An amazing three day trip from Texas to the PNW and on to home. Highlights included leaving Albuquerque in the pre-dawn light with a sliver of a new moon guiding the way: passing over the continental divide in northern New Mexico as the morning light turned the high desert ecosystem to gold and grey: passing through the Ute mountains in south western colorado bathed in red and purple shadows: experiencing the stunning beauty of Canyon land and Arches National parks in Utah: threading my way through the Wasatch mountain passes on the descent into Salt Lake City: driving over view points of the rolling rangeland and mountain backdrop vistas of Idaho and finally ascending and descending through the cascade mountain passes to the Pacific coast. Some of the photos below are not mine (they are from public data bases) but reflect perfectly what I saw from the drivers seat. It is difficult to take pictures and stay on the road at 60-70 mph ???? One interesting traffic experience involved negotiating 5 lanes of rush hour traffic through Salt Lake City and a big semi who was so close to my bumper I could see the bugs on its cattle guard. I really recommend avoiding SLC during rush hour – my steering wheel still has my nail marks in it.
A wonderful 7 weeks away, catching up with old friends, making new ones, training dogs and seeing some more of the beautiful places on our incredible planet. Until the next time – thank you for travelling with me and stay safe!
