By the numbers:
- 374 miles from Boise, ID to Tremonton, UT – 1045 total miles – The first thousand of 12 to 15 expected
- highest temp: 95.
- highest elevation: 6338 feet as we came into City of Rocks National Reserve from the North and West.
- 2 states : Idaho & Utah. Total for the trip: 4
- Licence plates spotted: 7 new states and provinces – 28 total for the trip – Among those spotted today were both Iowa (where we are eventually headed for our family reunion) and Alaska (proof here)
- 1 new National Park site: City of Rocks National Reserve – 6 parks total for the trip.
- This was a pretty amazing place. It was formed by a magma flow that pushed up to near the surface of the earth millions of years ago and cooled as Granite rock. Then over the eons the surrounding land was eroded away, leaving some amazing and amazing large stone structures. People traveling by between the 1840’s and 1870’s along the California Trail thought it looked like the remains of an ancient abandoned city and referred to it when talking to others as the Silent City.
- 1 major river crossed: That snaky Snake River – twice more. The entire Treasure valley area around Boise is basically a flood plain from the Snake River and is a very rich agricultural area. We drove past both Jerome and Burley Idaho where many of the potatoes you eat in the form of French Fries probably come from.
- Also today we crossed from the Pacific Time Zone to the Mountain Time zone. So those of you wanting to stay in touch with us as we are traveling adjust your clock accordingly.
- One last number for today – we listened to our first audio book of the trip – A spy/action thriller that wasn’t good enough to go into specifics. We have better ones on the iPod and I will report when we listen to a good one.
Tomorrow we head south in Utah. Two parks on the planned list: Timpanogos Cave and Arches National Park. However, the Park service has an advisory out that temperatures are going to be at all times highs, possibly above 105, and they advise extreme caution for any hiking. So we may make our stops there brief on this trip and come back at a better time of year.