Salt Lake City to Boston

Day 40

Up early, and off to the airport.

Signing off for now. We will resume around March 11, 2008. And, as Dave Garroway would say, as he signed off, "Peace."

Salt Lake City

Day 39

As Sully would say, "What me worry? Salt Lake is a big city, I will find a spot". We wake full of energy, a few calls from the Yellow Pages to find a place for ChelseaExpress winterization (which means flushing out water & adding antifreeze to the vehicle). We hear that the State Fairgrounds store vehicles inside and has available space. The day is looking brighter.

We find a place for the winterization. The shop advises us of a warehouse around the corner that does storage. We checked it out and struck a deal for a heated space indoors for the winter. We were going to do an oil change & tuneup before storage, but the owner offered to get it done for us just before we return in the spring. All is complete and done by 1:00pm. Everything just fell in place. Relief! And as Sully would say again, "What me worry? This is a big city, I will find a spot"

We even have enough time in the afternoon to catch a movie before the Red Sox take on Cleveland at 5:15PM Mountain Time. We find a Sports Bar (tough in Salt Lake) with Cleveland fans behind us. The Red Sox win 10 - 3.

A few stories from the sports bar need to be mentioned. We arrived earlier in the day to reserve seats up front, but were told we couldn't. They said that if we were there by 5PM we would be able to get good seats. Because, it didn't get full until about 6PM. We get there at 5PM, but notice all the prime tables have Reserved signs on them. Sully starts to steam. We raise the issue with the manager. He tries to explain, apologizes & rearranges a couple of tables for us with a good view.

Next, we notice a promotion, a bucket of 4 beers (light or regular) by Coors for $8. We order some of each. We are told that earlier they ran out of regular Coors, and only have Light available. We ask for a replacement for the regular Coors, and are told it is not possible. The same manager, said that it was only a Coors Light promotion. He then proceeded to take down all the posters. We grabbed one before he got to it, and it stated both Light & Reg. He apologized again, but couldn't substitute another beer. He sent over an appetizer for our troubles. I think a message to Coors Headquarters will be sent.

And lastly, a guy from another table came over and told us he was a Red Sox fan. Guess where he was from? Wrong. He was from the last place you would think, New York.

Pokatello to Salt Lake City

Day 38

One of our goals today is to make the 120 miles down to Salt Lake City. The other is to find a home for ChelseaExpress to spend the winter. Our plans have slightly changed. That can happen when you are retired.

Sully and I are flying home from Salt Lake City Saturday Oct 13 & Steve flying home Monday Oct 15. Then, the 3 of us will fly back in March to go skiing for a few days with Joe and pickup ChelseaExpress to continue our journey. We think 2 more weeks will get us back home.

We arrive at our destination in the afternoon. There are a couple of prospects for storing ChelseaExpress, but nothing solid. I am a little nervous. We decide to sleep on it, and come up with some ideas in the morning. Our travels have taken us about 4,800 miles so far. A few US $s and many Canadian $s lighter, but what a time it has been. The laughs and adventure outweighed the cost tenfold. I would do it again without question.

Jackson Hole to Pokatello

Day 37
Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! This blog entry is now an official substitute for a card.

Day 37

Happy Anniversary, Barbara & Dennis -- 32 fabulous years.

The day starts out again with a small problem. Small problems we can handle. Since Ohio, we have been hearing a little ping coming from near the fan blade area of ChelseaExpress. We thought that maybe a small piece of metal was just rattling. We couldn't see the blade from under the hood because it was in a plastic cover. The noise finally needed to be looked at. So, under the vehicle I went. I found that the bolt holding the AC had come loose and was occasionally hitting the blades. Also, the AC belt was missing. The bolt could have wrecked the fan blade if it slipped any further. I was able to secure the bolt. We can hold off on replacing the AC belt this time of year.

Noise gone, off we go quietly. We stop in Pokatello, ID for the night. Steve & I try to get back to our championship ways with a challenge to Mike & Joe in Boccie. The balls weren't rolling the right way for us. We were defeated by the international champions, Mike Sullivan & Joe Walker. We will get those guys next year.

We wrap up the night with a beverage and Trivial Pursuit. It took 4 hours to get 8 questions right. Our explanation is that it was the Genius Edition.

Jackson Hole

Day 36

Onward to Jackson Hole, WY, 104 miles away through the mountains. We pick the safest route, which means the route with the lowest elevation to travel. Route 26 follows the very scenic Snake River for miles. Numerous photos were taken. ChelseaExpress handles these mountain passes much better.

Jackson Hole is not what I expected. I thought there would be one main street with ski area/mountains on one side. That was not the case. It is a real tourist mecca with t-shirt shops all over the area. There sure are enough places to shop and drink. There was one section of the main square that had a few art galleries with very nice western art. Reminded me a little of Santa Fe.

Spider webs in town this time of year are a problem. These webs end up flying through the air landing on cars, clothes & even faces. Don't go to Jackson Hole the first week of October.

Yellowstone to Jackson Hole

Day 35

Our day starts off with only slight problems. No big deal.

We are looking to find the easiest route to Jackson Hole, WY. The mountain pass through Yellowstone may still be closed, so we take the second best road. That road takes us toward Idaho Falls, ID. Over the continental divide (7,072 elevation).

All was going well until we started to make the climb up that hill. The ChelseaExpress has been having a tough time breathing at various elevations. Vehicles with carburetors (autos 1987 & older) have trouble getting enough oxygen to mix with the gas in high elevation areas. About 100 yards before the summit ChelseaExpress STOPPED/STALLED from the lack of oxygen.

We though we were going to have to turn around and go back to Yellowstone. Steve, Joe & I got out to stop the traffic so Sully could turn the vehicle around. Sully got it started again and thought he would give it one more try getting up the hill. ChelseaExpress had just enough energy with about 500 lbs less (3 guys) to make it to the top. It was all downhill from there. We look back and wonder what we would have done if we didn't make that summit. We now look for mountain passes that have an elevation below 7,000 feet.

Yellowstone

I forget who got us the bottle of Manny Being Merlot, and I have no idea how it tastes, but rest assured that the label is awesome.

Day 34

We wake to snow & 32 degree temperatures. We are advised at the entrance to Yellowstone that 2 of the major roads are closed due to ice & snow. The road to Old Faithful is open, so that becomes our goal. On our way we stop to see Buffalo, Elk, Deer and various small geysers.

We arrive at the parking lot to Old Faithful about 45 minutes before the scheduled eruption. Our anticipation builds, wondering if we are going to feel the earth shake under our feet. The ranger told us that there is a volcano under the ground covering more than 60% of the park. We are standing over it. The eruption of steam & water happens with a wimper. It shoots up about 40 feet without noise or vibration. A big disappointment. Summer crowds must be unbearable here.

We exit the park in the afternoon to catch some of the game in which the Red Sox clinch the first series. We hold of on uncorking the "Manny being Merlot" wine.