WST Day 12; I have to be on the road by 5:30 AM...I'll finish tomorrow.

We rolled out of The Hampton Inn, Twin Falls, Idaho, a bit after 7:30 in the chilly (62) morning air and set off for Salt Lake City. Conversation was brisk as we chatted about our new plan: Nance is staying until Santa Fe and flying out on Saturday from there while FB and I head for Oklahoma, then across southern USA to Charlotte.

Car chat included Nancy and FB's stories of the eccentricities of former bosses, the problems of chastising people for things done 25 years ago when they were young (Miss America), the Supreme Court's ruling on non-genderizing bathrooms, the strained situations caused when each of had a higher leadership role (organization president, department head) thrust on us by colleagues who were unprepared for the rule-abiding natures we possess and the every-vocalized, "OMG! Look at that! It's amazing! Spectacular! Phenomenal!"  You get the idea, and you'll soon see the pictures that illustrate our unanimous feelings.

I discovered last night that Perrine Memorial Bridge was less than
20 minutes from our hotel and on our way, so we went. FB and Nancy were (I think) kind of skeptical about seeing the place where BASE jumping and Bungi-jumping are legal. The bridge has long been on my list of places to see.

Nancy was awed. The Snake River is calm as it runs toward Shoshone Falls but the wind is fierce and constant. The bridge is 485' above the river, spanning the center of its gorge. To the east of the bridge, along the south rim of the canyon, the dirt ramp used by Evel Knievel when he unsuccessfully attempted to jump the canyon on his steam-powered "skycycle" in 1974 is still visible.

We motored out of Twin Falls after another Post Office visit bound
for Salt Lake City and beyond . We passed through more fields of wheat, this time enhanced by dust clouds from working farm machines and tumbleweeds drifting across the highway. Do you have ANY idea how hard it is to "catch" a tumbleweed on camera while you're in a moving car???


Our original intent was to tour the city spots and the lake, but "the arithmetic indicated we had very little time to dither if we're going to get Nancy to Santa Fe in time to shop a bit and catch her plane," argued FB.  Hence we only had minutes to admire the towers and architecture of the Tabernacle and the vastness of the Great Salt Lake.

Between Salt Lake City and our turn onto Hwy 50, we passed the Wasatch Mountains. They look like the Rockies I saw in my mind before this trip.


The highway posted speed limit is 80 and FB made the most it even during the three rain showers we encountered. He and the Kia get Gold Stars!!  During the final storm as we twisting through the canyons of Highways 50 and Interstate 70, we came across a Utah trooper helping a car that had spun out into the ditch.