Day 47, 48 & 49 - Salt Lake City, UT -> Idaho

Wednesday, October 27^th, 2010

I boondocked for the night in Orem, UT in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Wal-Mart is one of the few places that will let RV’ers use their lot overnight to park and sleep. I know I’m not driving a big, fancy RV, but my Subaru has been my home on wheels for the past month and a half. There were no dark corners to take cover from the bright parking lot lights so I strategically nestled my car close to a tree on one side to shade the driver’s side. A sun visor blocked out the front windshield and a blanket resting over the headrests of the front seats blocked any light coming in through from the driver and passenger windows. Using my telescoping ski/hiking poles, I was able to temporarily fasten a towel across the back window and a dark sheet along the passenger side of the car. Fortunately, I have been able to create a very comfortable and dark sleeping environment in my car, my tiny RV. This will be quite helpful for when the temperatures really start to get cold and I no longer want to sleep in a tent.

I woke up in the morning to find a few inches of snow on the car. It wasn’t a lot, only about two inches, but it was enough to put a smile on my face. I ordered a coffee from McDonalds and ate a bagel from my food pantry, which is just a fancy name for my cardboard box and made my way to Salt Lake City, Utah.

I think it was only about 30 miles but I didn’t feel like driving those last 30 miles last night. I have an old friend, Eric, who has been living in Salt Lake for the past 7-8 years now and has offered his house as a place to stay while I am here. I grew up playing soccer with Eric on a competitive traveling team which disbanded around the time high school soccer began. We ended up going to different high schools so the last time I saw him was probably the last time that Steinert played Nottingham. It was Eric and his family that took me on my first ski trip to the Poconos back in our early teen years. So when I look back, it was probably that experience that planted the first tiny seed that grew in to my desire to be in the snowy mountains.

The first thing I did when I arrived in Salt Lake was to drive up Little Cottonwood Canyon to see how the snow last night affected the Snowbird and Alta ski resorts. Temperature wise, it was a mild day in the valley but it quickly cooled to the low 30s on my way to the resorts and cars coming down the canyon road in the opposite direction had almost a foot of snow on their roofs. I love the feeling of being in the mountains in winter. Tall snow covered mountains, blue skies and trees flocked in a heavy white. Even though the ski season doesn’t officially start until late November, there were plenty of skiers in the parking lot willing to skin or hike their way up to the top for the reward of being able to make perfect and solitary turns in knee to waist deep fresh snow, away from all of the people that the regular season brings.

It was now lunchtime and there is a place that I seek out every time I come to SLC, the Lone Star Taqueria. Lone Star makes some of the best fish tacos that I’ve ever had. They start with lightly fried Cod placed on two white corn tortillas and then top that with cabbage, tomato and onions and a wedge of lime. On the side is a small container of a mayo based sauce that has a late, mild heat of jalapeno peppers. It’s quite simple but just the right combination of flavors. Pair that with a DOS Equis and you’ve got one helluva meal!

From there, I drove Interstate 80 to have a peek at Park City and The Canyons. Not quite as much snow as in Little Cottonwood Canyon but snow nonetheless. I stopped in at Wasatch Brewery on Main Street in Park City to sample a Polygamy Porter. With a slogan like “bring some home for the wives”, I thought it was only fitting to try one while in Utah.

I arrived at Eric’s house just in time for dinner and to meet his fiance Laura. Eric also had an ex-coworker from NJ over for dinner as well. She was in town to do research on her family tree at the Family History Library, the largest genealogy database in the world. We stayed up until around midnight catching up on the past 20+ years.

Thursday, October 28^th, 2010

I got some laundry going in the morning and I dropped off my car to have the oil changed, the second time in less than two months. Eric and I drove up into Big Cottonwood Canyon to see some more snow at Solitude and Brighton. Eric really has a passion for skiing. We pulled over along side of this one road and we passed the binoculars back and forth as he was pointing out some of the places that he had gone backcountry skiing, and at the same time he was scoping out new spots. Some of the chutes and bowls he is riding gave me the willies just thinking about what it would be like looking down on some of these runs with your ski tips dangling out into the air. I’m definitely not at his level of skiing, but should get a lot closer with a full season under my belt. We grabbed some lunch at a diner and just hung out for the rest of the day. We cooked up some of the best burgers I’ve had for dinner. They were Rufus burgers. Rufus was a deer that Eric “acquired” last month and this guy was delicious! After dinner, Eric, Laura, myself and their friends Floyd and Lisa went out for a couple beers at the Hogwallow bar to watch some live music. All in all, a good day.

Friday, October 29^th, 2010

I took my third shower in three days this morning which might be a record. I hung out for a while and then unloaded a portion of the trunk before repacking it again to put some order and organization back to my car. It’s easy to pull things out of bags and toss them around when in a hurry, but when you’re living out of a car, disorganization quickly leads to frustration.

I drove a little over four hours today, straight up I-15 North and am currently in Idaho Falls relaxing at a Barnes & Noble. It’s a bit of a weird place and I’m not talking about the bookstore. I met someone while riding in Moab who said I wouldn’t miss anything if I didn’t check out Idaho Falls, she was absolutely correct. I don’t know if I’m going to stay here tonight or just get back on the road? I don’t need any more weirdness rubbing off on me.

Anyway, here’s my shout out to Eric and Laura for letting me crash with them. I had a great time and hopefully I get a chance to ride some deep stuff with them this winter!

Salt Lake City has probably moved into first position for possible relocation, for several reasons. The proximity to so much great skiing is hard to beat anywhere. House prices are the most reasonable so far. SLC has probably the best prospects for landing a job and I have two great contacts there already.