Idaho into Utah-Bliss, Idaho isn't (Beware the wind!!)

After much discussion about the route to take- with the GPS telling us one thing and the phone navigation a different thing, we opted to head east on 84 into Salt Lake City and then take I-15 south toward our reserved space at the Zion River Resort. Traffic moved along well for the morning (once we paid an even higher price for gas than prices in Oregon!) and we crossed lots of land.

We were heading over mountains- with the new-ish engine in the truck handling the climbs well- and started seeing signs indicating frequent high winds. We were being buffeted from all sides- trucks whipping past us and wind beating on us. Speed limits in Idaho are 80 for cars and 70 for trucks- and they were being exceeded by all involved... except for us. Joe was keeping us at around 70, with the slow climbs up the steeper mountain passes. (I never realized how mountainous Idaho is- and it seems worse when you can feel your vehicle struggling to pull a travel trailer!).

 I was dinking around with my camera and phone, checking the navigation for mileage (since we turned off the GPS- she kept nagging us to go the way she wanted to go!) We were about 2 miles from Bliss, Idaho. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the awning unroll, the arms come down and things started flying off into traffic!

 "Joe! There went the awning!"

 In the time it took to slow the rig down and stop on the shoulder, we were about a football field away from where the awning barrel was laying in the middle of the highway. I took off running up the shoulder, hoping (against hope) that the barrel was undamaged (so we could have it reinstalled). With trucks hauling down the hill at 80 some miles an hour, swerving onto the shoulder to avoid the barrel, it was a bit hairy, but I managed to do one of those tennis ball removal moves- grab the barrel and whip across to the median. Luckily, without the awning (which I could see flapping in the high wind on the travel trailer) it was light enough to lift easily. (Joe said later that I freaked him out doing that... but I was watching for how long it took the trucks to get down the hill and waited until there were none in view before I did it.)

 The barrel was smashed at one end- so much for reinstallation hopes. One of the arms was up the highway (I had seen it fly off) and I started off to look for it, after I returned to the shoulder with the cylinder, until Joe and Koen caught up with me to ask what I was doing. They took over looking for the arm, but it had vanished with the wind.

 Our next step was to remove the awning from the trailer. The cylinder was beyond repair, but we did take the torsion springs out of it. The one arm and the interior of the other arm, we removed and kept. The saddest part of the whole thing? We JUST bought and installed this brand new awning- we hadn't even extended it full length or used it even once. SIGH.

 So, on we went. That was a good hour of our time, trying to reclaim as much of the awning disaster as we could. Not too happy to be heading for the desert and temps in the 100 degrees with no shade, but at least no one was hurt and the trailer was undamaged. Finally got across Idaho and into Utah.

We followed 84 and turned toward Ogden and Salt Lake City. Now, headed south, sun beating on my arm (no air conditioning as the truck was heating plenty in the 96-99 degrees on steep climbs), we had to figure out a place to stay the night. (I know- we have a travel trailer and if we had to do it, we could just stay in a Walmart parking lot... but I like to have a place with actual electricity and water, not to mention the ability to shower!)

 I called the KOA in Beaver, Utah, and they had a space. They also had a pool, which, with the temps as high as they were, was a decided advantage. They said that they usually closed the pool at 8:00, but if there were lots of people, they would probably stay open until 9:00. Our GPS, which finally agreed to take the route we were taking, said we would be getting in around 7:00. Figuring an hour for gas/restroom breaks, that would put us at 8:00- so "probably" wasn't great. One night stays, by the way, at a KOA, are non-refundable. If you can't make it, too bad! You still pay for the space. Next time- won't okay it until we know for sure we have plenty of time to get into the pool- and no "probably" the pool will be open.

 With the awning delay, we were now going to be hitting Salt Lake City at around 4:00. We stopped for gas, ate lunch and then headed into the insanity that is rush hour traffic in Salt Lake City (with road construction and accidents to slow things even more!) Again, we had to deal with people thinking that we could stop easily- filling in our cushion of space for the stop and go traffic. I know, people don't want to follow a trailer. I totally get that. What I don't get is the lack of understanding that a truck hauling a trailer can't stop much faster than an 18 wheeler. (Of course, this is Idaho and people seem to all have the same lack of driver training that we have experienced with that licensing area who drive in Oregon.)

 Finally, we made it through the crush of traffic. The long sit in traffic had cost us 3/4 of a tank of gas. Filling up before we got too far south seemed like a grand idea, so we did. (It was a good thing, too, since there are SOOO many steep climbs to get over on the way to Zion!) We (actually Joe) spoke with a different KOA (a bit less of a drive than Beaver) so we would be sure to have pool time. They had a space, but said we would have to cancel at the other KOA- apparently they don't talk to each other or work together! Nope- there would be no cancellation, even if we didn't make it out of the traffic on time. No time was too late; bummer for the possibility of stopping earlier and getting into a pool that actually didn't close until 9:00!

 The closer we got to Beaver, and the more climbs we hit, the less time we would have in the pool. Finally, at about 7:50, I called to see about the pool being open after 8:00 and it was no longer "probably". Whew! Making it to Beaver on our second day also meant that we would only have about 2 hours of driving to get to our first real stop at Zion River Resort, so we would be able to take our time in the morning- have coffee, make pancakes (chocolate chip!), shower and then head south.


Koen and Kira were fascinated by a turtle getting exercised at the dog walk part of the KOA.
Apparently, the owner usually has it turtle-sat, but had to bring it along at the last minute.