<– Day 2- Thursday March 10th: We Forgot to Pack Our Maps?  | Beginning | Day 4 – Saturday March 12th: The Aliens Almost Got Her! –>

Ann doesn’t seem to mind being jailed. She’s enjoying her strawberry margarita.

Day three took us from Provo, Utah, to Ely, Nevada (See yesterday’s post here). We spent the night in Provo, because I got a deal on a hotel. The downside was that, in the morning, when I went down to the jeep I witnessed what appeared to be an odd transaction between two normal looking guys who could have been BYU students. Moments after I saw them exchange something in the middle of the parking lot, the police showed up. All this time I thought the best action was in Salt Lake City!!

Ann was trying not to be obvious, hence the blurry photo.

Day 3: Provo to Ely

From Provo, we drove south I-15, until we exited for Delta. For the next few hours we saw some sagebrush, some dirt, some mountains, and some snow. We even saw a couple flatties, too!! And, that’s about it. The Great Basin area is a desolate place and, if you like that kind of space, like my oldest son does, this is a bit of heaven. Here are some pics.

This cement factory broke up the drive.

These two kilns are located along Highway 50.

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<– Day 1- Wednesday March 9th: Oh, the Inhumanity! | Beginning | Day 3 – Friday March 11th: Dining in an Ely Jail –>

A self on the one-lane, crumbling, salmon dam located just west of Rogerson Service, Idaho.

We began the morning just north of Twin Falls (See day one of our trip here), We didn’t make if far before we realized that we, and by we I mean “I”, had forgotten to pack our Gazetteers (like this), those trusty, detailed maps, ones safely tucked away in my office. Sigh. But hey, who need maps when we have the internet … until that disappeared, too. Then we relied on hope!

Day 2 took us from Twin Falls, Idaho, to Provo, Utah.

Our first destination on a cool Thursday morning was the county park near Buhl, Idaho, called Balanced Rock. We followed Highway 93 through Twin Falls, then veered south until reaching E 3700 N Road. We took a right and encountered the strangest center line. After much discussion, we concluded it was a disgruntled county employee who’d had enough of life: too many straight lines.

Why the strange centerline? We’d soon find out.

Satisfied at with our arbitrary conclusion, we followed E3700N for what seemed like hours, but was more like twenty minutes. Suddenly, the flat lands gave way to a gulch. To negotiate the gulch, the road began to wind back and forth. Aha! That explained the wavy line at the beginning of the road: it marked the road that led to the park!

The road into Balanced Rock Canyon Park.

At the bottom of the gulch, a small sign guided visitors to the park.

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<– Beginning | Day 2 – Thursday March 10th: We Forgot to Pack Our Maps? –>

Zollie (a male) is a Shitzu Pomeranian. He’s more cat than dog, fearful of his own shadow. He’s most brave when camped under our bed. He tolerated the situation as best he could, even if his expression suggests he’s being tortured. Those are his Easter bunny ears.

Day 1 of our trip to the 2016 FC-Roundup started slowly (See our trip overview here). My wonderful, unpredictable wife decided that coloring Easter eggs and taking a photo of our dog Zollie was an important task to accomplish prior to our departure. While I was not amused, Zollie was even less enthused about the idea. I think his face said it all, “Oh, the inhumanity!” However, he’s a good sport and the photo session ended fairly quickly.

Today’s trip was a quick drive to Twin Falls.

Once we made it out the door, we drove for five hours until we reached Boise. There, we stopped at the new Boise Co-op in Meridian, which is a definite step up from the downtown location. It’s also much more convenient for us, because it is a short hop off of Interstate-84. We will be back!

Next we ate dinner at the Boise Fry Company. The burgers are good, but it is really the fries that bring you back. In the bowl is a large order of purple potato fries (they have 7 or 8 different kind of fries you can choose and something like 10 different dipping sauces as well). Next to the bowl of fries is a bowl of brussel sprouts that were very good. It was the first time we’d seen those on the menu and we’ll order those in the future as well. 

With full bellies, we waddled out the jeep and drove the rest of the way to Twin Falls.

Tomorrow, instead of taking I-84 (the fast route) to Salt Lake, we plan to drive south to Wells on 93, then cut east through Wendover, drive through the Salt flats, then on to Salt Lake City where we’ll dine with my two youngest kids. We’ll be spending the night in the Provo-Orem area. On Friday we’ll be heading back to Nevada and, after hitting the National Park & Ely (pronounced Eee Lee), will head south until we feel like stopping.

<– Beginning | Day 2 – Thursday March 10th: We Forgot to Pack Our Maps? –>