away but would leave around 430 miles for our final day.
Day 9 (Mile 2,686 - 2,999)
Breakfast was way better at this hotel! I had french toast and scrambled eggs, Davi had eggs and sausage. On our way out of SLC Davi was calling every hotel in Springdale looking for a vacancy. Within 15 minutes she had found an inexpensive-ish place with a room available. We arrived in Springdale at around 2:00pm, quickly unloaded the bare essentials at our hotel and jumped on the shuttle into the Zion interior.
Davi and I had been to Zion before so we took a short 3.5 mile hike to Emerald Pools, one of the few places in the park she and I haven't hiked.
Looking back from the endless stairs to Emerald Pools.
The largest of three pools.
Tiny plateau lizard chillin' on a rock.
Davi soaking her toes in the Virgin River. We hiked most of the Emerald Pool trail without shoes because we stupidly left the hotel with just flip flops. Oops.
We hopped the shuttle back into town for a quick walk around before dinner. Springdale is a charming little place despite the hustle and bustle of hoards of park visitors. The main entrance to Zion is literally in Springdale.
Charming little bed & breakfast that we could not afford, lol.
We had Thai for dinner which seemed weird to me but it was good. After eating we walked across the street to a little dive for a beer or two before walking back to our (affordable) hotel. This time we really were approaching the last day of our grand adventure.
Final Day (Mile 2,999 - 3,434)
Parting shot: We awoke to this view out our hotel room door. Crazy.
After breakfast we set off for the final leg of what had become the longest road trip I've ever been on. It was just 435 miles which, in the grand scheme of things, seemed easy as pie. Well, maybe one of those gross English pies filled with lamb brains and pig blood (why do they ruin food?). We would be heading through a little heat wave on the way home. The temperature in Vegas was expected to be around 115º at exactly the time we would be passing through. If there is one weakness in my system, something I'm sure many of you can relate to, it's my cooling system. I need to overhaul the entire thing but, in the mean time, I have to be careful when it's hot and hilly. That's easier said than done when your passenger insists on having the AC running and has absolutely zero mechanical sympathy.
Vegas skyline with the grandstands of LVIR in the lower left.
Sure enough, the temperature was as promised. In fact, we endured over 250 miles of 105+ temperatures.
But we made it. There were some scary moments with the temp needle flirting with the rightmost parts of its scale and fondling the red more than once. We pulled into town at around 3:00pm. The event was unremarkable.
It took a few days for the vastness of what we'd done to sink in. Writing this story has let me relive the trip as an observer rather than a participant. It's brought back memories and amazement diluted by the intervening months. These things will stay with us forever, the profound experience of this adventure will always be a part of me, Davi and Jeep, now.
"They don't call it The Highline Trail for nothing. It's like the planners were trying to outdo each other with the ridiculousness. The road builder guy was like, 'watch this!' then the trail builder guy said, 'hold my beer.'"
Snorted coffee out my nose over that one!
GREAT writing and photos, thanks much for sharing your road trip with us poor slobs chained to our desks toiling away. Someday ...
Thanks a lot, wristwister. Sorry about your coffee, lol.
Came across this photo the other day. As we were traversing the outskirts of Vegas on the last day of our trip, we saw this 1st gen Ford GT with a funny plate. For those who aren't familiar with the history of this car's predecessor, the Ford GT40. Back in the early 60's, Ford was looking for a way to get into endurance racing. Given the vast assets of FoMoCo, Henry Ford II began negotiations with Enzo Ferrari in 1962 to purchase the famed Italian marquis. After all, Ferrari was on the rise and had won LeMans every year since 1960. Those negotiations fell apart in 1963 which infuriated Ford II who believed that Enzo wasn't negotiating in good faith but instead using Ford's offer as a bargaining chip to better his brand's stock in the eyes of Fiat.
Ford immediately began putting together their own car using a collection of parts from around the world. Primary among them was a chassis from British firm Lola, coupled with a V8 racing engine from Ford's inventory. This combination was an embarrassment the first two years. In 1964, Ferrari won again and the Ford GT40s finished poorly. In 1965, Ferrari won and the four cars entered by Ford failed to finish at all. It was then that Henry Ford II sought the advice of Carrol Shelby and the Ford GT40 MkII was born. That car annihilated Ferrari in 1966, sweeping the podium with a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finish, 1967 (1st and 4th) and 1968 (1st). Henry Ford II was finally able to exact revenge for what he (and many others) perceived as the games played by Enzo Ferrari a half decade earlier.
I would love to have heard the story this guy gave the DMV in Hawaii to get this plate...
A tribute to Mr. Enzo, lol. A one finger tribute.
Last edited by F1Addict; 04-20-2018 at 06:42 PM.
Reason: Photo not uploading.
11-21-2017, 02:45 PM
