This past week my wife and I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary... When I asked where she wanted to have dinner, she wanted, Long John Silvers... I know, its NOT the best food out there, but its what she wanted. She has been wanting it though for sometime and there isn't one in all of Utah. Nearest one to us is in Rock Springs, Wyoming. About 210 miles east of here.
So the decision was made to run to Rock Springs, spend the night, and then do some sight seeing. I didn't give my wife a choice, I told her we were taking the Neon.
I wasn't about to drive the Supercrew for this trip...
The drive began nice enough, had to climb the hill out of Salt Lake City toward Park City. I could just feel the mileage slipping away as we got slowed down and into 3rd gear before the top. But worse, was the 12 miles of road construction.
Once we got past Evanston, Wyoming settled in and realized I really wished I had cruise control.
Got into Rock Springs, settled into our hotel and hit Long Johns. Its what she wanted, and she was happy... Makes me happy.
So, after breakfast yesterday, we decided to run down the west side of Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area. Quick check of the maps (I don't even have a GPS yet!) showed it would really be only about 60 miles out of the way. Gassed up, well, 36.89 MPG isn't THAT bad, but I had expected better...
Of course, I forgot my camera for the trip. The scenery through the Flaming Gorge area is remarkable. We stopped frequently, even taking side roads. The Neon is NOT happy with gravel and dirt roads with 40 psi in the tires!!! The Jeep would have been a better choice, but hey, the Neon did OK.
But we saw a bald Eagle, and a bunch of pronghorn antelope including lots of little ones. I see them all the time where I work, but my wife doesn't get to see much wildlife up close (save the dead deer on the side of the road...). We scouted a couple great places to return to with our tent trailer later in the summer. Have to see if my friend will let me borrow his sit on top kayaks so we can enjoy the lake...
Drive back was unremarkable once we left the park. Of course there were the bunches of windmill generators in operation and the handfull more being built. I have always enjoyed watching them just turn. Or, maybe I'm just weird.
Stopped in SLC at a recycled bike shop looking for the tandem we want. They had a couple but all would need more to fix than I can buy one through Amazon for... Had lunch at Noodle Co. and I was good with a meatless bowl even. (Secret here guys, between us... I like red meat. But sometimes a meatless meal can be satisfying too!) Quick stop at Whole Foods for my favorite beverage (Honest T) and some ground Bison and other meats for dinners this week. Last stop? Salt Lake Bicycle Collective. No, they didn't have any tandems. But what a shop. Kids working on bikes, other people dropping stuff off, other people working in bikes. Looks like someplace I'll go volunteer some time with later this summer. Not sure how I would have got a tandem home with the Neon though, had I found one!!!!
I probably didn't do any better mileage-wise for the return trip, but the scenery was awesome and of course, the time spent with my wife... Considering I almost lost her to illness just 2 months ago, sure made this trip very special.
