Waiting Out The Storm Fronts

Impressive Plant For sale at Walmart, $20

Spanish Forks, UT

Sunday, May 12 - Our third and final half-day of removing the red dirt of Moab from the vehicles. Enjoyed cocktails on our green grass and conversations with our neighbors.

We tried to get reservations at two RV parks close to SLC so we would not have to drive an hour to eat at our fav restaurants. Both were full during the week.

We noted the Europeans in the rental next to us locked both door locks while they sat in their chairs 15-feet away. The next morning as they were pulling out, the guy next to them asked them where they were headed. They got out to talk to him and locked the cab doors while they stood in front of the rig. Guess they think they are in a high crime area. We are totally relaxed. I’ll bet the crime rate is about zero.

Monday, May 13 - Retackled the leak in the toilet. Found a plastic fitting that was cracked. I applied an epoxy fix.

Drove into downtown SLC to the Red Iguana. Dorothy had fish tacos, I had pork with a delightful mole.

20-miles from SLC you could see and taste the haze from the stone crushing plants and the refinery.

Downtown is never busy, but it was almost deserted today. Good for us.

Tuesday, May 14 - I spent all of the morning trying to figure out a new leak in the toilet. A friend solved my problem, but so far I have not found the part. No big deal. I can live with it until I can locate the part.

Before daylight, katabatic winds tumble off the mountains and whistle in the trees. The show is over by 8:30.

Wednesday, May 15 - Back to SLC to eat at Mazza. We really liked it the last two times. Today, it was not much.

Logan, UT

Thursday, May 16 - We made the two-hour drive to Logan. I made reservations, yes, I know we don’t do reservations, but multiple storm fronts are moving in from the Pacific, I see no sense in driving in the rain.  I did not want to boondock for an extended period since we would might not be able to fully charge the batteries without running the generator. We are staying at a pricey, to us, Utah State Park on a small lake with nice facilities.

We are here waiting not just for the multiple fronts to pass, but to have electric steps installed on the Jeep. The manufacturer is here and demand exceeds supply, so there is a wait time. He is pulling a set for us ahead of schedule to accommodate our schedule.

Friday, May 17 - Huge laundry day. We had Carne Asada for lunch. It was marvelous and too much to eat.

I am not taking many pictures this year. Just not inspired.

Saturday, May 18 - Oil change, had ice cream at Utah State University’s Creamery.

Sunday, May 19 - Lazy day, watched TV and read.

Monday, May 20 - It was a clear sunny day! We did some errands and had lunch out.

Tuesday, May 21 - The long-awaited electric step install day. Dorothy likes them. 

The sky was slate gray to dark black the whole day. The temps for the last week have been 20 below average.

Green

After spending two months in the desert we are pleased to be with green grass and trees. Most trees are fully leafed, but still have the vibrant green color of Spring.

There are several canyons carved by rushing waters through the mountains east of the several dozen cities that start in the south around Spanish Forks and continue north past Logan into Idaho. Every canyon is scenic. I can not think of another area in the US that has a longer continuous mountain range contiguous to an urban area. The mountains provide the water required.

I don’t think Utah has much in the way of zoning restrictions. Anything can be adjacent to anything. That is well illustrated in places like Logan. New homes are next to land that has been in a family for a few generations. It’s common to see livestock and tilled fields interspersed with new homes. Light industry and warehouses likewise can be seen next to new homes. That said the area is booming. The lack of regulations allows business to prosper. Tax revenue must be fantastic looking at the many new public facilities.

The Cache Valley is spectacular. The mountains, on both sides, retain snow until late July. Mountain roads may not open until August.

Our first stop in the green area was in Spanish Forks, I never bothered to take a picture, but we had a green area under trees in the back that was the site of cocktails every day for the week we were there. We met some interesting people.

Here at Hyrum State Park, it’s green with a water view. There is no space here over the holiday weekend, so we checked at every park in town, all were full except for one that had narrow sites for $40. We followed the GPS to one more park, but there was no park there. Perhaps there was at one time. Now it’s a HUGE city park. We saw a sign that pointed to the fairgrounds. Fairgrounds! I followed the sign and saw one RV parked on the grass. There were electric posts and water spigots all around. We happened on the manager of the new facility and he said they would sometimes allow short term stays. We signed up five days for $26 - dirt cheap for the area.

Hyrum State Park

City of Logan Fairgrounds

Wednesday, May 22 - Grocery shopping and lunch out at a Chinese place. Dorothy has been hankering for Chinese. This one was above average and quite inexpensive. The man cooks and the woman handles serving and the cash register. We had soup, rice, noodles and two chicken entrees for $6. Too much food and it stayed with us.

Thursday, May 23 - At 10am it was 45 and the wind was gusting to over 30 under gray skies. Next week it’s supposed to clear up and get warmer  - a little.

We picked up some RV parts we ordered and moved to fairgrounds. For some reason, I checked to see if they had wi-fi. Bingo! 9Mbps up and 3.5Mbps down.

Friday, May 24 - There was light rain all night. Dawn brought the now common gray skies. After lunch, the sun appeared.

I installed a new burner tube on the hot water heater. Seems every time I fixed something, another problem develops. This time thermostat on the hot water heater is being ignored and the temp goes to 160.

You can just make out a small section of wind-deposited loess soil

The Temple In Logan.