The Great Ganesha

Fatigue
We started late. The fatigue of driving 8-10 hours a day is getting to me now, I think. But we’re getting used to it. Wake up in the morning, get in the car, make note of the miles, the time and the place we’re in. And then drive. Followed by some more driving. Ending it with a nice, long drive. My original inspiration for this road trip was Jack Kerouac’s On The Road which I read when I was something like 15 or 16. Those years back home in Bombay, when you look at the U.S. and it all looks nice and shiny and red like an icy, new can of Coke. But if I recall correctly, they took something like a few months to drive across. That’s what the key is: Having enough time to relax and enjoy everything. Nevertheless, we still have had a good time and seen a lot.

The Chariot of Fire
The day usually starts with me checking the coolant in the Chariot of Fire, as I affectionately refer to the car since the air conditioner stopped working.

Mammoth Springs
Then we drove through Mammoth Springs in Yellowstone. It was great. Just breathing that mountain air was great. The springs were a little dry for some reason, but the rock formations resulting from the springs were fantastic, as you can see.

We got to see the stalactites that form with the falling water. No water, but still pretty awe-inspiring.

Even the trees were dry. This one caught my eye.

Mini Geyser
So Yellowstone is famous for its geysers. Old Faithful, in particular. We couldn’t see Old Faithful, because it was quite a distance out of our way but we got to see this little guy in Mammoth Springs. He’s only six inches long, but it’s a geyser!

Ok, ok, we also saw a real geyser: The Steamboat Geyser. Which just happens to be the world’s tallest active geyser. Quite a constrast from the little guy above, no?

Caribou
We even spotted caribou. On two separate occasions, no less. This first time it was a lone male, and he was just chilling in the shade (literally). There were tourists going crazy all around him crowding around and taking pictures. In fact, the guy caused a traffic jam on the Yellowstone roads. But he was totally at peace with his surroundings. Just hangin’, you know.

Now, on the second occasion, it was an entire herd. But these other caribou were younger, more rebellious. When I asked them very politely if they would pose for me, they turned around and showed me their kundis. Kids, these days, I tell you!

My Very Own, Private Idaho
After a pretty boring lunch in West Yellowstone, we once again gunned it at 85mph down the interstate in to Idaho, on our way to Utah. There was literally no one else on the freeway.

The clouds were beckoning, and since I was trying to get at least one pic from each state we pulled off at the Devil Creek Reservoir which is officially in the middle of nowhere and took a pic of the Chariot of Fire.

Utah
We drove into Utah, stopping at a rest area to get some respite from the sun beating merceilessly down on us. They had a little TV viewing area showing a Utah promotion video which was on a loop. The video sucked, but because it was a completley sun-less room, I saw the damn thing around 3 or 4 times. If you have any questions about Utah tourism, ask me. It feels like I know Robert Redford personally now.

In all seriousness though, Utah is a pretty damn beautiful state. Even the rest areas have nice views. Check it out.

Salt Lake
We decided to drive past Salt Lake City because of time constraints, and went right on to the Salt Lake. We did stop at the Lake and took a few touristy shots. Here’s one.

Filthy Greasy Spoon (Blech!)
After the Salt Lake stop however, we stopped off at a Travel Center at a filthy, greasy spoon chain called Country Pride. Man, it was by far one of the most disgusting places I have ever been to. It was essentially, a truck stop, but even the truckers didn’t stop in there. The food was by no means redeeming as is sometimes the case with these places. There were crumbs of food all over the floor, there was more oil and grease in the food than there is in Texas. Man, it was disgusting! The fact that we had not stopped off at a nice place in Salt Lake City just added salt to our wounds.

We hightailed it out of there ASAP, and got back on the road to drive down 80 West, through the Bonneville Salt Flats (which is one big desert of salt), into the sun setting on the mountains. It was beautiful. It made up for the lousy diner experience (which, I have to admit, still makes me a little nauseous).

It’s right around exit 99 on I-80. Prospective travelers, consider yourselves warned.

Wonderful, Wonderful Wendover
We stopped off at the oasis of Wendover, UT which is like a beacon in the darkness. You can see the casinos here from something like 10-15 miles away. There’s no other sign of civilization for around 100 miles east. Well, no sign except for this sculpture by this guy [here's another, nicer pic]. And let me tell you, it’s like a bolt from the blue. Or, more appropriately, a bolt from the white, since the salt flats are just huge expanses of salt.

Today, we’re going to make it back to San Francisco. And it’s going to be a long, hot drive through Nevada. But it’s the last day of driving, the last day of the trip and the end of an era. But more on that last part later. See you’ll again in 24 hours…

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