Interstates and back Roads

First off: I am in Green River, Utah at Shady Acres KOA Campground. There are 3 of us huddled together in the entire park. Nothing like the Good Sam I was in yesterday - hospitality- wise and feature- wise. However, I am here, have had a much needed shower, and am ready to eat!

The Smoky Mountains on the  East coast are beautiful. They're green, damp from the mist that covers them, and when you walk or drive though theses mountains, you fell a sense of homeness, of being swaddled.

The mountains of the West and Mid-West are in-your-face raw, stark , gorgeous entities. Driving today and yesterday has been such fun! I took the interstate to Salt Lake City where I managed to -  once again as I did in my last trip through there - get screwed up on the way through and ended up adding about a hundred miles to my trip. The problem is that when you take a wrong interstate, the exits are so far between that you generally have to go about 30-40 miles to get to place to turn around.

Anyway, as beautiful as the mountains along the interstate are, the ride itself is so boring that you start to veg out and forget where you are. I know I promised family and friends that I would stay on interstates on this my first trip with  the camper, but I"m done with that.

About 10 miles south of  Salt Lake City,, I turned onto Hwy 6 south. For 60 miles, there are no houses, no buildings of any sort and then BOOM right in front of you in the middle of nowhere is a huge power plant. I assume it is coal-fired since the name of the county is Carbon. It looks so bizarre there that I think it would make a perfect place for a suspenseful movie.  About 4 miles on down the road are the towns of Helper and West Helper. Both together have about 600 people and only dirt roads. Six miles further on Hwy 6 is another small town but it/'s big enough to have a Wendy's. Then 60 more miles of nothing but mountains - AMAZING! What made the powers that be decide to put the power plant there? Who first looked at the land where the 3 towns are and said: "This is where I need to live."?

Leaving this morning from the campground, I passed a Suburu dealer with a giant sign that said: "Buy a new Suburu and get a free gun!"  Further on in Utah, there was a huge sign stating that the company would buy all of your antlers, no matter the price. Aren't  people fun?

Get off the interstates and find the back roads - just not mine - I"m enjoying the lack of traffic!

Have a good one and I'll check in tomorrow.
M