Today is final day of this trip – a bittersweet ending, as we are ready to go home, but also have experienced so many incredible things.
Twin Falls
After seeing off Cody and Morgan (their flight from SLC left long before ours), we packed up and completed our check-out list for the rental house. Before leaving Twin Falls, we stopped one more time at Full Steam Espresso in the downtown food hall, and picked up some cappuccinos for the road. We skipped food in favor of finding an early lunch. I’ll throw in one last picture of the rental house; they’d converted the garage into a very nice game room. Unfortunately, we didn’t really get a chance to use it, other than a few games of arcade basketball.
Nevada
Driving south on US-93, we crossed into Nevada, passing through some of the most remote and uninhabited stretches of land I’ve ever seen. Finally, we saw some signs of civilization in Wells, NV, where we joined I-80E, which cuts across the northern part of the state. The western route winds south towards Reno, eventually depositing all its navigators into the San Francisco Bay Area.
It was remote but scenic, and could definitely all be experienced sufficiently from the car. I would not want to be outside here in the summertime!
West Wendover
Soon we arrived in the twin towns of West Wendover, NV and Wendover, UT, which are divided by the state line (which also happens to mark legalized gambling). If you don’t care for casino food/atmosphere, there’s really only one food option in town, and that’s the Salt Flats Cafe on the Utah side. It’s a Mexican joint decorated with paraphernalia from the nearby Bonneville Salt Flats International Raceway, where speed demons attempt to set land-speed records out in the desert.
Apparently most people don’t care for the casinos, because that place was absolutely slammed. The food was very good; we split quesadilla and taco plates and left very full.
Historic Wendover Airfield Museum
Despite all the degenerate gambling across the state line, Wendover, UT does have one interesting stop, the Historic Wendover Airfield. This is where the Enola Gay was loaded in World War II, and was an important base during the war. Unfortunately the museum was closed, but we did get to go inside an old plane and see a little of the airfield, which is still in occasional use by the US Military.
Bonneville Salt Flats
As I hinted at earlier, we soon arrived at the Bonneville Salt Flats, a massive powdery-white desert that occasionally floods. The main area was closed to the public for some event (unless you paid a hefty admission fee), so we took pictures from the “free look area” and made our way back to the interstate. It was very interesting, and I imagine it would be very nice during sunrise/sunset, or when the seasonal flooding provides reflective aura.
Loki Coffee
About two hours later, we finally arrived in Salt Lake City, and immediately headed to Loki Coffee for a much-needed caffeine/stretch-your-legs break. They serve Idle Hands Roasting Company beans, and that combo proved to be tasty. We tried two pour overs: a sweet honey-processed Colombian; and a funkier, anaerobic-natural-processed Panamanian.
Antelope Island State Park
Left with substantial time to kill before our red-eye flight home, we were left with a decision of what to do. One option was to drive into the Park City area, which I’ve always wanted to see. Unsure of the traffic and potential delays, we instead drove northwest of downtown, around the east side of the Great Salt Lake, and across a causeway to Antelope Island State Park, a destination I’d learned about only the day before.
This was a great decision. The “island” provided stunning views of the Great Salt Lake, downtown Salt Lake City, the surrounding mountains, and much wildlife. There are significant herds of bison on the island, and it was a great surprise to see one final round of the giant American mammals before we headed back east.
As the afternoon sun started to descend, we decided to drive back closer to the airport to allow plenty of time before our flight. Plus, we wanted to make a couple more quick stops.
Dutch Bros
The first stop was Dutch Bros, for the second time in two days. We once again got Tuxedo Dutch Freezes, and they were delicious. We enjoyed them outside on a picnic bench, with a nice view of the fall colors on the slopes of the mountains.
Final Stops
Finally, we dropped in a nearby Cabela’s to throw away some trash, stretch our legs one final time, clean out the Jeep, and organize/consolidate our luggage. While witnessing a beautiful sunset, we made a quick stop to top off the tank with gas (thankfully we didn’t have to charge the battery too!). Next, we pulled into the SLC airport and handed off the Jeep and its keys.
SLC // Beecher's
Security at the airport was crowded, so we’re glad we arrived a few hours early. The extra hours gave us plenty of time to find our gate, and to eat at our restaurant of choice. You might recognize this one from our other trips…
Beecher’s Handmade Cheese is an incredible cheesemaker we discovered somewhat by accident at Seattle’s Pike Place Market. They have amazing sandwiches and macaroni and cheese, which we partook of. I’m very happy they’re opening airport cafés around the country; it will make future flying much more enjoyable for me.
