Journey Notes
080904 - I left Petaluma, CA today. I only felt like stopping for the bare essentials and pushed all the way to Salt Lake City on the first day. I think it took me about eleven hours.

081004 - I walked around downtown Salt Lake City, taking six dozen photographs, finding it quite difficult to not capture a Mormon Temple in the background. In the evening I jumped in the trusty Echo and drove up to Idaho Falls, ID.

081104 - Woke up a bit late in the morning and drove west on a two lane highway to Craters of The Moon. I set up camp and took drive around the massive lava field. I also explored one of the parks caves (video to come).

081204 - I left Craters of The Moon and drove east through Idaho Falls and over the two mountain ranges to the south end of the Teton Mountain Range. I road a gondola up to Jackson Hole's highest peaks, Rendezvous Mountain. I explored and photographed the many views for two and half hours before setting into a hotel in Jackson, WY and finding a gas station with wi-fi.

081304 - Road work. Yes that was a pain today. Summer is the only time for the National Parks Services to work on them and that work delayed my drive, oh and hour and half or so. I took the scenic and most direct route from Jackson, WY to my destination of Rapid City, SD. That route took me through the heart of The Grand Teton N.P. and Yellowstone N.P. up into Montana. I pitching it in Billings, MT tonight.

081404 - Leaving Billings, I re-entered Wyoming cut over the northeast corner of the state and into South Dakota. I shared the road with crazy number of bikers this day. Heading in the Black Hills, the small towns were quaint and packed with parked bikes. Rushmore was worth seeing, but I pressed on to Jewel Cave. I arrive in time (around 6:00 pm) to take the last scenic tour offered that lasted one hour and twenty minutes. This was huge cave, stretching one hundred and twenty-nine miles, at a depth of over three hundred feet. After the tour, in the twilight, I felt like driving further. I drove south on small highways into Nebraska.

081504 - I woke up in a town of which I had to check receipts and maps to figure out the name. I did not want to stop in Nebraska's grasslands, but nevertheless, I drove out in the morning, once again into Wyoming, resisting all itches to enter Colorado (despite having purchased a "Colorado" shirt at a thrift store in Jackson, WY) and made it as back into Salt Lake City, just after dark.

081604 - Salt Lake to Reno was my goal for the day and despite turn off my alarm and going back to sleep this morning, I made it into "The Biggest Little City in the World" before sunset.

Places Visited
Salt Lake City, UT
Park City, UT
Idaho Falls, ID
Craters of The Moon, N.M.
Jackson Hole, WY
Grand Teton N.P.
Yellowstone N.P.
Billings, MT
Mount Rushmore N.M.
Jewel Cave N.M.
Chadron, NE
Reno, NV