The Worst Drive in America but Heading for Home!

It's time to make our way home and decided to go by way of Salt Lake City.  We thought we should see the Mormon Temple and the Great Salt Lake. We left Logan, Utah and made the hour and a half drive to Salt Lake City. It's obvious that we're no longer in the beautiful landscape of Montana. Utah is a beautiful state but the further South we got it changed drastically.  We found the Temple. Jim felt the need to blast our "Book of Mormon" C/D with the windows down but I was able to keep that from happening.  We did play it in the car for our own enjoyment!

 We could only see the Temple from the outside because only members of the religion are allowed inside. We did appreciate the Temple Square. I had seen it when I was 12 years old and remembered it so much taller. It is a beautiful church and the volunteers were so nice.

Leaving the Temple Square we drove past the State Capital. It's just a few blocks from the Temple in a lovely area.

We knew we didn't want to drive all the way to Reno after taking the morning to go to Salt Lake City. Winnemucca, Nevada seemed like the perfect distance and a good place to stay for the night. We set the GPS and away we went.

 When I titled this post "The Worst Drive in America" I am speaking from our experience in the past 6 weeks. I know there may be a more boring and unappealing road than Interstate 80 across the desert but I can't imagine where it could be!

We drove past  the Great Salt Lake and had no desire to go down to see the water. As a kid I floated in the lake. It was a strange feeling to swim in water and not be able to sink but Jim wasn't interested in the experience.

We headed across the white salt flats and soon the land turned brown and equally unappealing!  There's just nothing to see out here!

 To make the day complete it was 107 degrees! I have no idea how the settlers made it across this desert in covered wagons and by horse.

As we started to climb out of the desert and into the mountains I must admit, the rock formations were very interesting. I didn't think I'd find anything along this drive that I thought pretty. I am happy to say that, even here, this country is amazing!

We couldn't wait to get to Winnemucca, Nevada. We are very tired of driving and this was the most boring drive we've had. Little did we know we were stepping into "The Twilight Zone"!

We had to choose our hotel on the Internet and those websites can make any dive look good! The Winners Hotel and Casino seemed like a decent choice.

The dining room was a perfect place for people watching. The pink stroller had two tiny dogs in it and you can see the table in the background has a child sitting right in the middle of the table!  It was bizarre. If you look closely in the picture above of the hotel you'll find Jim doing another of his favorite "Where's Waldo" impressions.

Jim just can't believe we're staying here. It comes pretty close to the place we stayed in Sheridan, Wyoming. I will say the room was clean. This time I wasn't as worried about bugs and critters! We gambled a little bit but were very happy to get some sleep and hit the road early. We're ready to get home now.

We chose to spend our last night in Carson City, Nevada. It was just a 3 hour drive from Winnemucca. We arrived early enough to go over to Lake Tahoe and have lunch at the Hyatt in North Shore. It was a wonderful treat after such a long drive and last night's room.

We make our last drive tomorrow. The plan is to go over Tioga Pass through Yosemite. Right now there are severe storm warnings for that area. We'll decide in the morning which route we'll take but we are so looking forward to getting home to family and friends!

This has been an incredible journey. I've learned so much about this wonderful country of ours. Every state has a beauty all of it's own.  I've learned that Fireworks are a big deal in every state. I've also learned that when you leave California there are no paper toilet seat covers in the restrooms. I've learned that people are wonderful everywhere you go and they love to share their city with visitors. We've had the time of our lives and we're still speaking to each other!

If we get to Yosemite I'll share those photos but the weather doesn't look promising.  I have enjoyed sharing my thoughts and pictures with you and appreciate your interest. I have treasured each comment from all of you, whether in the blog or by text and e-mail. I have missed my friends and family so much and don't plan to EVER be gone for this long again but we've loved every minute. Thank you for your support. I can't wait to see all of you!