Onwards with the trip

Today we hit the road again. We’re itching to move on and frankly I think Jessie needs her house back – having a guest dog is only fun in theory.

Because its Sunday the Mormons are all busy being crazy so all the great stuff we wanted to do, all the superb questions I’d been working on, are officially canceled. Bugger. We did smear through Salt Lake City and it seemed nice enough. There was less rubber padding on the walls than I expected and the wardens kept themselves discretely out of sight.

Heading south we noticed yet another Dinosaur quarry. According to the book, this one had 70 skeletons in it so we took the short 12 mile dirt road detour in to nowhere. The visitor’s center held two bored 16-year-old girls who keep busy by playing soccer all day. They were nice but seemed startled to have actual real visitors to show round. The spidy-sensors were tickling the base of our necks as we approached the shed housing the prize.

Why do they keep doing this to us? Why, I ask you?

There were no bones. Only the holes that bones used to be in. And the worst bit, a few plastic bones to show what it would have looked like back in 2002 before they took them all away.
Crazy with frustration and disappointment, rather than take the short dirt road back to civilization, Deanna spotted a short cut. You’ve seen the road before. It’s the one in all those movies where the two lost tourists meet a nice stranger and he puts them up for the night before hacking them to death and drinking their blood. 45 miles of open dirt track. Nothing to see except the occasional boy sat by the side of the “road” holding a rifle. I was terrified. Deanna seemed to think it was normal for redneck country. I guess that’s difference between someone from the Ohio and someone from Europe.

After an hour of pure terror we finally reach the relative safety of black-top and run the fast way to Moab. Previously, as we were bouncing along the dirt track, a monstrous lightening show was scorching the hills and drawing ever closer in the rear-view mirror. By the time we were on the highway, it was on top of us.

So we did the only thing two sensible adults can do in the situation, and set up our big metal tripods and expensive cameras by the side of the road. As the trucks thundered past, and the rain dented the car, the hills became a light show worthy of Prince. Between us we took just over 2000 pictures in 15 minutes. Not a single one showed lightening. This is a day of minor disappointments.

Arriving in Moab, we check in to a motel for the night and passed out. Tomorrow is the beginning of the “adventure phase”. And we are ready.