The Road to Logan Utah

View Day 4: Boise Idaho to Logan Utah in a larger map

Boise
Boise is a great city.

I can't put my finger on why, but we really like Boise. It has a sort of down-to-earth feel about it. I know that doesn't help, but when you compare it to Portland or Seattle, Boise just seems like the innocent little brother that you can't help but take a shining to. That probably didn't help either.

We stumbled upon this hotel with some unusual rooms, and since we stayed in an unusual place last night, we thought we'd try it again. Got a great deal and it was a fun place to stay. We asked for the coldest room in town and got penguins.

Back on the Road
Soon we were back on the road and determined to get to Utah by the end of the day. Have you ever driven the stretch of road between Boise and Salt Lake City. BORING.

But of course, there are always interesting things that pop up...

Assaulted by a Dust Devil
We were innocently driving along when a vagrant and somewhat erratic dust devil began to take an aggressive interest in our vehicle. You might need to click into this picture to see the dust devil in the background.

I don't know why it singled us out, but as we got closer, it continued to get bigger.

As I braced myself for impact, I saw the dust devil on the side of road acting as obnoxious and theatrical as ever, but then it suddenly disappeared!

Just then the car lurched around and I fought for control. I realized that my adversary had become cloaked in invisibility when the ground became pavement rather than dust. Pretty sly move. I certainly was dealing with a formidable opponent.

I, however, had both of my hands confidently placed on the steering wheel, positioned exactly at 10 and 2. Our car never veered from it's course.

We drove on... Somewhere on the road to Utah there is a dust devil nursing the wounds of defeat. It may be able to bully around the locals, but it now knows better than to mess with a couple ex-Washingtonians bent on getting to Mexico.

Utah!
Our poor little burdened car has made it to Utah! We were pretty excited. While Idaho sounds next door, Utah is sounding a little more adventurous. We can't wait to see what is in store for us in Utah!

According to the sign above, life is actually elevated in Utah. I don't really know what that means, but if you notice, there is another sign in the picture with the actual elevation of this location.

It's interesting that as you enter Utah, the thing they really want to brag about is their elevation. That strikes me as odd. They could talk about the Great Salt Lake, their canyons, national parks, but instead they just start bombarding you with talk of elevation. It's like the class nerd got the final say on ideas for welcoming visitors.

Well, I guess I'll learn more about Utah and maybe figure this state out.

Car Problems
We were about 30 minutes for our destination when something disturbing showed up on the dashboard.

Do you see it? Over to the left there is a little picture of an engine with the word "Check" underneath. That means there is something wrong with the engine and you should check it out right away. Not good.

The final thirty minutes to Logan were grueling. All senses seemed heightened. We were listening for noises, sniffing for unusual motor smells, watching for steam or smoke, feeling for any sort of vibrations, and tasting...well no, not tasting.

In any case, we wondered what this all means. Will we break down? Will we we need to be towed? Having the check engine light come on is not a good thing when you have a car full of your stuff on your way to Mexico and you are in Northern Utah....

Logan Utah

We made it to Logan and the car did not break down, but that check engine light was still on.

To add to the discomfort, there was a strange unsettling feeling about this town. It was too...perfect. You know, like on those shows where the town appears to be normal but is hiding some diabolical secret.

The streets were too clean, too empty. They were all uniformly numbered and predictable. The residents seemed like they knew you were a visitor. Grown men were playing in parks in tucked-in dress shirts. Too perfect.

Instead of a brewery, we found a place that only brewed root beer...

The town would host a couple of travelers with a sick car for the night. But what is wrong with the car? Will we be staying here for a few days? How much money will we be out? Will this car really get us to Mexico?

I guess we'll know tomorrow....