New Mexico Journey Day 2 On the Way to Salt Lake City

It's... that time of the week for an escape to..... New Mexico! In just one day we had left Vancouver and arrived in Oregon, where we stayed the night at Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area. Situated next to the freeway it was not the best of location, but despite the noise of traffic we managed to get some sleep. Morning came with the smell of bacon and coffee from neighboring campsites, our start of the day was hot chocolate, instant noodles, chocolate chip cookies, pretzels, peanuts and dried apricots. It was not the typical camping breakfast I normally make but with no fresh groceries at hand that would have to do. It gave us lots of carbs and energy to start the day though, after a hot shower and a quick pack up of our belongings we headed out of the campground and were on the road again.

The sky was clear like the day before, the plan was to make it to Salt Lake City, it was 10:20 AM and 6 hours later than the start of the previous day, how would we do? Regardless we decided to try our hardest, it was not long before the camera began to capture items of interest along the way, a car activity we indulged in to keep us awake. Pictured below a strange looking dome caught my eye, it was part of a manufacturing plant where cement may have been produced but there was no sign to confirm this.

A train on the tracks, the name Union Pacific proudly displayed on its side, I like the choice of sharp looking font.

A few cars away, a gloriously painted American flag soaring in the breeze, this was one of the few instances where rail cars were not covered by graffiti.

The highway continued on, the barren slopes were gradually replaced by golden fields, straight horizontal lines carved into the plains indicated crops were harvested.

Further down, evidence of the yield, hay bails ready to be picked up and stored away or sold to another farm.

Some parts of the pasture, however, were still green and vibrant with growth. 

A tractor parked near the edge of the road, no persons nor activity was to be seen, it was Sunday on a long weekend in September after all.

"Horses!" I exclaimed with thrill, this would be one of only 2 decent shots of the animals. The ones that followed for the rest of the trip were either blurred, blocked by passing cars or standing bushes, or the camera was tucked away in its case. I honestly did not think I had any pictures of horses to share, it was a delightful discovery, especially of them grazing in the morning light with a herd of cows.

The little car motored on, the scenery was quick to return to the blue skies and arid hills on the horizon. 

I quite like how the soft morning sun lit up the ridges of the low lying mountains, I just think it brought the hills to life. 

Some circular shaped sheds along the route, their function remained unknown though its rusty and rugged appearance reminded me of African or Tibetan huts. If I saw this picture I would say it was from another part of the world, and not have the faintest clue it was American. 

One of the things we were on the constant lookout for were road signs, this helped gauge the fuel requirement and washroom stops needed on the way. Ogden, Utah was where we planned to stop to ask about campgrounds near Salt Lake City, the map indicated there was a visitor centre there. It seemed to be a big enough city we figured our chances looked good, the sign said 67 miles to go, Ogden here we come!

The time was about 5 PM, the afternoon sun began its declining set to the West, the blonde fields shone in its golden rays. I was impressed by the colors on this journey so far, I had no idea it would be so different than what we were accustomed to at home and surprised the views would be this grand.

To the right, the odd building could be seen, there would be many more miles where there was nothing but open wasteland.

"No Services" as stated at the bottom of this road sign, one of many such indications were to come. We knew there would be some parts of the map, in fact for long stretches of the highway, bare facilities such as gas and washrooms were non-existent. Thank goodness the car filled up in Ontario, Idaho, good for the day and hopefully enough to get us to Salt Lake City.

Thoughts of where we would spend the night circled our minds when we saw this abandoned home by the side of the road.

The interstate led us on, we decided to keep our options open and figured camping on an RV site or a farm would not be so bad.

It felt silly to worry, we were on vacation! Our attention returned to the landscape before us, corn fields against the backdrop of mountains, could you imagine working on a farm with a view like this every day? 

A truck parked on the edge of the ranch, in the distance a car was zooming down the street creating a line of dust cloud.

Carefully cultivated plots, from afar everything looked so neat and tidy, how would one know which area was best suited for what purpose? 

Lots of farm houses here, some grown trees were seen scattered across the pastureland, we were nearing Ogden visitor centre and was looking forward to some good local recommendations.

One last shot before setting the camera aside, a graffiti covered building on the outskirts of town, an unexpected but colorful Ogden welcome, a far cry from the earth tone palette we had seen. 

It was 6:50 PM when we arrived at the visitor centre, only to find their hours were from 9 AM to 5:50 PM. We left the campsite too late in the day and lost an hour due to the change in time zones, apparently Utah operates in mountain time which meant an hour ahead. There were some brochures left outside the centre, but browsing through them found no tips on budget accommodations so we headed for Salt Lake City.

