On The Road

Today I drove through most of Utah. I have been looking forward to this day in particular for a while because I’ve always thought Utah was a beautiful state. Today I saw most of it and I must say, Utah could possibly be the most beautiful state I’ve seen. The drive to Moab consisted of deep red rocks and canyons painted various reds, oranges, yellows and whites. Occasionally, the route would go between large rock formations on both sides, with many large rocks being held in place by only the wind that swept below them.

Nerve racking at times.

Once past Moab the scenery changes to Colorado style mountains, covered in trees until about 12,000 feet, followed by snow.

Utah is very spread out with quite a bit of uncultivated land for miles and miles as far as your eye can see.

The cities, from what I saw, were small and modest. Even the capital, Salt Lake City, was very modest compared to most other capital cities I’ve seen.

I ate dinner at a small cafe in Ogden, UT. My meal consisted of one local red beer who’s name escapes me, a cup of cold cucumber and avocado soup, a grilled chicken caesar salad and a glass of water.

I experienced two firsts in Utah: my first time to see traditional Mormons, a mother walking her 5 daughters across the street who all looked like they stepped out of Little House on the Prairie, and the worst hotel room, ever.

Last night I stayed with Colin and Dee Murphy, my good friend Michael Murphy’s parents. Shayla and I became pretty close to the Murphy’s shortly after Anna was born. A few years ago they sold their house in Cedar Hill, TX and moved to Albuquerque, NM. It was wonderful to see them again. They are such dear people to Shayla and me.

Thus far, this trip has been an interesting experience. I have been nature drunk all day and I have Idaho, Oregon and Washington to look forward to tomorrow.