Salt Lake City to Moab, OR Our WInter Vacation

Art woke up this morning at about 7:30 and immediately turned the TV on for an up to date weather forecast. There was snow to the north of and rain and snow likely later in the day and Thursday. Southern Utah seemed quite a bit better. We thought the risk of snow on our southbound route to probably Moab was light so we decided to leave today.

Art climbed out of bed first, Gillian managed to make it 15 minutes later, and eventually everything got done. Because of the cold, the water hose refused to coil nicely so that it would fit properly in it's space, so it ended  up tossed in a tangle into the back of the Jeep. The 50 Amp electrical cord wasn't much easier to coil but it is attached to the motorhome at one end so it had to be dealt with. Art finally got everything back into the compartment and eventually we were ready to go.

We left the park at 9:20, Gillian stopping off at the laundry by the office to look for a sock that Art had left behind yesterday. (She found it.) Just across the highway we stopped at a Flying J for fuel. We still had half a tank but this was the cheapest diesel we have seen: $4.099 per gallon. We also get a three cent per gallon discount by using our "Flying J Loyalty Card". We saved a whopping $1.26!

At 9:45 we were on the I-215 the greater Salt Lake bypass to the I-15 South. The motorhomes thermometer was reading 3C, we were driving in light rain, though the surrounding hills had snow all the way down.

According to the log, at 11:20 we were down to 2C and the rain had turned to sleet. We were at an elevation of about 1600 meters. At noon we pulled off into a rest area to make our decision as the sleet was now getting thinker. Calling 511 on the cell phone for road and weather conditions, we heard that highway 50 ( we had about 30 miles to the 70 using the 50) was wet with snow flurries mixed with rain. Further south, the 70 had 2 areas with snow, but we could miss that by using the 50.

So off we went through Scipio and watched the temperature drop to 1C as the elevation rose to 6250 feet at the summit, (1900 meters according to the GPS) and the show was getting a little heaver, it was sticking to the trees and grass alongside the road.

As we descended from the summit the snow changed to rain and we joined the I-70 eastbound at MM 56 without incident. Even the rain was down to a drizzle.





At MM 83 we reached a pass summit signed as having an elevation of 7886 feet. Here we were in light sleet, and a few minutes later at 1:15 stopped at a rest area for lunch. Still cold, but the sun came out! The hot soup and sandwich were very welcome. The dogs too appreciated their stroll in spite of the temperature. Then a heavy snow squall hit.






We had several hours to go but the skies ahead were clear, the snow was coming from the rear. Back on the road at 1:55, we left the snow behind.

Unfortunately we eventually left the sun behind too as the cloud and rain returned. Temperatures however had increased nicely, it even touched on 12C at one point.






We were parked in our assigned space at Portal RV Park in Moab at 4:30 and while Gillian took the dog out for some exercise, (there is a fenced off leash dog park here as well as a pond so they were quite happy!) Art got the rig level, slides out, power and cable TV connected. At 5:00 he checked local TV weather and it looks like we have escaped the snow at least for now. Then he had a short nap while waiting for 6 O'clock to arrive to watch the 5 O'clock news from home.  Oh yes, he also turned on the furnace. We'll need propane before we head into Mexico.

But for tomorrow, we'll just head down to Bluff in the south east corner of the state.