Saturday and Sunday, May 12, 13, 2001 - Mile 2661.8 - Provo, UT
My daughter warns me that that their new baby will likely wake me up early. I tell her that I wake up early anyway and can't help it. On Saturday morning I wake up before anybody else and decide that it's a good time to see what I can do about all of those bugs squished onto the front of my car.
When I'm all done everybody is still asleep in there. They all wake up soon enough and I get to play grandpa for a while. People say I'm too young to be a grandfather, and I have to agree, but that doesn't change the fact that I have three grandchildren and love each of them. I'm just not ready to start acting like a grandpa all the time.
After a morning with my daughter, her husband, and two sons, I follow Highway 89 north out of Utah Valley until I get to the one section of I-15 that I can't avoid. I plan to get off of the freeway after just a few miles, but don't get off soon enough and get stuck in construction traffic anyway. I get off at the next exit in Draper and work my way through streets that have changed so much from when I used to live here 13 years earlier.
Check out the above map of the new freeways in Salt Lake. It's not to scale, but it definitely captures the feeling of what has been done to the freeways there.I stop by my brother's house, who is out fishing, but give my sister in law a ride and show her some pictures from my digital camera. We take a short drive up Little Cottonwood Canyon. I'm reminded once again of how beautiful the Wasatch Mountains are. I like these way better than anything I saw in Colorado.
I drive along the roads at the base of the mountains, avoiding I-215, and manage to follow a car through some muddy water, spraying a fine white mist all over the front of the car I just washed a few hours before. That's the last time the car will be really clean for more than a week.
Sunday, May 13
I get to spend the morning with my mother (and father) on Mother's Day, which is a pleasant bonus. I've decided to drive north to Logan to spend the rest of the day with my Son, who is a student at Utah State University. That will put me 100 miles further along on my trip, in addition to getting to spend time with my other grandson.I take the back roads through Salt Lake, stopping in Sugarhouse Park to take a picture of my car with my favorite mountain in all the world in the background: Mount Olympus. It's not the tallest or even the most rugged mountain peak, but I grew up under its distinctive shape and have always loved how it looks.
As I leave the park, I notice a do not enter sign on a section of new grass, with a curb and all. I'm guessing the road crew wasn't sure enough that the cement curb and grass would be enough to keep people out or something.
I stop by the State Capitol Building and park illegally in front of the Salt Lake Temple, to get a few more shots. You can't visit Salt Lake City without a picture of the temple.
I follow Highway 89 north through all the little towns, pass through Ogden, then head up the canyon at Brigham City towards Logan. Once again I'm struck by the beauty of the Wasatch mountains as I drive through Cache Valley.
Sunday evening, my son wants to ride in the car, so I let him dictate the route. What was supposed to be a two or three mile loop turns out to be more than 15 miles. I let him drive back. He likes it better than my 10 year old Nissan Sentra that he's currently driving. It would never work for hauling his wife and son, though.As at my daughter's house, my "bed" is a bunch of blankets on the floor to form a sort of mattress, with a sheet for covering. I probably sleep better on these than at any of the hotels throughout the rest of the trip.
My son makes breakfast in the morning and I'm off once again.
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Copyright (c), 2001 by Scott R. Nelson
Page last updated July 9, 2001
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