Our final driving day on our trip to California went by quite smoothly. No snow storms, not much traffic (if you don’t count Las Vegas) and some great roadside views.
When we started out the local bank was flashing 18 degrees. Brrrrrr. But the roads were clear, and once we got out of the frozen parking lot, we were on our way!

Kind of an unlikely spot for a lighthouse, but it made for a pretty picture!
And gradually the snow disappeared, until it was only on the distant mountains.



And notice the blue sky – more good news!

Although we were driving through desert, the surrounding mountains were breathtaking -


We made a quick stop in St. George (UT), and when we returned to the interstate, I couldn’t help but feel like the mountian had been painted on a backdrop behind this town-

Interstate 15 cuts through the NW corner of Arizona, through the Virgin River Canyon.
Oh. My. Goodness.







And then around the next corner -

Honest, that picture was taken less than two minutes from the one before! If you ever have the opportunity to drive those 30 miles of I15 in Arizona, DO IT! And then go hug a road engineer.

After Arizona came Nevada -




There’s Las Vegas in the distance – with the really shiny building!

And after Las Vegas we left the interstate and went south on 95 – which had recently been redone for the truck traffic that was no longer able to cross the Hoover Dam.

Long, straight, four lanes – just the kind of road that would make Gary say – “Wanna drive?”

Gulp! I drove for about 50 miles, until the road turned into two lanes and dippy!

I love those mountains in the background -

Then, of course, there was more desert

and more desert

And now we are parked at the Walmart in Palm Desert!
Tomorrow morning we’ll go into our project and get a little better aquainted with the area. We’ve already found the closest In ‘n Out Burger. And we’ve downloaded tomorrow’s weather report.
Sunny and 83.
Wow.

We were delighted to be able to connect with our niece, Bethany, who lives outside of Salt Lake City in Ogden. She and I had a great afternoon exploring SLC (while Gary did a little R&R in the Walmart parking lot). I love it when I can “see” a city with someone who is familiar with it and expecially when they do the driving!
Our drive into town started with some very interesting traffic -

(I’ve seen some pretty big things going down the road, but with the exception of a house we saw going down the street in Bonifay, FL, I think this wins!)
But Salt Lake City – Very nice!



You can’t really ‘do’ SLC without visiting some of the major Mormon landmarks, so we took in a few -
This is a view of “The Place” where Joseph Smith decided that SLC (well, the area) was The Place for he and his followers to settle.

I’m not sure why, but there is also a monument to the Pony Express there too.

(I loved all the snow. It’s much nicer in the cities and on the statues that it was later on Interstate 15 over the mountains.)
And of course there was Temple Square. We managed to avoid the plethera of Mormon Missionaries that want to show you around, and I enjoyed having Bethany give her insights.





(My two pictures of Beth were blurry – so you’ll have to trust me, she’s lovely!)

We shared a lovely meal, had a great time catching up, and were very thankful for our time together. Truly one of the great perks of this lifestyle is being able to touch base with folks we love!

The other is being able to drive the house to where it’s warm!