Entering the city, the car's navigation system guided us to Camp VIP, which turned out to be a KOA Campground on North Temple Road. What a relief to find a new home on our second night on the road! The tent was set up with a torchlight to the sound of clapping insects, I still have no idea what they were but it was soothing. The next task at hand was fresh groceries so we set out to find the Supersavers as suggested by campground staff. We couldn't find our way in the dark and with ongoing construction we settled for the nearby !Viva! Supermercado, as the name implied it catered to the Latino community. Greeted by mariachi tunes from the doorway speakers, we were instantly transported into a brightly decorated store. Sorry there was no pictures but envision pinatas hanging from the ceiling and bin after bin of so many kinds of fresh and dried peppers I lost count! I must have had a ridiculous look of glee on my face because one of the workers came and said hello with a big smile.

Dinner was barbecued pollo asado, Mexican buns and hot tomato stew with peppers and onions. Dishes were done with hot water in an outdoor sink and by 10 PM we were in bed. Sleep was better than the first night resting to the sounds of crickets, we were very much looking forward to a new day for more adventure on the road. The New Mexico journey will continue next week!

New Mexico Road Trip Arriving in Oregon Day 1 Part 2 of 2

Hello Tuesday! Welcome to a brand new series of midweek escape where we head off to... New Mexico! We decided to explore a new territory last September and New Mexico was given the undisputed vote. Last week we kicked off the series with the first morning of our road trip, after getting up at the ungodly hour of 4:20 AM, many hours of driving followed. As the highway rode on, the barren mountains gradually turned to ochre hills, some grassy plains began to appear when we neared Oregon. We had ridden through the state of Washington in just half a day. But more miles were still ahead, below the pale blue sky and its complementary sandy turf that were continuous companions along the way.

Sometimes the odd structure would appear, the simple shape a futuristic and solid appearance, was this a storage shed?

Out of the blue large green circles came to sight, they were kept apart by a patch of lifeless sod. It seemed very strange to trim the crop in such a manner, I don't think I've seen anything like this before.

A golden shade of straw became visible across the blue horizon, faint outlines in the distant indicated more wind turbines. The landscapes looked so different than the ones back home, we were growing accustomed to the new colors and were enjoying this fresh outlook. 

A row of power poles were next in line to greet us, I couldn't remember if there were lots on Interstate 84, but they would pop up when we neared a city or town. These ones had 3 sets of arms attached to the pillar, it instantly reminded me of an insect, particularly the kind that resembled a stick. 

Each limb held onto a power line, fine looking wires transported energy to homes in that region, exactly how far it went and how many residences it powered I do not know. Was the electricity generated from the wind turbines we saw earlier on? 

"Lambs in the field!" I exclaimed loudly as the car whizzed by a farm, other livestock we came across so far were cows and horses, were the animals for meat, milk or yarn?

We followed a very shiny truck, one of the cleanest I ever saw, judging by its roaring engine I think it was full and on its way to deliver the diary goods. 

A lot of pastures still yielded the year's crop but this one was harvested and tilled, my olfactory organs sensed it was fertilized and ready for the next growing season.

Another granary by the route, we discovered several earlier on. Below an old-fashioned construction made of wood, a rare but welcome sight on this trip, how many of them still existed?

Yellow wildflowers grew in abundance, its delightful tint a contrast to the faint hue of lavender in the distance, what kind of produce was cultivated there?

The road drove on, the edges changed from a profuse green to a tawny sod. The car followed another vehicle with 2 bikes, we were not the only ones that were planning to explore the outdoors, I could not wait until we arrived at our desired location.

Brown hills ahead, it amazed me how the terrain could look so alike yet with very different features. 

As the camera changed its angle the scenery evolved dramatically, lower lying slopes in all kinds of hazel, it did not matter where I looked, all the various sights were so enchanting.

We headed into the blue, the afternoon was soon coming to an end... 

... a decision had to be made as to which campground we would spend the night, our options were either Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area or Farewell Bend State Park.

One last shot of the camel colored lawn before putting the camera away, a suggestion was made to choose the further one but our tired and hungry souls cried out for the closer destination.

So Emigrant Springs it was, we arrived at around 7 PM, some campsites were occupied, others reserved but we managed to find a decent spot amongst the trees pictured below. As the evening sun set the tent was quickly set up, dinner was instant noodles with snacks of dried apricots, peanuts and pretzels. Not the best of meals as we did not stop for groceries that day, David pointed out an Albertsons, the only food store we saw but I was too busy looking up directions to hear him.

