Sunrise from the RV park at the border of Nevada and Utah.

We hit the road a little after 9 a.m., though before we traveled a quarter mile it was an hour later—we crossed into Utah and mountain time—again. We left in Idaho, were back on Pacific time in Nevada, now back on mountain time. We didn’t reset our clocks in Nevada.

Hot Spot in Salina: true to its name.

There weren’t many towns along the way, and most were of the blink-and-you’ll-miss ’em variety. Salina, where the gas cost about 40/cents/gallon less at Love’s counted as one of the biggest towns we went through. Population ~2,500.

The Dream Catcher, Salina, Utah.

The Dream Catcher’s bright colors caught my eye when I got out to stretch my legs a little and give Wayne, driving the RV, a chance to catch up. With its front window papered over, The Dream Catcher looked closed for a while.

Tom’s note at The Dream Catcher amused me.

I didn’t knock on The Dream Catcher’s door.

The neon, humble “Best food in town” brag and name made Mom’s Cafe an irresistible photo op. Salina, Utah.

When I caught up with Wayne at Salina’s gas station, he said “The scent of the food made my mouth water when I passed Mom’s Cafe. Meatloaf and gravy . . . .” 

Funny thing. I got out of my car and walked past it. I didn’t smell a thing, and a former flame nicknamed me “the food spectrometer” for my overly keen nose. Wayne’s imagination, however, is far keener than my sense of smell.

Horse, cows, and dogs a few miles outside Torrey, Utah. Reminded me of driving New Zealand, though there herding was usually sheep and ATVs instead of horses.

We hit two delays on our daily road trip, both just outside our destination, just past Torrey Nevada. The first was giving right of way to some roadside herding.

Darned nice scenery for a place to get stuck for a while! Just outside Torrey Utah.

Road construction held us up the second time, just 2 1/2 miles outside Torrey Utah, this time for about 1/2 hour.

Who doesn’t love rainbows? This one greeted us last night where we’re camped, near Torrey Utah.

A slight sprinkle brought rainbows.

Brilliant chair placement for this temporary home.

Wayne found this free spot to camp by looking for an available place on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land.

Awesome setting for camping and RVing. That little slot begs for a photo op. BLM land between Torrey UT and Capitol Reef National Park.

Our best spot yet!

Me, Wayne, and our Holiday Rambler shadows at dusk near Torrey, UT.

We broke open the bottle of sparkling wine from Margaret, who bought our boat, m/v Serendipity, and appreciated all the time Wayne took to explain her maintenance. This campsite merited celebrating.

Parked. We call our Holiday Rambler “the beast.” My diminutive Prius tucked behind.

Parked. 

Both a welcome and a reminder of where we’re from. Every place has its own beauty; our job is to find it there and within ourselves.

About “anchoring. . .” 

When we sail, there are three ways we stop. One is at a dock, which we rarely do and like the least because of the lack of privacy as well as the cost. Second is a mooring ball. They afford a little more privacy but often are challenging to tie off to, they often “thump” our boat and are rarely free. Plus, we don’t always trust that mooring balls are secure; we once found out one we tied off to was completely disconnected from its base, and only seemed secure because it wrapped itself around a rock. We like anchoring the best. It’s the most private, we’re in charge of our own destiny, and it’s nearly always free. Disbursed BLM camping is a lot like anchoring, versus RV parks which are more like docking and park campgrounds, which are more like mooring balls (but safer).

We like this spot! We plan to spend a few days here. We haven’t “swallowed the anchor,” which is more like ending our travels. We’ve still many miles to go.