The Descent

All week my mother has been telling me about this stretch of road that we will face. It is a stretch of I-80 that takes us straight into Salt Lake City where we are staying for the night. The last time my parents took this trip, my father ended up driving at 92 miles per hour by the time he reached the bottom of the stretch. The downgrade is a 6% then a 3% grade from the original strip. That strip was such a blast to drive! I wish I could do it again. Let's put it this way...halfway down the descent, there is a lane especially for runaway trucks to enter. It was so much fun!

Today's drive was good but long. We left North Platte, Nebraska, and drove directly to Salt Lake City. The drive across Nebraska was pretty tough being so flat and Wyoming was not much different. There is nothing much in Wyoming, not even many exits. It is pretty barren. But once we enter Utah, the terrain changed beautifully.

The land on either side of me began to rise to heights not known to a native Iowan. There were several stretches of highway that seemed to disappear into the terrain as the mountain edges meet each other to far-sighted eyes. Evergreens covered the sides with their lasting color, dotting the sight with color as everything else was brown. Later along the drive, red rock faces entertained my eyes with beauty and awe as I measured myself against them. I was quite small compared to their majestic stand.

We finally pulled into Salt Lake City and retired for the night. The past several weeks and especially this past week has finally caught up with me. I am bone tired. Two more days of driving and then I will be in my new home. What a crazy thought!