Snowblind

After spending a pleasant evening with old friends from Seattle -- now living in Boulder -- we awoke early, even by Emily's standards, and made good time heading north to Cheyenne. At our pit stop we were told that the I-80 going west was "closed." Well, it wasn't closed but it was brutal: we were pretty much snowblind the whole way, made more challenging by steep hills, winding curves, and very few snow plows. Our only reprieve was lunch at Penny's Diner in Rawlins where it was Free Pie Tuesday -- yum. As we emerged out of the high elevation area we finally got a glimpse of wild Wyoming, which was gorgeous.

Our descent took us near Salt Lake City, but we were pressed for time so weren't able to swing by one of the Mormon conversion drive-throughs.

The rest of the drive to Twin Falls was dark but fairly easy, but oh man, by that time -- after four days of 12-hour journeys -- our bums were sore. We decided to "splurge" and book a room at a hotel that has a pool. Following our dinner we swam in the pool and floated in the hot tub.

To know that we left New England on Saturday and tonight we'll rest in a state that borders dear-old Washington feels really good. We're so close. However, tomorrow we've still got many miles, a good ten hours of driving, two mountain passes, and one mighty river to cross.

But for now, we're already sleeping in our flannel and habitually singing Nirvana songs. The fresh sushi will have to wait until we smell the salty breeze wafting across Elliot Bay.

Kevin, Emily, and Sammy