Utah - day 2

Today was supposed to be our rafting day and it would have been a beautiful day for it. 

We started from our hotel to see 7 hot air balloons in the sky.

A quick picture and we were on our way.  The view was plains meeting mountains almost all day.  The sheer distance that we could see was impressive.

Chris had 4-5 spots for us to stop and check out before we reached my destination - Arches National Park.  Unfortunately he was unable to navigate

I got pretty good at driving while taking the occasional photo

 The sandstone of southern Utah is breathtaking

I woke Chris up when we reached my stop spot for the day.  I was pleasantly suprised to learn that the national park was Free for Active Duty militay and dependants, something recent and only good for a one year pass, but worth checking out if you are near a park.  We took over a hundred pictures in the park, but here are the ones I like best.  Pictures do NOT do this park justice.  I only wish that Haru was allowed to hike the trails.  We stayed in the car for her.

After we finished driving through the park, we stopped for a quick lunch then finished our drive to Cortez Colorado, tonight's stopping point.  Tomorrow we will be venturing into New Mexico - the land of enchantment.

Utah - day one

We started our day in Winnemucca, and quickly got back on the road.  Our trip today is mostly interstate so not alot of sights to see, except road:

And more road

 We did see some cool looking cliffs along the way

 We made our first sightseeing stop in Elko Nevada to see the World's Largest (dead) Polar Bear

 And then we were back on the road until our next stop - a real ghost town

 So real we couldn't see it in the daylight - we drove a little farther than the instructions said, but still saw NOTHING

 Except this cow crossing the road. 

 So we got back on the road

 and drove

 and drove

 Until stop 3 - Wendover Will - the largest neon cowboy.  Funny thing was I heard Chris say MILL not WILL so when he told me "there it is" I kept asking where. Until he finally said THAT GIANT COWBOY

 Fun was over, back on the road, but we were already to Utah, so our day was almost done.  The view in Utah was a bit different - Salty maybe?

and we drove until we reached the Great Salt Lake

 We were going to dip our feet in, until the sand sucked our shoes.  So we got back on the road

 Until our final Roadside attraction - The largest Neon Bowling Pin

 As we neared our stopping place for the night the scenery finally changed to pretty again. 

We are staying in Park Ciry Utah, within view of beautiful ski slopes used in for the Olympics.

Tomorrow we are heading down the Eastern edge of Utah through Arches National park.  This is where we were supposed to be rafting, but due to high water conditions rafting is out.  I tried to find a couple other options, but it is a bit late to book something new, so instead we are pushing through to Cortez Colorado.