Day 40: Reno, NV to Ogden, UT

Somehow I think my numbering got off. I think this is really Day 39. Close enough! It feels more like Day 60 at this point. I'm eager to get home but there are still a lot of stops and maps to get through. It breaks up the tedium of the interstate anyway. Today was an excruciating example. I had done a thorough job of northern NV on the last trip so it left me pretty much driving from Reno to Salt Lake with nothing in between. Straight line, desert landscape -- pretty in a desolate sort of way. I found a park with grass in Battle Mountain for the dogs to run & sniff a bit. Otherwise, we were all pretty much prisoners.

After I finally got sick of the news babble about Sarah Palin, the Casey/Caley story, and Hurricane Ike, I switched over to music for the rest of the day. NPR did have some good stories though which helped with the boring drive -- including one about global "weirding". That's evidently a more accurate description of what we're in for rather than just "warming" (extremes of hot and cold, more hurricanes, tornados in cities where there haven't been so before, etc.).

We arrived in Utah around 5pm which only gave me enough time to grab the quick shots I needed in Salt Lake City and Ogden. Lost an hour's worth of shooting with a time change as well. Tomorrow, I'll finish up Utah and head on to Colorado. Running about a half day behind still and traffic didn't help. There was tons of road construction on I-80 which slowed things down to a crawl what seemed like every 10 miles. Then two big accidents near SLC -- one which closed I-80 just west of town, then another rubbernecker just north of town.

I stopped by Wells, NV to check on the status of this place which was damaged in a big earthquake back in February. Sure enough, it's still fenced off and has not been repaired:



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This sign in Ogden appears to be a newbie -- still, they get an A for effort. The sign is lit at night as well:
http://flickr.com/photos/19505510@N00/2111795423/



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I have never seen this kind of bird before. He was like a combination of crow and pheasant -- a very long tail and a confident big hop. I poked around a little on-line and I think he might be some kind of magpie. Does anyone know for sure?



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As if that bird didn't give the dogs enough to bark at, there was one of those dreaded art projects in Ogden. Fixie, who usually is very reserved, went ballistic over this faux horse:



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Even camouflaged, the troops went nuts over this one. So I guess it must be the shape without needing any details. Anything with four legs and a head/neck? Did the unusual-ness of this one's coloration make it more unnerving for them? I really can't say.



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And lastly, I noticed this little place, Jack's Shoe Repair in Ogden, had moved to a location. It left behind these nice little details that will probably be gone soon.