Little America and Beyond

Our next adventure would begin on the road to Moses Lake, Washington. We'd been shut down for a couple of days in Liberty Lake, Idaho,  waiting to get a new load when this one finally came up. 

These giant drills needed a ride to Evanston, Wyoming, and we were the ones who were going to be hauling them. 

We had a pretty long drive ahead of us through an area which was becoming very familiar to us.  This would be the first chance we'd had in getting off the west coast for a few weeks and head to more central states.  

We passed through Pasco, Washington, not long after we began the trip. I enjoy Pasco because there is such a mixture of sights and sounds. Highways, water ways, and railways converge in the city. It is a bustling nerve center. I snapped a pic of one of their billboards which perfectly describes the area. 

We grabbed some ice cream for all of us and continued on towards Pendleton, where we'd have to make our way through Pendleton Pass. The scenery is spectacular!

Also known as Deadman Pass in Oregon, it is a challenging mountain road that winds its way to an elevation of 3,622 feet above sea level.  Despite its difficulty, the road offers breathtaking views of the surrounding Blue Mountains and a unique driving experience.  Not always one that Hubs wants to tackle, depending on the weight we are towing behind us  

The rest of the drive that day, on into the evening, was just as breathtaking. 

There's just nothing like driving under those big skies, filled with puffy white clouds. You almost feel like you could float right up to them. 

We ended up making an overnight parking reservation at a Pilot truck stop in Brigham, Utah. What we needed was to unwind and rest, but things were happening right outside that kept us peering out the window for awhile. A trucker to our right had parked and was moving barrier barrels in front of our truck. Not sure about his intentions, Hubs got out to remove the barrels again. I had no idea where that would end up, and felt a little intimidated when the other man came to stand in front of us and look into the window. There is a lot of political tension in the country right now, and I think we're all a little on edge out on these interstates. Those tensions can flare into problems if you don't handle them properly, as Hubs did that night. I was thankful to get back to episodes and sandwiches. 

That didn't last long before lights from a couple of police cars caught our attention. It seemed that maybe they were trying to make sure everyone in the reserved spots had proof of payment. Things aren't always so dramatic! Thank goodness! 😅. We finally finished supper and began nodding off for the night. 

As soon as the sun was deciding to make an appearance a few hours later, we were back on the highway, enjoying the landscape of Utah, near the Wyoming border in Weber Canyon. The Weber River runs along the side of the road, and a rock formation, known as Devil's Slide, is quite impressive. 

We drove into Alliance Drilling in Evanston  early on that Friday morning, only to turn around to go right back to Salt Lake City to load up a couple of crated business signs heading for Minot, North Dakota. 

We were met with a long, stretched out incline getting on the road back towards Wyoming, en route to North Dakota. Our Trusty, the truck, was getting a little overheated, so with little room on the shoulder of the highway we parked and sat long enough to cool off. We ended up taking our lunch break right there beside the flow of traffic. Several semis were doing the same thing. 🥵 

Trusty may have been cooling off, but we were beginning to sweat in the afternoon sun. Once we got moving again, we were not terribly far from Little America, a traveler's oasis. Literally. In a very remote area, suddenly this little community pops up and offers great hospitality.

With ice cream in hand, we jumped into the truck and kept on rolling. The hot summer days called for lots of ice cream!  😂 

We managed to get to Casper, WYO, for the night. We'd put a lot of miles behind us and were ready for sleep. It's funny, kind of, how quickly the nights fly by. Coffee is definitely a necessity some mornings! ☕️ 

The next day brought even more outstanding vistas. 
Here is a small collection of some of my favorite works of art across Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Iowa. Some come from talented artists, others by The Artist, Himself. 🙏🏻

Cotton candy skies!

White Butte Hills, SD

Geese In Flight by Gary Greff on the Enchanted Highway near Dickinson, ND

'Interstate' by William King in Council Bluffs, Iowa

1 of 4 parts of 'The Odessy' sculpture by Albert Paley in Council Bluffs, Iowa

One of many similar little chapels across ND

Sapp Bros truck stops have become one of our favorite stops in the Midwest. Iykyk 😂 

A very nice place to get some R&R in ND.