Butte to Cedar City
Departed at 6.40am before dawn from Butte and went south on I-15 towards Idaho Falls. Stopped there around 10.00am for a Starbucks and got some steps in walking around Walmart. Bought a cheap sleeping bag because it looked like our upcoming camping nights would be pretty cold.
The sky started to lighten and the dust seemed to dissipate somewhat as we moved from Montana into Idaho. By 10:30am the sun was casting a shadow again and it was quite bright but still somewhat hazy. At noon, we crossed into Utah and had lunch in a city park near Ogden (steak sandwiches yum). We decided to press on south, aiming to camp at Navajo Lake; Waze told us we would get there by 7.00pm, but we were quite confident we could get the tent up and have dinner cooked before dark.
At Spanish Fork, we peeled off east and headed south on Hwy 89. This was a great choice over I-15 because Hwy 89 winds through a wide valley and the fall colors were pushing through. At this point the air was very clear and we seemed to have escaped the worst of the fire smoke. The road sits next to the Sevier river south of Richfield and is a great driving route with numerous snaking turns and a 65 mph limit.
Unfortunately, when we got to Navajo Lake the campground was full. We tried nearby Duck Creek but it was the same story. This is the last camping week of the season and we surmised that everyone was trying to get their last trips in before they shut down. Leaving Duck Creek at dusk, we saw deer in the meadow.
Booked into a hotel in Cedar city, we visited our favorite pizza restaurant, Centro, and shared a very nice meal. Still the best pizza ever.
Today was an epic drive of 746 miles, but it didn’t seem that long. I-15 was easy, 89 was spectacular and it was good to get out of the smoke.
We made the decision to return to LA tomorrow and forgo any further sightseeing or camping diversions. Those must wait for next time.