We walked around a little more, chatted with some fellow Boone residents and App State fans who had made the trip out, and then settled down at our gate. We’d intended to get dessert, but ended up missing out because most of the food options had closed before we got around to making a decision.
Our flight departed right at midnight MST, and we landed in CLT just before 06:00 EST.
Video
Here’s a video from today’s adventures.
The Best Things we Saw Today
Isaac
The best thing I saw today was… “the view from Antelope Island back across the Great Salt Lake”.
The best thing I ate today was… “everything at Beecher’s Handmade Cheese“.
Jerry
The best thing I saw today was… “Antelope Island”.
The best thing I ate today was… “the macaroni and cheese”.
Best of the Trip
Before I wrap things up, here are our favorite moments from the trip. By the way, we filled these out separately – so no, we weren’t collaborating on our answers.
Isaac
Best breakfast: “Skyline Guest Ranch“
Best pastry: “everything from Wild Crumb Bakery in Bozeman, especially the scones”
Best coffee: “Slow by Slow in Boise”
Best lunch/dinner: “this might be the hardest to choose…I’d say probably Piccola Cucina Ox Pasture in Red Lodge”
Best dessert: “huckleberry pound cake from Nora’s in Jackson Hole”
Best hike: “Bechler River Trail and the Pelican Valley Trail”
Best scenic drive: “the Beartooth Highway”
Best wildlife sighting: “the moose by the Gros Ventre river”
Best sunrise: “Blacktail Plateau”
Best sunset: “watching the grizzlies at sunset outside of Yellowstone”
Best repeat thing: “Blacktail Plateau”
Best new thing: “the Bechler River region of Yellowstone”
Best place we stayed: “Skyline Guest Ranch, with honorable mentions going to the rental house in Twin Falls and the cabin at Yellowstone Lake Lodge”
Most surprising thing: “the amount of wildlife we saw – I couldn’t believe it!”
Most disappointing thing: “probably Idaho Falls, or the lack thereof”
Jerry
Best breakfast: “Skyline Guest Ranch or Persephone”
Best pastry: “Pimento cheese bacon scone from Treeline in Bozeman”
Best coffee: “Slow by Slow in Boise or Loki in Salt Lake City”
Best lunch/dinner: “Piccola Cucina Ox Pasture in Red Lodge, with honorable mention to Nora’s in Wilson, Montana Ale Works in Bozeman, and Yellowstone Lake Hotel…also the sandwich from Ernie’s Deli (because of the sandwich + the scenery)”
Best dessert: “a tie between the warm Basque cake from Yellowstone Lake Hotel and the cornbread ice cream from Sweet Peaks“
Best hike: “Bechler River Trail”
Best scenic drive: “the Beartooth Highway, or really almost everywhere around Yellowstone”
Best wildlife sighting: “the bull moose by the Gros Ventre river in Jackson Hole”
Best sunrise: “Blacktail Plateau on top of the hill we climbed”
Best sunset: “watching all the grizzlies at sunset”
Best repeat thing: “Blacktail Plateau in Yellowstone”
Best new thing: “the remote corner of Yellowstone we went to”
Best place we stayed: “Sapphire Motel in Bozeman – but Skyline Guest Ranch, Yellowstone Lake Lodge Cabins, and the rental house in Twin Falls are all close seconds”
Most surprising thing: “how much wildlife we saw”
Most disappointing thing: “when we went to Idaho Falls and there were no falls”
Conclusion
Mom picked us up at the airport Monday morning, and we stopped for breakfast at Chick-fil-A in Lincolnton. Then, after a brief stop in Granite Falls, we drove on up the mountain so I could spend the remainder of my Monday with Faith and the kids before heading back to work the next day.
We thoroughly enjoyed this trip, and hope you enjoyed following along. Currently, we have no plans for our next trip, but you never know…
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– Isaac & Jerry, plus some friends along the way
2 Responses
Antelope Island was very pretty!
I’m glad you included your “Best of the Trip” list!
Reading about this trip made me wish that I had tagged along! I’ve enjoyed reading about all of your adventures! Beautiful pictures and great descriptions!!
Enjoyed your trip. Will be looking for the next one. Always like the food descriptions and of course the pictures of food, wildlife!