Homeward Bound
I don't think I'll ever stop referring to this place as CUC.
Montana sunset
I made it to the US-Canada border just in time. The border closed at 6pm and I was the last car to pass through for the day.
A couple of days before, when I crossed over from US to Canada via the border between Idaho and Alberta, the Canadian border agent glanced at my tires then looked at me worriedly, as in - No winter tires?
"I have chains and I drive like a grandma," I assured him.
"I'll allow you to go through," he conceded but added a reminder to stay below the speed limit with an additional warning that heavy snow was expected in the mountains and through Banff for the remainder of the afternoon.
This time, perhaps because they were moments from closing up for the day and because I had California plates and an American passport, the border agent simply waved me through with only a few questions regarding gifts or alcohol I was bringing back to the states (a six-pack of beer and bags of Tim Horton's ground coffee) and what I had been doing in Canada (visiting my alma mater). Within a couple of minutes, I was across the border and back in the good, old US of A.
Montana truck stop sunrise. I must have looked particularly tired and homeless because the gas station attendant didn't charge me for my coffee.
Montana was incredibly beautiful but far too windy. When I went to gas up in front of a casino within the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, I had to hang on to my car because the wind was blowing so hard I almost stumbled and fell.
I continued driving south on the 15 Freeway, sleeping in a rest area when I got tired, not stopping in Idaho (not even for a bathroom break) until I reached Salt Lake City. At this point I was starving and all I could think of was getting food as soon as possible.
View from Willard truck stop (where I took a shower).
I had taken a shower at a gas station in Willard prior to reaching Salt Lake City and was debating whether I should eat at a hotpot place and end up with clothes that smell, thus making my car and blankets smell like food for the rest of my drive. I almost decided against it but the thought of hotpot just sounded so good that I drove to the place, only to find that I had arrived during rush time and the wait time was an hour long. There was no way I was waiting an hour for food. Luckily, there was a food hall that seemed to cater to college students nearby and I had a quick dinner of a delicious, albeit overpriced hot butter lobster roll and bougie (tasteless) cane sugar soda.
It was getting late and I wanted to leave the city as soon as I could so I could find someplace to spend the night. I've noticed that it is a bit more difficult to find places to park your car overnight for free in a big city except for Walmart parking lots. I felt I had another hour or so of driving left in me, so I kept driving down the 15 Freeway until I, inexplicably, felt hungry again. That lobster roll did not last very long.
I saw a billboard for Cupbop, a restaurant that sold Korean style meats in a bowl and that sounded fantastic to me. I quickly added Cupbop to my GPS and before long, I was enjoying a bowl of bulgogi and spicy pork over rice, vegetables, and wheat noodles. The portions were generous, it was a lot less expensive than that lobster roll, and it tasted pretty good too.
I spent the night at a truck stop outside Salt Lake City. In the morning, I drove toward Utah. First stop was Kolob Canyon, which isn't too far from the more popular Zion National Park scenic drive, but for some reason I had never been there until that day.
Kolob Canyon
Kolob Canyon
Next stop was the Silver Reef Ghost Town where I attended an impromptu docent led tour of the bank for $3 - quite a great deal for information given about how to mine silver from the white rocks around the area and stories about the town during its heyday by a docent who was in full costume and fully committed to his role. He had some entertaining stories and he held the attention of his entire audience, including the little kids (which I found impressive).
The Bank (now the museum) at Silver Reef Ghost Town
Silver Reef Ghost Town
I only had time to do the Weeping Rock hike in Zion. Too many people, especially since it was the weekend. That gorgeous place will always be one of my favorite national parks. The entire time, I kept singing praise songs and feeling like I was in some kind of outdoor church.
Zion National Park
Zion National Park
After hiking around and enjoying the beauty of Kolob Canyon and Zion National Park, I kept driving south along the 15 Freeway until I arrived in Las Vegas. It was the same situation as in Salt Lake City. I was really, truly, only there for the food. Specifically, dessert. Specifically, sticky toffee pudding from one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurant.
I opted to have dinner at Steak in Paris, LV and sat on the bar counter since I had not made a reservation. The food was wonderful and I enjoyed reading my book "Alternative Alamat" while drinking my cocktail, eating my delicious salmon and sticky toffee pudding. The only problem was the men who sat on either side of me. It they had just left me alone, it would have been fine. But they kept trying to chat with me and it was so damned annoying!
Gentlemen, if you see a girl sitting at a bar reading a book, ear buds on, with a drink and dessert in front of her, it is not a signal to sit next to her and make small talk. Mmmkay? It simply means she didn't want to waste a 2-person table when the bar had single seats available. Furthermore ... It is also not a sign to bump shoulders with her when her body is hunched over her book and away from you, then insist that she take home leftovers instead of leaving them on the plate. I'm not a glutton, I decide when I'm done eating, not your "but it's such a waste of food" sensibilities. Baga gyud ka'g face oy!
Gotta stay hydrated!
This salmon was so delicious!
Vegas at night
Home was a mere four hours away. I fully intended to drive all the way home that night so I bought two caramel lattes from the cafe at Paris (the coffees tasted gross, btw) and started my four hour trek back home.
Unfortunately, either food comma or the remnants of the alcohol I'd consumed got to me and I became very tired so I stopped at the first rest stop past Primm, CA and slept for several hours. It was a very comfortable night because it didn't get any warmer than 30 degrees. Definitely the warmest night I spent in my car.
The next morning, I had a couple more stops to go before finally heading home. Instead of driving past Zzyzx road without a pause like I usually do, I decided to exit and see where this road would take me.
I was apprehensive at first, especially since I only encountered two other cars the entire time I was there. The place was deserted but as it turns out, the views of the lake were beautiful and the buildings at the end of the road which used to be a health resort run by a scam artist, were now being used by California State University as a desert studies center.
The place was definitely not as creepy as I thought it would be.
Dried lake bed with mineral deposits
I took a detour to see an art installation, Bottle Tree Ranch, in the middle of the desert on historic Route 55, only because I'd seen it as one of the things to do around the area.
Elmer's Bottle Tree Ranch
Right before heading home, I dropped by my co-worker's house in Yucaipa to drop off the Federal MPJE study guide (which I no longer needed) and some Canadian goodies (ketchup chips and Smarties chocolate). Finally, it was time to head home. My road weary bones finally pulled into our garage in the afternoon and I almost immediately took a shower to get the nastiness of the road off me and took a very long nap on the couch.
And that, my friends, was this year's solo road trip!