Interstate Travel

Once you get to Torrey, lots and lots of this!

Today had an enormous dose of driving on various roads with "I" in front of their numeric designation. We cruised out of Boise on I-84, which loosely follows the path of the Snake River towards the Utah border, and passes through some very rugged, beautiful, desolate and virtually uninhabited country. Then it merges with I-15, which connects Idaho, central Utah, Las Vegas and Los Angeles in a more or less north-south configuration. Once again the 75mph speed limit was a godsend, and because of the lack of population, the drive was free from the usual repetitive sequence of Wal-Mart, fast food, Home Depot, and you know the rest. That only lasted until we drew near to Salt Lake City. I do have a few observations about the place. First, drivers there, on the whole, are completely type A to a degree I have not seen in any city thus far (maybe I should drive more at commute time.) Now I know that speed limits have little to no meaning in many places, but Salt Lake City takes the cake - - try 80 in a 65 zone, or 75 in a 55 zone. You'd think this would be a matter for the Highway Patrol to crack down on, but the opposite is quite the case. Policing in Oregon and Idaho was as close to nonexistent as possible (we saw only one cruiser per state;) in Utah we saw exactly two traffic stops in over 120 miles of urbanized driving. In fact, it was not until we got to the little towns near Torrey, in the middle of nowhere, where both local and state cops had set up your good old fashioned radar speed traps, right where the signs said you had to drop down to 35mph, just after cruising at ridiculously high speeds through the countryside. We witnessed no stops, but they seemed inevitable. On the other hand, Utah is the first place I have seen a posted speed limit of 80 on the Interstate (south of Salt Lake City,) and that's with just two lanes in each direction. Better yet, rural two-lanes carry a 65mph limit. Even so, you'll find plenty of drivers exceeding that. Vicious and unpleasant. The good news: at those speeds you're done with the Interstate in Utah in quite a bit less time. Too bad the state is so huge. That was a long Interstate roll.

If you're worried that the Stimulus money had no effect, you haven't seen the highway projects in Utah. Most of I-15 is being either repaved or expanded, over a range of more than 100 miles. It would appear that Utah got a massive share of the great government handout.

Diabolo's Sope  and Salad Wrap with Smoked Chicken

That is not to say that the day was not completely free of pleasures; we had two exceptional meals. The first was at Red Iguana in Salt Lake City, where we indulged in a plate of their Molé Negro. I had watched this being made on Guy Fieri's show (via YouTube.) This is a festival-style molé that includes Mexican chocolate, but their version is far more complex, with layers of flavors including roasted and rehydrated peppers, toasted nuts, numerous herbs and spices, and even more. Ours was loaded with shredded turkey and was lovely to eat - - new flavors suggested themselves continuously, and the level of spiciness was not quite mild, but built slowly to the end. I had to restrain myself from licking the plate. The joint is totally funky and the rice and beans could have come from just about any Mexican place, but the molé was indeed special (they make seven different varieties, from scratch, every single day.) The evening meal was in Torrey, at Cafe Diablo. The culinary school-trained chef has been at it for 16 years, and has a polished style that splashes multiple colors and tastes, based on Southwest cooking, on to every plate. He uses elevation as another intriguing element, and both deconstructs and reconstructs dishes into unique formats. Reading the menu only gives a sense of the ingredients; the real art is in the composition. Herbs are grown in a beautifully tended garden right outside the dining area (you walk through it to check in.) It was warm enough to eat outside, which was another bonus, and everyone connected to the place was caring and attentive. So, a nice way to finish the day.

Just west of Torrey, UT

Tomorrow we have four or five hours of poking around various rock formations, twisting rivers and unparalleled scenic viewpoints. I hope to come up with some blog-worthy photos to document the trip (this includes the John Burr Trail adventure mentioned early on by Andrea. Hopefully the Versa will remain upright and away from any ruts that might hang it up.) Film at eleven.