Hill AFB | Temporary Sanity ...

Today Diane drove a marathon from Kanab to Hill AFB near Ogden. It was about a 380 mile stint part of which was documented in my previous entry titled ‘Escape From Kanab‘. That was done on my iPad, on the fly, and the connection was tenuous so it failed to upload. I just discovered that and added it. So, this is my third entry for the day and I’m going to make it a short one.

After getting our coffee in Cedar City things mellowed out nicely. Diane was happy, I was happy, and it just got better when the speed limit went to 80 mph. Diane let out a little shriek of happiness that startled me, just before she pumped the cruise control up to match the sign.

At this point it’s important that you know Utah drivers are about the worst we’ve ever encountered. Anywhere. Considering all the traveling we’ve done over the years, I think we’re qualified to pass judgement. Okay, maybe not pass judgement. How about criticize and share opinions? That’s better. It’s probably not a good idea to pass judgement on anyone in Utah since there is a concentration of Mormons in the area and we’re not entirely sure what kind of punishment they would impose for that kind of infraction. So, it’s just opinions, based on personal observation during the many times we’ve been in Utah. In general, most of them are pretty good, but those who are bad, in my opinion, are terrible and dangerous. It’s evident the bad drivers have attitudes. Bad ones. Consequently, they take a lot of chances. At 80 mph what they do, in my opinion, is pretty much insane. In my opinion.

In spite of it all, we managed to make it safely to Hill AFB, our goal for the day. I called first thing this morning to make a reservation at their on base lodging. The room(s) we were given are absolutely incredible. It’s a two room suite which allowed Diane to watch Dancing With The Stars in the bedroom while I watched recaps of all the Pac-12 games on ESPN in the living room. It’s also got free wi-fi which we are taking full advantage of by connecting five devices. We couldn’t use them right away, however, because they all needed charging. While that was going on we walked over to Burger King (yes, it’s on base), then on to the base Exchange for a look see at what they might have that other Exchanges don’t. It’s evident, after close scrutiny, that all base Exchanges, for all bases, Navy and Air Force, use the shame shopping list to stock their shelves. And, the prices are pretty much the same at all of them.

The walk we took to visit Burger King and the Exchange covered about 2 miles by my estimation. It was a long ways. But, the air was clear and comfortable, and we needed the walk. Walking was also a deterrent for buying things we didn’t need which is always a danger when we drive. We’ll just drop by there tomorrow morning on our way to Nampa and pick up some things we need.

We finally escaped the sedating effect of Kanab at either 8 or 9 this morning. We’re not sure which is true because Waze took us back to Arizona, instead of North, when I programed her for Hill AFB in Ogden, Utah. So we circled around a bit, switching back and forth between Pacific and Mountain time. Very confusing and made me blink a lot.

Ultimately, however, things leveled out, I became more aware of my surroundings. I suspect the reason for that is because the landscape began to attain a tinge of green. The change was so subtle that it was almost like an illusion. By the time we made it to Hurricane, Utah there were actually trees and the telephone signal gained a bunch of bars, becoming a very solid 4G presence. All of our eletronical devices became happy clams. Once again we could communicate.

Sadly, about 20 miles before that happened, I called brother Jim seeking permission to transit the Utah/Idaho border at some point tomorrow. He wanted a specific time but I couldn’t comply, not knowing what tomorrow might bring. Then, as luck would have it, the signal was either lost or Jim hung up. Either way the all was terminated. He was at Burger King participating in his Tuesday Coffee Clash so I suspect he hung up. So, we are in jeopardy of violating some sort of idahoian law tomorrow the punishment for which we do not know. It could be bad.

When we escaped from Kanab we began a quest to find a Starbucks so we could obtain invigorating refreshment. It quickly became apparent that Utah doesn’t allow these popular stores inside their city limits, only on freeways, and in the wrong direction. Consequently, the only caffeine we’ve had today was from the pump pot at the hotel. Diane said it wasn’t bad, but 50% of us didn’t agree. Perhaps when reach the boundaries of a larger metropolis there will be solace in the form of a Venti White Chocolate Mocha No Whip (VWCMNW).

Shortly before we got to Hurricane, an old guy on a Harley made a dedicated attempt to demonstrate how the gene pool is maintained in a manner that only allows relatively intelligent folks to breed. We were on a two lane road and he chose to pass when some very large vehicles were coming our direction at a combined closing speed of 120 mph. Had Diane moved a couple of inches to the left there would have been some serious skid marks on the pavement as he didn’t leave his lane and barely missed the front bumper when he chose to position himself in our lane. Exciting.

Glory Hallelujah!! Cedar City, Utah has a Starbucks. We’re stopping and I’m done here.