Dishes were done by a torchlight in the dark and as the campground quietened down at about 10 AM we snuggled wearily into the sleeping bags. We were glad to have made it this far in just 13 hours of driving. Sleep was slow to come with anxious thoughts of tomorrow's travel plans. The temperature was also cold at 4 degrees celsius and situated next to the freeway, the traffic was sure noisy. Despite constant tossing and turning I managed to get some rest, there would be lots of road to cover the coming day, what new discoveries will we make? Our New Mexico adventure will be continued next week!

New Mexico Road Trip Day 1 Part 1

Hello and welcome to a brand new series of midweek escape!! Last week there was the final post on our China travels, preparing the weekly episodes was a great joy but after 2 years of blogging about China it certainly is nice to change the subject!

What is this new destination?... It all started when David asked me to come up with a new territory to explore and I proudly said New Mexico. "You couldn't pick somewhere closer?!" was his response, he thought I was crazy to pick a location that far South. Well, why would you visit the places nearby, we saw North of Vancouver and drove as far as Quesnel, camping down the coast of Oregon sure was beautiful. It was nice to be surrounded by such wonderful regions but I grew curious as to what we would see some distance away, somewhere reachable by car so New Mexico it was after much deliberation.

There was little time for research and only a small amount of information was gathered. We also decided to stop at local visitor centres as we got closer to each destination, their friendly staff gave us good suggestions in the past. With last minute preparations and only 3 hours of sleep the night before, we loaded the little car up and headed for the U.S. border at 6 AM. Waiting time was only half an hour, it was a surprisingly short wait even though it was September long weekend. Yes we decided to go to New Mexico in the Fall of 2011, we were beaming with excitement and looking forward to the unknown.

Below the view outside the window after a couple hours of driving, barren mountains loomed in the distant.

More umber hills continued along the highway, this went on for quite some time. Our first destination was several hours away, we planned to stay at a campground in Oregon but could not decide between 2 choices. That day the plan was to keep driving until we could drive no more.

The highway kept on, hills after mountains the scenery began to look the same. We knew the outlook would not be too interesting for much of the distance so lots of music was brought along to entertain. It was not long before the songs began to repeat, a reminder to self that plenty more tunes were required next time. Upbeat tracks like the ones by Chemical Brothers from the movie Hanna kept us from falling asleep but we were on the lookout for anything that was interesting.

I could not remember if there were lots of cars but there were sure many trucks. Most of them had covered cargo but we found one whose load was visible, a closer look revealed the contents was corn, no doubt freshly harvested that morning.

The landscape changed from hills to grass covered fields, a tint of yellow was noticed on the horizon, could there be wildflowers growing in the open land? On the right a white colored peak, it was hard to believe there would be snow on such a warm day.

Next to the road a neat pile of boxes, there were numerous of all different tints of wood. They were either empty and lined up to be filled, or they were ready to be shipped, a few attempts were made to name the mystery goods. 

Shades of brown turned to hues of green, such brilliant emeralds, a far cry from all that hazel, this appeared to be irrigated land. 

A familiar sight on all our road trips, a patch of robust looking crops, the closer one was definitely corn but what about those in the distance? 

Just as quickly as the farmlands appeared they soon faded away, the path returned to ochre stained slopes. I quite like this sort of desert like landscapes, it was very different from what I was used to at home. The camera began to snap away...

... this one pictured below had a nice angle, the result was decent but many others fell into the category of out takes. It was not easy taking photos from a moving car, tasteful compositions were a challenge, there were many visual distractions but I learned to remain focused on the subject matter at hand. It gave me something to do which kept me alert, this meant David who was the designated driver was kept attentive too.

We were not the only travelers on the road, everyone was going somewhere like this couple on the motorbike, I've always thought it would be cool to take a trip on a motorbike. Looking at the small compartments they packed much lighter than us, I don't know how I would do with so little, hence the idea that came briefly went away swiftly.

Wind turbines atop the faraway plain, we noticed others along the way, there must be quite a few sections of land that must be very windy. This is a new discovery to us, I wonder how much wind energy would be required to power a home? 

Our little car motored on, a tall grey structure was the only artificial form we came across...

... after that there were miles and miles of straw colored grass. I think the structure must be a granary but...

... as to what kind of grain specifically I couldn't tell. The neutral tone and simple formation of the cultivated land made pleasant visual arrangements. It was very inspiring, I think the picture below could be an abstract painting.

There were even small dark spots on the outlook that added some interest.

I began to notice the windswept grass, a soft patch of surface between ruffled textures, lots more were observed but the one below was my favorite. Mother Nature had created some enjoyable patterns that sunny day, there was not a single cloud in the clear blue sky, it was a good start to our journey.

We went around the corner of a grass covered bend, there would be more curves to come as the road carried on, what will we find next? Stay tuned next week as the midweek escapade continues!