Life at a "Swell's" pace

Ogden, Utah 🠊Price, Utah

We got into Ogden, Utah, late at night and it was cold. We ended up staying in a truck stop for the night and boondocking it. We planned on spending the day in Price anyway, so it being dark in Ogden wasn't that bad. We left Ogden and drove straight to Price, but when we woke up and it was daylight we had a full view of the snowcapped mountains of Utah. This is the first time I've been back to Utah since I was born. I woke up and looked out and the tears just flowed. I was so happy, excited, and overwhelmed with emotions. Price, Utah, is my birthplace and just to be in the state gave me so much joy.

Our first view in the morning. I want to frame this picture, even though McDonald's is in the foreground, it still says so much in just one shot.

When we left Oregon the temperature was warmer, but being in Utah the temperature dipped a little and it got chilly on the bus. Hardy already wraps up in blankets when we are home, so it was no surprise that he was buried in blankets in the morning when we woke up in Utah.

Jeff checked the tires each time we stopped, and we must have hit a curb, or shoulder of the road along the way. With our tires being fairly new we were kind of bummed. Hopefully, it doesn't cause any issues later, but I think right now we are good.

The snowcapped mountain views are incredible here.

When we were in Heyburn, Idaho, we stopped at a truck stop to get some ice. It was dark outside and definitely a new area for all of us. Skylar stepped off of the last step of the bus to go inside to get the ice and BAM right into a road sign. I doctored it the best we could when it happened, but we looked at it again in Utah and it left his eye with a little bruising. We had a little chuckle about it once we knew it wasn't going to leave his face all black and blue, but at the time he teared up a little. If this is the only accident we have on this trip then we are doing pretty good. ☺

My sister was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, so seeing this sign meant a lot to me to be able to show her. Maybe another road trip to Wyoming will happen in the future.

We stopped at a shopping center to buy a few things we needed to refresh the bus with, and let Skylar park the bus to get some practice in. The mountains just blew us away. Living in Oregon we see our fair share of snowcapped mountains, but it just hits different when you see it in other states. (especially in Utah)

We came into Salt Lake City, Utah, a short time later. The view of the city with the mountains in the background almost seemed fake.

The capitol building was a beautiful view. We used the time we drove through Salt Lake City to eat some lunch and pick up a few things. We definitely needed to stop and clean the bus up and do some sweeping.

I love that Utah is known as the beehive state. I love even more than the state lets that be known on all of their major highway and interstate signs. Being born in Utah and loving bees, now it all makes sense. ☺

As we left the Salt Lake City area the snowy mountains turned into almost a desert-like setting. The transition from snow to dirt was fast. Snowcapped mountains to no snow mountains literally happened in a matter of one mountain.

The sun shining through the bus as I laid down was nice. It was such a beautiful day and to be in my birth state was an incredible feeling. I hope I can keep that momentum going, because I am having the best time. I asked Skylar how he was feeling and he said, "Great!" So we are all having a blast so far.

Sometimes rocks are absolutely amazing.

We made it to Solider Summit 7:00 p.m. The snow at the top of the summit was beautiful. We honestly picked the best time of year to take this road trip and lucky us, the weather cooperated the entire way so far.

We were going to stay the night and looked into spaces open at Scofield State Park. The park is open, but the water and bathrooms were still closed for the season. We would also be on our own out here, because no one else was camping at the time, and the park rangers weren't on site. We decided to keep driving and reach Price, Utah. Price is about 40 minutes (max) from where we were, so it just made sense to continue on.

We pulled over at the scenic byway sign and interpreter signs for the area, and everyone got off the bus, including Hardy, so we could stretch our legs and get some fresh air. The bus is a blast to ride in, but just like a car, breaks are needed from time to time.

Interesting to know about the Wasatch Mountain Range, railroads, and other interesting facts about the landscape in this part of Utah. I love history, so these kind of signs and interpretations are thrilling to find.

The bus looked so pretty in the sunshine in this area.

Hardy had enough of the "excitement" and went back on the bus to lay down. He, and the other animals have been doing so great on this trip. Even the ducks.

Coming into Castle Gate, Utah, as the sun was setting made for a beautiful backdrop to the rocks and mountain sides.

Blurry picture of the mileage, but at this point it is nine more miles to Price. I am beyond excited.

Pendleton, Oregon 🠊Ogden, Utah

This morning we woke up in Pendleton, Oregon, and let the ducks get out and stretch their wings and get some fresh water and food. We stopped at the Pendleton Rest stop, which is more of an overlook. We had a great view of the Blue Mountains and the valley below them. We only stopped for a few minutes to let the bus cool down. It was a nice break off the road and there wasn't anyone else around, so it was very peaceful. We headed next to the Charles Reynolds Rest Area for a longer time. We ate some lunch and took a moment to organize things on the bus better, and throw away our trash. It also gave us time to clean out the duck's pens and lay down new bedding, and also walk around the area a bit. It was covered in information about the local Native American tribes that once populated the area. We got back on the road and made our way towards the Idaho state line. Once we crossed it around 3:30 p.m. all of our phones immediately sent out a time zone change notification. We passed a lot of windmills, which was nice to see with the pink sky backdrop. We made it through Idaho, and into Ogden, Utah, for the night. It was a lot of road time today, but we are making great time so far. Looking forward to day three.