Day 30 - Salt Lake City

Wyoming countryside
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Today I left my motel in the middle of nowhere and drove south through Wyoming to Salt Lake City in Utah. Wyoming is one empty state! Almost as empty as Nevada. However, it has some amazing rock formations which I did not expect. The scenery was completely different again from the day before – large arid flatlands with huge red rock mountains. I spent quite a large portion of the day above 7,000 ft where it was quite windy but very empty! There were lots of signs warning of snow and snowmobiles but there was no evidence of either of these things at the moment! The small towns (more like villages) that I passed through were just like what you imagine the wild west would be like – large flat-fronted buildings and lots of dusty streets. In shops you have to go through little doors to the alcohol sections if you want to buy any liquor, it can’t be in the main body of the shop. It kind of seemed a little naughty to do that (not that I did, I have been strictly alcohol-free for a while now!), so I don’t know if it prevents underage people from drinking as it seems more surreptitious to drink which is definitely more appealing than if it was just on the shelves. I carried on driving for most of the day until I reached Salt Lake City. The city is arranged in a grid formation which usually is quite easy to work out but this city confused the life out of me! The streets take their point of reference from Temple Square which is where the main Mormon church is and spread out north, south, east and west from it. However, unlike most towns which have Avenues running one way and Streets running cross-ways Salt Lake City has streets with the same number running each way, just with the addition of North, South, East and West after the number. This means that you have to know which way North is to be able to position yourself, as there are 2 of each number of street, one running East-West and one running North-South. Confusing!! Eventually I managed to find my motel after driving around for about 20 minutes. Thankfully! Tomorrow I’m going to wander round this Mormon capital and see what it has to offer.

Wyoming
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Distance travelled today – 376 miles.

Distance travelled today - 376 miles

Bearwatch – 0. Think I’m out of bear territory now.