So much going on, I almost forgot to wrap up this outing!
Over breakfast in the Park Cafe, we debated how badly we wanted to check the Great Salt Lake off our bucket list. We all felt like we’d already gotten our money’s worth from the road trip. The morning was grey and chilly, and the idea of backtracking to see a grey, chilly body of water was less appealing than the thought of heading back to our own warm, cozy house. We decided to save the lake for another time, maybe when the Temple renovations are done and we can do a proper tour.
We did stay long enough to check out Tracy Aviary at Liberty Park, right across the street from the cafe. Most of the birds were huddled out of the cold in their shelters, but the setting itself is a nice walk.
There is a pelican pond…
…and the enclosures are reasonably roomy.
Zoos make me sad. But at least the birds here aren’t in tiny cages.
Some of the larger birds definitely could have used more space, though.
After we left the aviary, we turned the Adventuremobile’s head toward home and hit the open road.
Again, Luke chose a more scenic and slightly longer route home, via US-40 through Dinosaur and Steamboat Springs rather than I-70 through Grand Junction. It’s a pretty drive, but honestly, I don’t think there are any nonscenic routes through the Rockies.
Ski runs carved out down the mountainsides. It’s been so long now, I don’t even remember where that was. Somewhere still in Utah, I think. I probably should have taken notes.
Here’s a pretty lake. Don’t remember which lake. Maybe Strawberry Reservoir? I definitely should have taken notes.
No idea which rest area this was. Might have been Pinion Ridge. It has a nice little trail to get out and stretch your legs on.
In the afternoon it started snowing again, and the road got slick.
We slid around a bit, but we made it through with only a couple of tense moments.
I wish I’d had a proper camera to capture that moonrise.
We made it home late that night, and I slept like a rock in my warm bed. We all agreed that future road trips would be in warmer seasons, at least until that camper shell window gets replaced.
Unless we’re visiting more national parks, because I love having those mostly to ourselves in the off season. I’d like to see Yellowstone and Glacier soon.
And that was our November trip! Only took me three months to get it all blogged, and now spring is only a few weeks away.
I am very much ready for spring.
An Invincible Summer 