Day 19 – Utah

It wasn’t a HUGE travel day but we are tired and definitely feeling our almost 3 weeks on the road. We left Moab at 10:30am and the plan was to head towards Garland, Utah.

Look at all the smiles.

We drove North West up through Provo and Salt Lake City.

The red in the rocks are from rust and the green is created when the iron in the rock reacted differently and at a lower concentration than the iron that caused the orange. It’s all just so pretty; and so different than what we typically see in BC.

We travelled out of the desert and into snow dusted mountains. There were lots of dead zones with no coverage as we drove through Utah.

I find it absolutely fascinating how the landscape can so dramatically change as you drive within only a few hours.

We decided to not go to Garland but to head to Snowville which is only about 10 mins from the Idaho border. It’s an interesting aspect of our journey. Trying to find a location to travel to that’s not too far away but has a decent looking RV park. It’s lots to juggle especially because once you book a spot you are kind of committed and hoping that everything goes smoothly between where you are and where you’re headed. Along the way there’s gas to get, bathroom visits to be made, food to eat and sometimes a break because you’re tired and feeling way too close to a meltdown.

We made it to The Hitching Post in Snowville, Utah sometime after 6pm. I’ve got to give a huge shout out to Jonathan for his graciousness with my navigating skills. I can organize and plan like a Fortune 500’s top Administrator but Google maps confounds me. We have needed to reroute more times than I can count because I struggle to read the map and follow Google’s directions. Trying to find The Hitching Post in Snowville was no exception. But in my defence, we have gotten to travel some of the cutest and bumpy back roads as we circle around and we would never have had that opportunity without my exceptional navigation skills.

So I’d like to think it’s a win for all and really what’s a few extra moments when you get to see the sights that hide off the main roads.

We pulled into the bustling RV park. If you look really hard, you can find our rig in the photo.

There was the cutest diner back on the Main Street and it has real food. So we went there for dinner.

If you get a chance, you should ask my boys about these cute little houses that the owner’s son makes. They were surprising and so adorable.

We enjoyed our food and then headed back to the quiet campsite. We are not too far away from home now. It’s only going to be a few more days and I’m feeling all the feels. I have loved this trip and I’m ready and not ready to go home. We have learned a lot and if we have another opportunity to do a road trip, I would jump at the chance. It’s definitely a core memory!

Day 4 – Utah, Wyoming and Colorado

When we woke up in Twin Falls it was -3 degrees. It didn’t actually feel that cold but that’s what the weather app said.

The boys burnt off a bit of energy while Jon and I readied the trailer.

Rock Creek RV Park

And then we hit the road around 11am.

Our goal was a BIG day of driving. We were aiming for Fort Collins, Colorado which was 9 hours and 45 mins not counting fuel stops, bathroom breaks, lunch and dinner.

The weather hovered around 0 degrees for most of the trip…..it did get as low as -7 through Wyoming and it was as high as 7 in Utah.

The scenery alternated between completely white out as far as the eye could see; to snow on the hills in the background to snow dusted mesa.

We stopped for gas once we made it into Wyoming and it was surprising how much snow and how cold it was.

Compared to the white knuckled windy driving of the day before; this leg of the journey seemed easy. The roads were dry and clear which was nice.

We saw lots of tiny deer while driving through Wyoming and even a couple of elk along side of the hwy.

I love seeing the wind turbines. They are SO huge and seem to move so majestically which feels weird to say about a metal structure but I just love the look of them. Like guardians watching over the land.

Because it was a huge day of driving, we ate fast food garbage for lunch and dinner but it was the boys first time trying Arby’s (lunch but no photo) and Sonic. Sonic was a bigger hit than Arby’s. We still have to hit a Jack in the Box at some point. Any other suggestions for these Canadian Boys to try?

Some time after the sun went down, the moon started to rise over the horizon. It was HUGE and so stunningly bright and orange. Pictures don’t even remotely do it justice. It was amazing.

It was interesting how late the sun stayed up but then how quickly night fell. It felt like you could actually see the darkness taking over and growing in depth.

We pulled into the KOA in Fort Collins around 11:15pm; were set up by 11:30pm and in bed by midnight.

We are planning for a much shorter day for Day 5!