Random Things...In A Car...In A Picture

Sunday I posted a picture of some random things in a car. It wasn't the greatest picture, by any means, just a few items that sat shotgun as I drove home from Idaho Falls. In the picture, I have:

An unfinished 20 oz bottle of Vanilla Coke

A wrapper to an eaten Midnight Dark Milky Way candy bar

The CD jacket to Electric Light Orchestra's Greatest Hits: All Over The World

A disgarded tie purchased from the newly-opened Deseret Industries in Ammon, Idaho

These served as my traveling companions and that that's what I called them in the picture I posted. Like I said, not the greatest picture, but interesting in a weird kind of way.

Last weekend we started out from Idaho Falls just before 10am, Sunday morning. All the cars and vans were loaded up with kids and food. All the cars and vans, except for mine. All the kids picked the places they wanted to sit on their way home. And when everyone was in a car, mine was empty.

It took me a few minutes on the open road to realize not having anyone with me wasn't necessarily a bad thing because that's when I put in the ELO disk, cranked the volume, and sang at the top of my lungs.

If you don't know already, ELO is some fantastic traveling music. I know if my daughter was with me, she would have put up with it. If any of her friends were with us, I'm sure we would have listened to something else.

The drive from southeast Idaho to northern Utah is usually uneventful, but on this particular trip, there was much to see. We had sun between Pocatello and Malad, encroaching clouds in Tremonton, and by the time I hit Ogden, I drove through snow. At no time were the roads crowded which always helps make a road trip better.

I don't travel much, by car or otherwise. And I wouldn't want to travel alone often--I'd rather make the journey with family or friends. But on a spring Sunday afternoon last weekend, traveling by myself with Vanilla Coke, Midnight Dark Milky Way, and ELO as my companions was great.

Driving An Open Road On A Beautiful Spring Day...

I think it was Gale Snoats who said, "I love to drive." As I get older, I don't know if I like driving more than I once did--I'm not finding myself behind the wheel very much these days. I take public transportation to work and we don't really go anywhere anymore. But as I drove home today from a weekend dance competition in the great Gem State to the north, I realized, there's something therapeutic about being on an open road.

If you want open roads, Idaho and Northern Utah present many suitable options for you. Not a lot of tight turns, so if you buy a really expensive foreign automobile that goes really fast, you'll go really fast pretty much in a straight line. Of course, going really fast, you may not see the deer and (more importantly...) elk that might cross your path. Luckily, we saw neither, but the state of Idaho made sure to remind us every few miles that deer and elk live in the area, too.

As an kid driving to Idaho Falls, then Rexburg, then Driggs was an annual event. I keep telling my kids (probably too much...) about how it was when I was a kid and how the interstate system had not yet been completed. That's an odd thought, even for me. But it's true. As I grew, sections of I-15 were finished until finally a car can go from Salt Lake City to Idaho Falls in under three hours and you don't even have to break any speed limits to do it.

As I drove I snapped a few pictures. At no time we were in danger, though some may disagree with that. I was much less distracted than texters with whom I share the road. Although, one of the most amazing things I ever saw while driving occurred on that very stretch of Interstate 15 many years ago. On one of our trips north we passed a smaller import. As we passed I noticed the driver doing something not normally associated wth driving. What was the driver doing? She was reading a paperback novel.

Today's trip was short and thanks to some expensive upgrades to the family chariot, the drive was very smooth. I wouldn't want to make that drive everyday, but on this warming beautiful spring day, it was great.

Moab...Family Road Trip!

It's been a long time since we took a family road trip. My friend asked if I would help out with his triathlon this weekend in Moab and it sounded like a lot of fun. It ended up being both a lot of fun and a lot of work.  One thing the trip did was remind me that Moab, Utah is like no other place on earth.

The setting is incredible. In a desert of red a green valley flourishes. It reminds me of a cross between Heber City, Utah and Driggs, Idaho--smaller than one, bigger than the other. This weekend was packed, at least if felt that way. There were people everywhere. 

My son and I helped set up the race yesterday. Today I worked the race and the family slept in and played a little bit. I applied sunscreen to my lily-white skin more than once. Okay, maybe not lily-white, but being surrounded by triathletes, who have seen their share of sunlight, I paled in comparison (in more ways than one...). 

After the last winner was announced and the last photo taken of said winner, I loaded up my gear and we drove back home. It's so nice to be home. Going away is fun, but coming home is heaven.