Road Trip Time

(Doesn't Sally look tough here?)

In what is becoming an annual event, Becky and I are about to take another winter road trip. This time we are off to Moab. I don't know what it is about the red rocks of Utah but they just seem to call to me, plus Becky has never been to Arches or Canyonlands and I can't let this injustice stand! Really this little vacation can't come soon enough but then again what vacation can? Pictures of our adventure will follow in the coming weeks.

Guardsman Pass

After wondering in the woods looking for Willow Heights, without any luck I should add, I decided to take Becky up over Guardsman Pass as she had never been on that drive before. It was the perfect time to take the drive as the leaves were all turning and were quite impressive on the Heber Valley side. We drove up via Brighton then down to Midway before coming back via Park City and Deer Valley. Can I just say that when I grow up I want to live in Deer Valley? If anyone has a chalet there they want to get rid of send them my way, I will happily take it off their hands. The best part of doing the circle route of Guardsman is that on the way back we found Willow Heights, more on that later. For now enjoy a few pictures from Guardsman Pass.

Fall-ing

Well it seems that the trees have noticed that it is now officially Fall. In honor of the Fall Equinox Becky and I took a little drive. Here is a little of what we saw.

JanPics

The other day I was looking through my photos and I realized that I have none from January. I don't know why that is, it is a perfectly fine month. I must have just been out doing other things without my camera or perhaps my camera, being afraid of the cold, decided to stay behind. This year I have decided to remedy this. As proof I present a random January weekend. Enjoy!

Whiteout

This photo has not been altered in any way, shape or form. I don't know if it was the angle of the sun or a visiting alien spaceship that caused the picture to become this white. What I do know is that I love it. And if it was aliens they didn't take us up on their spaceship...perhaps next time.

Today's post is brought to you by the color White. For more see Jane.

Out and About

Hop in the car and come along for a ride around the Salt Lake Valley. Just don't touch the radio. Oh and make sure to drive on over to Jane's for more road trips.

In Downtown Salt Lake we see City Creek rising.

All roads (well at least those going East and West) lead to the mountains.


Now at the southern end of the valley we come across more construction.

Why, it's non other then the valley's first In N Out Burger.
I am a little excited for this store to open so I can get my Double Double fix.

Observations on a Quick Road Trip

• Over half of I-15 in Utah is currently under construction
• You can't use cruise control until you leave Utah County
• You can't use cruise control after entering Utah County
• The left lane is for passing not parking
• Cars with Nevada plates were part of the above problem half the time
• Most Nevada plated cars are tourists up from Las Vegas
• The Cedar City roads department needs help in planning road resurfacing
• Sally looks tough and rugged with tar splashed across her side (see above)
• Cedar Mountain earns every bit of it's scenic drive status
• Cedar Breaks is vastly underrated therefore not as crowded as Bryce (a plus)
• It gets chilly at 10,000 feet
• In-N-Out is much better then Five Guys
• Sally loves a good tailwind going north
• Don't get gas in Fillmore, try Beaver or Nephi
• All freeways should have 80 mph speed limits
• Orange cones and barrels get ugly after so long
• The sky in Southern Utah is the bluest I have ever seen
• Digital cameras are great, as are 2 gig memory cards
• The campus at SUU keeps getting better
• Cedar City really needs a Target
• Avoid the 2nd exit in Cedar City the traffic light sensor doesn't work
• I really need a longer vacation

One of THOSE Days

Do you ever have one of those days where you would have been much better staying in bed? Well today was one of those days for me. I won't go into too much detail (complaining) but the day just started off on a bad note and kept playing that same tune all day. From the downpour that erupted as soon as I walked out of work to lunch, I mean I literally opened the door and the skies did the same. Then to the a**h*** who thought it would be funny to pull on every one's windshield wipers in the parking garage at work. It wasn't. Sure it might be funny to come out and see a row of cars with their windshield wipers saluting you. What is not funny is when someone pulls on your back windshield wiper causing it to send the blade flying off in the middle of a rainstorm. Really not a big deal but with the day I was having I failed to see the humor and went straight to anger. Nor did I see the humor when I went to the store and they were all out of the wiper size I needed. They did have some at their warehouse store, but if you think for a second I was going there during rush hour traffic after the day I had, then you are out of your mind. On the off chance that I might find the blade still intact 4 hours later I retraced my steps and did find the one bright spot in my day, the blade laying in the middle of a driveway. If only it worked as well as it did before the day began. Oh well, it is just one of those days!

