As I mentioned in my last post, only a few more days and we would be home. But we had a couple of very important stops first.

We swung south from Jackson towards Big Piney and Kemmerer WY. We headed out of the mountains and into the high desert. Here is a little of what we saw on our drive.

Our destination for the first night was in Logan UT to visit with Dan and Claire, two of Roger’s friends from Purdue University. I also got to meet their two teenage sons but being teenagers, they weren’t around too much… I did get to have fun playing frisbee which is something I don’t get to play with at home (since I pretty much destroy frisbees when I play with them…this one too…but Dan didn’t seem to mind too much…). Roger had a great visit with his friends. I really liked Dan and Claire and I tried to be on my best behavior as I hope they will let me come back and visit some day.

Heading west from Logan, we decided to take the route north of the Great Salt Lake. We first stopped to visit the site where the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads joined up to create the transcontinental railroad in 1869. The Central Pacific originated in Sacramento, CA (near where Roger and I live) and played a big part of California history.

Nearby to the Golden Spike railroad site, we drove past a development site for Orbital ATK, a maker of rockets for the NASA and the U.S. military. Here I am posed next to a solid rocket booster for the space shuttle. Transportation has come a long ways since 1869.

We then hit the road for Nevada. Just before we reached Interstate 80, we saw this tree along the highway. People had been hanging all sorts of bottles, cans, and other assorted objects to it.

We spent the first night in Nevada in Elko, at the Motel 6 (they love dogs…did I tell you that already?).

The next day we got an early start, heading toward Reno to visit with Roger’s Aunt Aggie, who lives in Sparks (just outside of Reno). Since Reno is pretty close to where we live in California, we get to visit with Aggie quite often. I really like visiting with Aggie. If you are ever in Sparks (or Reno), one good place for a morning dog walk is around Helms Lake at the Sparks Marina Park. It is about 2 miles to walk around and I can get 2 laps done in about an hour…there is even a dog park there although Roger won’t let me in since he doesn’t want to bring a wet dog back to Aggie’s home…not sure I see the problem there.

The next day (Monday, August 31) we finally arrived back home (see how long it took me to get Roger to help with this…). Our adventure had lasted 6 weeks and we both had great fun!!! It has been really nice seeing all my friends from home again. I missed them all, especially Mika, my dog friend next door.

Not sure where or when we are going, but I can’t wait for my next big roadtrip.

Will keep you posted.
Simon