Second Jedediah Smith Trail 1824 — 1826

Day 21: September 11th, 2010 Ogden — Wendover

Map Ogden to Wendover

Today, I totally slept in. It is already half past eight when I wake up! Well, yesterday it was already two in the morning when I went to bed! I get myself ready and put my stuff into the car. When I return to my room to use the bathroom and wash my hands, the cleaning lady is already there! These motels are really annoying where they don’t check who has already checked out and who has not!

But she gets out rather quickly. Then I check out and drive over to IHOP. There, the big crowds are already gone and so I receive my table without any waiting. Then I mount again my camera in the truck and drive over to the next gas station.

I–15/84, Ogden, UT

I–15/84, UT

Around a quarter to noon I am eventually able to roll! Now I will definitely skip the backroads along Bear River and drive directly to the exit of Highway 83 on the Interstate.

Bird Refuge Rd, Bear River, UT

Bird Refuge Rd, UT

Bird Refuge Rd, Bear River, UT

Heron, Bird Refuge Rd, Bear River, UT

Bird Refuge Rd, Bear River, UT

Bird Refuge Rd, UT

But at least I want to visit the Bear River Bird Refuge at Exit 363. This gives me the chance to record at least the winter camp area of 1825 by panning over the plain.

Highway 13/Promontory Rd, Corinne, UT

Then I drive via N 2600 W to Highway 83 and through Corinne in Utah.

Highway 83, UT

Highway 83, Lampo Junction, UT

7200 N Rd/NE Promontory Rd, UT

Golden Spike Dr, UT

At Lampo Junction I leave the highway and continue on 7200N to the Golden Spike. But I will not visit this place, because I plan to do so at the end of my trip this year.

7480 W Rd, UT

7480 W Rd, Great Salt Lake, UT

Cedar Springs Rd, UT

Cedar Springs Rd, Salt Wells, UT

Cedar Springs Rd, UT

Driving on backroads, I follow the northern end of the Great Salt Lake.

Salt Wells Rd, UT

Salt Wells Rd, Great Salt Lake, UT

Salt Wells Rd, UT

Salt Wells Rd, Great Salt Lake, UT

Salt Wells Rd, UT

Old Railroad Grade Rd, UT

Finally I drive for a short distance on the old railroad. There, they have already removed the rails because the train runs now directly over the Great Salt Lake, the so–called Lucin Cutoff.

Emigrant Trail Rd, Kelton, UT

Emigrant Trail Rd, UT

Emigrant Trail Rd, Great Salt Lake, UT

Emigrant Trail Rd, UT

Highway 30, UT

Then I continue on the Emigrant Trail. But after a short distance, a giant construction zone awaits me. Everything is torn up beside the road all the way to Highway 30. As wide as they are grading here it looks like they are building a real road, who knows…

However, this will not end up in my beloved backroad adventure and I ask myself if I am really allowed to drive here. But there was no “Road Closure” sign to see. There was only a small “Detour” sign laying on the ground. But I passed one of the workers friendly greeting who was waiting for whatsoever. Probably he thought that I am a member of the construction crew.

Well, when I reach Highway 30 and look in my rear view mirror I see a big sign, that the road is closed for through traffic. Oops, it seems that I was not allowed to drive there, well…

Pilot Mountain Rd, UT

Pilot Mountain Rd, Lucin, UT

Pilot Mountain Rd, UT

Cattle, Pilot Mountain Rd, UT

Pilot Mountain Rd, UT

Pilot Mountain Rd, NV

TL Bar Ranch Rd, UT

On Highway 30 I continue to Grouse Creek Junction. There I turn onto Pilot Mountain Road. This is a real washboard road. There I must drive at least 40mph. Otherwise my old truck will be rattled apart. So I arrive very soon in Lucin. However, there are no houses to see (anymore). There is only a historical marker, where I don’t stop due to lack of time.

I continue driving and the washboard road gets worse and worse. As long as I can drive straight I can stay on the gas. But when I must drive around a corner, I must slow down and then things are really getting horrible. The first victim of this abuse is my DC/AC–Converter, which stops working again and again. When I touch the contact, I almost burn my finger! Damned! I was able find the perfect solution but I am not able to use it because the bloody adapter is missing! And all this because I had not enough preparation time due to my car accident back home.

Well, it’s no use. For now, I must get off this road. There you really loose the desire for taking pictures and do video taping on this kind of road. Eventually, I reach the state line to Utah again and with it pavement!

TL Bar Ranch Rd, UT

Leppy Pass Rd, UT

The last stretch over Leppy Pass is paved. There I really have the chance to enjoy the view over the salt plain while driving to the Interstate.

It’s only one exit on the Interstate before I reach Wendover. The Motel 6 really looks rotten. But I receive a room on first floor. Only the answer “Casino” when asking for a nice dinner location led me fear the worst.

And indeed, there are absolutely no restaurants around here! So I hit the road while my laptop is copying again my video taping to the external hard drive. Just across the road at my motel is a Mexican Restaurant, which is half rotten. It seems like no restaurant can survive here. So I drive into town. First, I have no special thoughts when reading Nevada. I drive over to one of the casinos, which also has a restaurant written at the outside, the Coco Palms. Well, we will see how this works out.

The parking lot is almost full. But I am lucky and find a decent spot almost at the entrance. Then I walk into the casino. There, you are completely overwhelmed by the neon lights and the typical casino atmosphere. You here everywhere some jingles and bells. It takes me a while until I find the restaurant in this all–looking–the–same. This is systematical! If you loose your orientation and run countless through the casino, you might start to gamble at some point!

But I am able to withstand and go directly to the restaurant. First I am afraid that they might only have breakfast. But then I see on this neon menu that they have chicken. So they have dinner. Then I enter the restaurant. I receive a comfy booth, but my server is not the fastest. I order some turkey, because I am not confident that they are able to prepare a real steak. And I think I am correct here. The food tastes like this warmed up convenience food. But the size is again so huge that I am barely able to eat all of it.

Then I pay and try to find the exit. This forces me to meander through the whole casino until I find this small and well hidden “Exit” sign over the door. Because they are also in black and with mirrors like all the walls, the exit is extremely hard to see. There is a system to this madness. Also you have absolutely no sense for time. There is always action and hustle and bustle at this place. Lucky me that I am not a gambler…

Around half past eight I am back at my motel and check my video taping first. Then I do the copies, write my diary, do my bookkeeping and listen to my CDs while doing all this. Then I am eventually able to go to bed. Again, it is already past eleven in the evening…

The next day is in preparation…

Sights
Bear River Bird Refuge (free)
Jedediah Smith’s Winter Camp Location of 1825

General
Breakfast: IHOP, Ogden
Dinner: Coco Palms, Wendover
Motel: Motel 6, Wendover
Distance: 226 miles

Go back to day 20

Back to daily summary

Proceed to third Jedediah Smith Trail