October 2020

We set out on a stormy Saturday driving down I-84 to Boise. We had just escaped the pall of September wildfires that left us with yellow skies and the worst air quality in the US. Wildfires continued to flare in Oregon and California. We packed up our Toyota Forerunner with provisions to cook for ourselves..our handy InstaPot was the star. We brought along some accessories such as a spare instapot liner and a glass bowl for use when we had a microwave/ Traveling through Eastern Oregon we saw a rainy sunset. We arrived in Boise and stayed with our friend, Sandra Hufsmith...we had all been following mask and handwashing protocols. Sunday we had brunch with Lon Stewart and Krista Shellie at their log home in Eagle...lots of work on the property renovating a pond with an arsenal of Kubota tractor and other tools. Monday we set out with Sandra(separate cars) to Bear Lake Idaho which is known for its brilliant blue color due to various dissolved minerals. It is a popular summer destination due to sandy beaches but was pretty much shut down for the winter when we arrived. We stayed at Blue Bird Inn B&B where we had a wonderful fritatta breakfast...with good social distancing at our tables. There were two other guests. We drove out towards Logan and did a hike at White Pine/Tony Grove. The aspen has peaked a week or so before and high winds had blown away most of the leaves except in isolated pockets where brilliant yellow color mixed with reds from oaks and maples was still visible.

Aspens fall color

White Pine Hike

Logan Utah is a charming college town...Utah State...with a restored downtown and many interesting brick facade buildings on its main street. It is next to a canyon with nice walking trails. The whole town is very neat and orderly, perhaps reflecting its Mormon heritage. Demographics of Utah are in flux...now major cities are getting an influx of outsiders...overall Utah is still 60% Mormon but less so in urban areas. Its LDS Temple built in 1860s is 2nd oldest in Utah. Got lots of great tourist info from the helpful visitors center on Main Street.

We decided against going to Vernal/Flaming Gorge and instead headed down the east side of SLC to take the Alpine Scenic drive via Sundance and Provo Canyon. We stopped at Timanogos Cave National Monument...the cave and visitor center were closed due to CoVid but we did take the steep trail for a wonderful view of American Fork Canyon and 11,750 foot Mount Timanogos.

Hike to Timpanogos Cave

Photos - 2 of 23

At the top of the Alpine Loop we did find some groves of brilliant yellow aspen with backlighting quite spectacular. A detour on Cascade Springs Byway took us to a more arid overlook. We turned back and continued down the narrow road to Sundance Resort...which was really pretty shut down too. The drive continued down Provo Canyon and through Provo, home of BYU. We opted to stay in a Best Western in Springville which was the gateway to the Spanish Fork turnoff to Price. We could have stocked up on supplies had we noticed the Costco in Springville but we left before it was open.