The PENguin Blog

The title pretty much says it. On this next but last day of this year’s trip we went from just outside Salt Lake City to Winnemucca, Nevada with a couple of stops for the salt flats and in particular Bonneville. The day was gorgeous and the only disappointment was the fact that a rainstorm the week before hadleft the flats too wet to be driven over. Otherwise Sharon would have gotten to sit out a few minutes while I took the car over 130 for the first time. But, alas, it was not to be. We did have a nice visit with a BLM “ranger” about the ecology of the flats. The last time we drove this portion of road there was all kinds of art across the flats. Only this one remains. Someone just couldn't resist But for the standing water, you do not usually get this view The car was ready, I was ready,  the salt less so  And later, after we crossed to Nevada, I was able to stop and get some nice shots of the mountains. ...

If Wednesday saw us moving from the the Great Plains toward the West, Thursday put us into firmly Western territory as we approached the Front Range of the Rockies went into the mountains, onto the high plains, ending up on the shores of the Great Salt Lake. Sweetcakes, our trusty GPS system, gave us an interesting option, taking us off the Interstate in   western Wyoming and onto a route used by Oregon-and-California-bound emigrants as well as the Mormons and Pony Express riders. It was more historical than visually interesting but it broke things up and we found a nice Mexican restaurant along the route. But the main thing is that we are now back in the West. Now, don’t get me wrong, we both enjoyed the South (me a bit moreso than Sharon), but the West is where we grew up and live. And while the West of Wyoming and Utah could not be more different than that of the Pacific Coast, it’s the West. This part of the trip is not about images and touring b...

A long travel day on Wednesday carried us from the Great Plains to the front range of the Rockies, just a tad under 400 miles. On travel days like these we don’t plan stops, if they happen they happen and around mid-day we found ourselves in Fort Collins, Colorado, home of the Colorado State University. Why does that matter? Our daughter attended CSU and graduated almost a decade ago, so we know the town and like it and we knew where we could have a good lunch, which we did at the Chéba Hut. First glimpse of the front range of the Rockies means that we are back in the west. One of Anna's favorite spots when she was an undergrad at CSU Elk Mountain Random windshield shots Moreover, after lunch ‘Cakes (our GPS) suggested one of our favorite drives in the area, Highway 287 from Fort Collins to Laramie. From there it was pretty much a straight shot into Rawlins, Wyoming where we stay for the night. Thursday will take us from...

On Monday, we went from Arkansas through Oklahoma and into Kansas, pretty much non-stop, leaving the eastern woodlands for the prairie to spend the night in Wichita. Tuesday, we slowed down a bit and our GPS (aka Sweetcakes or Cakes) having learned our methods actually took us off the interstate all on her own and led us along a scenic route between I-135 and I-70 that I could not recreate if at gunpoint. So, given the opportunity, I took some pictures to break the tedium of the drive. --> Our first stop was Lindsborg, a neat, prosperous looking town which seemed half community center and half charming tourist trap. We stopped and even shopped.   In the 19th century the town ran on the work of blacksmiths and wagoners, today coffee. Yup, tourist shops The horse Sharon bought was a bit smaller --> Then came something different, a prairie ghost town. Carneiro began as a sheep stating in...

(according to the USGS and Wikipedia, there is actually a difference) Sunday was the final day of this year’s road trip before we strike off on Monday from the Ozarks for home. We spent the day at Mount Magazine, which is part of the state’s excellent park system and is located within the Ozark National Park. We drove along the scenic route from Russellville to Havana and began with just a little hike, a walk really, along the one mile West Benefield Trail. From there we continued in the park going up to the high point, Cameron Bluff. The vista over the Petit Jean Valley was gorgeous. From there we went up to the lodge. It is large and modern, but overlooks Blue Mountain Lake.  The drive up the mountain Petit Jean Valley The West Benefield Trailhead Wildflowers along the trail Near the end of the trail is the grave of one of the Benefield daughters, born and died sometime in the 1890s Cameron Bluff We...