Next Stop: CornerView Junction

Transportation is the theme for this weeks Corner View posts (to find a list of participants click here). Since I was young I have had a love affair with automobiles. Don't believe me? Just check out my posts on this very blog under the autos label. So here are a few pictures of my beloved JP Sally. Yes, I am one of those people who name their cars (I told you I have a strange fascination with automobiles). I realize there are many other forms of transportation and to prove that point I am sharing a few pictures along those lines that I took a little ways outside of my corner, in one of my favorite places, Chicago. Enjoy.

JP Sally enjoying a bath in Southern Utah.

At the bottom of Big Cottonwood Canyon, just minutes from my house.

Nearing the top of the canyon.

At the bottom of the other side of the canyon in the Heber Valley.

CTA bus stop in Chicago, IL.

Chicago's famous "L" train.

Boat docked at Navy Pier.

R.G. reminds you to all travel safe and check out the other CornerView posts!

Sally's Crush

Look out world...JP Sally has a crush.

The New JPSally!

Me and JPSally go back. When the Grand Cherokee was first introduced in the early 90's I wanted one. Sadly over the years I came to realize that the GC was very much out of my price range and settled for a hand me down Plymouth Grand Voyager which shuttled many friends to and from school until dying one night on my way home from work. I coasted all the way down 9400 South from Highland to Poppy due to a lack of transmission, it was a good thing it was 2am or that would have not been possible. After big Red, as she was known, came the Cirrus. Who as nice as she was suffered from a fuel injection problem that lead to her not going when you pushed the gas and then abruptly going a few seconds later. You never had to wonder if the seat belts worked in the Cirrus as you were reminded every time the car had its delayed take off. Russ put and end to this by introducing her to a Toyota truck. Then it was Lizzy the Sebring, she might have been an old person car but she was welcoming and always smelled of leather, which to this day I still miss. But now the time had come where I could afford (barely) the GC I had always wanted. JP wasn't the first model I took home, that honor belongs to the Overland model that the dealership let me try for a weekend, but she was the one that stayed, after the dealership confirmed what I already knew there was no way I could keep the Overland. That is where JP comes in; she was the right color, had the right engine, and the right colored interior (cream colored interiors don't do it for me). So our adventure began and it has been a good run and I felt even better about JP when the 2005 GC's came out and I wasn't in love with how they looked. JP has the classic Jeep look that I think still looks fresh today. Sure the sky high gas prices of last summer might have tempted me to go looking for greener pastures but we stuck it out. That is until now. You see I was browsing around online today and found this...

...I know you can't see much but I just feel and instant connection with the 2010 GC. I am not saying that JP is on the way out, because she is not going anywhere anytime soon I hope. But I may have to find an additional source of income to bring her a sibling! We'll see if the feeling remains once all the camouflage is off.

Snow+Driving=Bad

I hate driving in the snow. It is not that my car does poorly, JPSally rarely has any problems. No, my issue it with all the other "drivers" on the road. It seems that every time it snows each year, regardless of if its the first or last snowfall of the season, people just forget how to drive completely. You get the idiot driver who goes way to fast, guess what buddy that snow from before that melted earlier today is now ice and when you hit your brakes going 25 your not stopping right away. Also when turning you might want to consider slowing down. Yes I mean you crazy lady in the Plymouth Breeze who turned off of Ft. Union and did a 180 before coming to a stop just a few feet from the side of my car while I was waiting to turn left. Oh and the three cars that did the same thing right after you are just as bad, clearly they don't learn from example. Then you get the people who drive so slow that a semi truck loaded with hay has to pass you on the right. I am all for driving for the type of conditions that the road justifies but if you are going so slow that people are passing you on both sides its time to get off the freeway. When the speeding drivers come across the slow drivers this always results in pile ups on the freeway, which I saw three of tonight. You can tell you are one of these drivers if you find yourself facing North in the Southbound lanes, yes that means you 5 divers whose cars where smashed and facing the wrong direction. Well that's all for now, now I have to go and unwind after a stressful drive that resulted in every muscle in my back tensing up. I hate driving in the snow...with other people on the roads anyway.

Sally. JP Sally.

JP Sally is getting ready for the new Bond movie. Are you?

If I have to explain this then you are not ready!

JP Sally Meets Fall. And a Bit of Winter.