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Sheila's road trip notes
2007 Road Trip Notes
Tuesday, July 17th, 2007
Tuesday, July 17, 2007 Ron and I got up at 6:00 and the kids got up at 6:30. We left the hotel room at 7:13. A bird had pooped on the suburban. That was the second time. One had also pooped on it while we were parked at the tabernacle. We had a breakfast of muffins, OJ, and drinks. We took interstate 80 east to 215 north. At 7:27, we got on interstate 15 north. It was 75 degrees and cloudy. We took exit 332 at 7:44. We were going to Antelope Island to see the Great Salt Lake. Sarah read us some information about the lake. She said there was 100 billion (that’s billion with a B) gross disgusting brine flies at the lake. According to Sarah’s research the flies do not land on people. We reached Great Salt Lake Antelope Island at 7:57. It was $9 per car, per day. It smelled really, really bad, but it was really pretty. We stopped and walked around. There were lots of flies. Of course, Zach threw rocks in the lake. We saw a jacket rabbit (jack rabbit means really, really BIG ears), and possibly 2 pheasants. Zach saw a herd of antelope and we saw several more jack rabbits and a baby one. Ron saw a fox. The jack rabbits were everywhere. We left the park at 8:57. It was 73 degrees and cloudy. It sprinkled on us for a few minutes. We stopped at a Wal-Mart for a waterproof bag and ice. We also had our 7th bathroom break. We found a bag and put Sarah’s insulin in it. We left Wal-Mart at 9:28. We stopped at a Maverik gas station for gas for the suburban. It was $2.89. Whoopee!!! At 9:48, we saw what we thought was a Whataburger. Lunchtime!! But it wasn’t. We miss Whataburger. We took Interstate 15/84 north at 10:01. We saw a sign for Farr West. I thought we were far west. Oh well—guess we will keep driving. We listened to Sarah’s iPod. We are up to #146. We entered Idaho at 11:03. We stopped at a rest area for our 8th bathroom break. We left at 11:16. It was really pretty, with hills and flat areas. There were some really green areas that were irrigated and then areas that were not irrigated that were yellow. We saw some areas that had been burned. We also saw some potato fields (what a surprise). We decided to stop at a rest area for lunch. It was 85 degrees and cloudy. We stopped at 11:48. It was a rest area and a weigh station. It was too windy to eat at a picnic table, so I made sandwiches and we ate while ridding. We left the rest area at 12:08. Ron said in Idaho you could pull as many trailers as you were bad enough to. We saw several trucks pulling 3 trailers. It sprinkled on us occasionally throughout the morning. It was mostly flat land with some hills in the distance. At 12:32 it was 83 degrees, clearing with sunshine and blue skies. We saw a John Deere tractor with tracks instead of wheels. Ever since getting to Idaho, everything next to the interstate has been agricultural. We think we saw some potato fields, but we also think we saw some greens. We think they should label their fields so us tourist could tell what everything is. 12:55 we saw and smelled a cow lot. Phew!!!!!!!!! We saw the Jerome Cheese Factory. They have lots of cows here. Ron said if they have potatoes, cheese, and milk they have the makings for good eating. At 1:25 we stopped at a rest area for our 9th bathroom break. We got a snack and left at 1:34. It was 96 degrees, hot, sunny, with white clouds. At 1:46 we are back in hill country. The interstate follows along the Snake River. It is very pretty. We saw an elk farm with lots of elk for sale. At 2:28 we had to slow on the interstate for construction. We moved along slowly until 2:34, when we stopped at a rest area for our 10th bathroom break. We returned to the interstate at 2:43. Ron had an IdaCoke. Sarah had an IdaPie. Sarah had seen a sign in the rest area that said for information call 1-888-IDAROAD. Ron saw an IdaPost and we are making IdaNotes. Maybe somewhere along our trip we will find a dam. Just outside of Boise, Sarah saw an IdaPlane. Ron saw an IdaTow. (A motor home towing a car.) We reached Boise at 2:49. Boise’s climate is similar to Boulder’s, high plains desert. He looked into it when he thought he might have to get a job at HP. We saw a Mormon Temple with the gold guy sitting on the top. Ron saw some IdaSmush cardboard boxes. At 3:11, we stopped for road construction. We moved along slowly until 3:19, when we finally got through the construction zone. Idaho is doing some major road construction on interstate 84. Ron saw some IdaHorses and IdaCows. At 3:31 we finally saw the “End Construction” sign. But the speed limit was still 55 mph. We saw a sign for Hell’s Canyon Recreation Area. That sounds like a fun place. We saw and smelled an onion field. We crossed the Snake River and entered Oregon at 3:48. We stopped at a rest area at 3:49 for our 11th bathroom break. We left at 3:57. It was a nice rest area. There was information about the Oregon Trail. At 4:03 we got to drive 65 again. There is a $97 fine for not wearing your seatbelt in Oregon. It said so on a sign. We saw the biggest onion field ever. Sarah said so far Oregon looks like Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. At 4:32 we entered the Pacific Time Zone. Oregon Mountains look like Nevada and California’s mountains. We saw more sheep, but no black sheep. At 3:49 (remember, we are in the Pacific Time Zone) it was 89 degrees, sunny with some clouds. We are traveling west. We saw a sign that said DEER, but had no picture of an animal. Later, I saw a deer sitting next to the interstate. I told them about it and Ron asked if it was a DEER. I said I didn’t know because it was just sitting under a tree resting so it could cross the interstate later. Zach said it was just a deer then and wasn’t a DEER until it crossed the interstate. We took exit 304 at 4:05 to get gas, for the suburban. We don’t need any yet. We stopped at a Shell Station in Baker City, Oregon. Gas was $3.19. We had been 433.5 miles since our last fill up this morning. It took 21.6 gallons to fill up the suburban. We have been a total of 1,037.4 miles. We also took our 12th bathroom break. We left at 4:16, and returned to interstate 84 west. The grass was beginning to get greener and the mountains in the distance were bigger. We passed a sign that said “45th Parallel – Halfway between the equator and the North Pole”. At 4:47 we started seeing more trees and green vegetation. We need to look up and find out what a man pulling a horse on the Oregon road signs mean. Maybe the Oregon Trail? At 5:21 was saw a truck completely engulfed in flames by the east bound lanes of interstate 84. At 5:30 the landscape began changing. There were fewer trees and green vegetation and more mountains with yellow grass and rocks. We saw a sign that said “6 miles of 6% grade”. We only had 2 warning signs and Ron thought they were just kidding. We saw another sign that said “Blowing Dust Area – Next 40 miles” At 6:01 we took exit 188 to go to a Pizza Hut for supper. We saw another huge field of onions. We found the Pizza Hut at 6:13. We all ate the Pizza Hut buffet. It was very good. We left at 6:47. We had used Maggie to find the Pizza Hut and then to find the interstate. We reached the interstate at 6:57. We took exit 164 at 7:14 to go to our hotel. We found the Econo Lodge at 7:15. We got to room 214 at 7:26. It was a nice room and the Lady at the front desk was really friendly. We had an e-mail from Zach’s fall baseball coach. He said that the season starts August 20th, not in September like we thought. So much for two months of no baseball!