Bend, Oregon felt very rural, the road out of the city and for hours on end was a two way road. There was nothing much to see for miles on end. The scenery though was breathtaking. I wish I could have made it to Portland the capital to have a better idea of the state. We drove for hours with no towns on sight, just the occasional gas stations and funny town names like Burns, Brothers, Vale. I love to drive so I didn’t mind it at all. I was glad I came up this far north, but it was time to head home to Houston as my girlfriend had a flight to catch in less than a week. I now understand why retired couples sell off their homes and get Recreational Vehicles (RVs) to tour and see this big country…But why wait for retirement when I can do it while I’m still young and energetic?
We finally made it to civilization near the Oregon/Idaho border where we joined I-84 headed South East into Boise the capital. Boise is the capital in the middle of nowhere and another addition to my goal of visiting all the 50 states. We went into downtown Boise and the only notable thing I can remember is a big stadium for the Boise State University. We soon hit Nampa and I would not have remembered the town were it not for my American former colleague whose brother lived there. Unfortunately it was too late to meet him. The cool thing about Idaho is that the speed limit on the freeways was 80mph, so were able to cruise fast through the state.
Hitting the Idaho/Utah state line we started seeing snow capped mountains and somewhere behind the mountains on the GPS was the Great Salt Lake that the city is named after. As you drive into SLC, the city is nestled below a looong ridge of mountains. There is a small city called Ogden which reminded me of the Somali Region in Eastern Ethiopia called Ogaden. It was quite scenic in the evening light. We were truly on our way home. Mission accomplished, relaxed and just cruising..
Downtown SLC felt kinda small and very easy to navigate. This was my second time in this city. The first time I passed through I was in an 18 wheeler so movement around the city was limited. This time round it wasn’t snowing.
GuriixUSjourney 