Pacific Coast Highway Day 12
Pacific Coast Highway
Day 12 - April 28, 2003 - Pendleton, OR to Ogden, UT
We were out of the hotel at 7:45. This was a super Best Western with a great variety on the Continental Breakfast. It was partly cloudy but the desk clerk promised a nice day - already 45 degrees. Following the Oregon Trail, I-84 is a good road with four lanes and in the mountain areas an extra lane was provided for the large semi-trucks.
On our way up to the top of the surrounding hills, we saw several areas for cars and trucks to chain up for the upcoming “snow zones”. Even today, at 4,193 feet there is still snow under the trees by the interstate.
We drove through the Baker Valley, still following the Oregon Train between the Blue and the Wallowa Mountains down to the Snake River and Hells Canyon. There was a lot of road work on I-84 so there was large quantity of gravel and rocks on the interstate as well as lane closures and delays.
At Fairwell Bend we crossed back to Mountain Daylight Time. We entered Idaho at 11:30 and stopped at the welcome center. Things smelled so fresh with the flowering fruit trees blooming and fragrant. We saw a big Ore-Ida potato production center at Ontario, Idaho.
It started to rain in Caldwell with lightning and thunder on the hill sides close to us. We stopped for gas in Boise, had lunch at Arby’s and called to make a reservation for tonight in Ogden. The road from Boise to Twin Falls crossed flat and open range. This is the Snake River Valley and close to the water, the vegetation is lush.
From Twin Falls to Ogden, we found open range, rolling hills, fertile valleys and a boring, put you to sleep drive. The only distraction was going in and out of rain showers, thank goodness for a 75 MPH speed limit.
We joined I-15 to enter the Great Salt Lake Valley on our way to Ogden. The surrounding mountains are still white with snow but the lakes do not seem to be full. There are huge farms and ranches that are well taken care of. The prosperous homes and ranches produce wheat, hay, cattle and horses.
We saw Ogden below us in the valley and it was very overcast. We thought it was a thunderstorm, but the overcast looks and smells like pollution. This has been the warmest day we have had as it was 70 degrees in spite of the showers and the haze.
Our hotel, Sleep Inn, was right off I-15 and on the northern edge of the city. When we pulled in we saw a tall Rider truck which had pulled in under the relatively short Sleep Inn overhang/portico. The sheriff was there taking an accident report as the woman was calling her insurance company and asking about the coverage of the damages caused to hotels. What a way to begin a visit to Ogden!
The clerk at the desk told us where to find a car wash and gave us suggestions for dinner. Our first priority was the car wash as the car and windshield were covered with bugs and butterflies. It took quite a while and many quarters to thoroughly wash the car. We got gas and it was so nice to see gas prices once again be more reasonable.
We drove back to our motel, parked our car and walked to the A-Zhan Bistro Chinese Restaurant on 12th Street which is nearby. We ordered the Family Dinner and wished we had had the whole family to help us eat it. The portions were huge and the food was excellent. We came back to the room and worked on the day’s journal.
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