Back on track

Today we find ourselves in Wyoming. We discovered that the Utah Backcountry Discovery Route has 40 miles of trail in another state! Not sure exactly why they did that, but it is somewhat pretty - more rolling hills and pasture in this area.

Back to June 1st. We awoke suddenly to sounds reverberating through the Jeep, we made a loud noise and the sound stopped. We cautiously poked our heads out the windows, not knowing what we might see. Eight deer traipsed through the woods behind our campsite - we guessed they were our early wake up call! Once the sun rose a little more and took the chill off the air, I got up and made oatmeal, we packed up ready to go and then called relatives in Salt Lake City to arrange a visit.

We still had 100ish miles of trail to drive before we would cut across the state for another 45 miles to get to the city. Surprisingly we started spotting vehicles early on the trail, not really a common occurrence on most of the back roads we had traveled so far. Pretty much all of them turned out to be bear hunters armed with packs of dogs with radio collars. Apparently the dogs chase the bear up a tree then the hunter listens to their radios and once the bear is well trapped he wanders in and... Doesn't really seem all that sporting to me.

As we drove along we were lucky enough to spot a live one! He/she hurtled across the road and up over the hill about 300 feet ahead of us. They sure do move fast!

Eventually we made it to a highway near Kamas and from there made a beeline for SLC. It was bizarre being on a 6 lane freeway (past Park City / 2002 winter Olympics venue) and then on 4 lane city boulevards - after many days on dirt roads this was a bit of an adjustment!

Salt Lake is a pretty city which we explored a little the next day, lots of things happening and great community establishments that have recently opened. We had a great time visiting with family, listening to stories and just relaxing with easy access to a shower/bathroom and a real bed!

After a couple of nights rest we headed back into the mountains to rejoin the trail. Up through a myriad of lakes, aspen woods and out into pasture. By camp time we found ourselves many miles from National Forest or BLM land so we stopped in at the local RV park in Evanston. Not our ideal place to stay but it's cheap, clean and shady although somewhat noisy being near a railroad and the freeway. It's almost like being back in our apartment in Portland...