The Big DriveDay 3 - Twin Falls to Provo, Utah
Tom Jones on the radio, bellowing "Without Love (I Have Nothing)." Ain't that the truth. Stop At Mall - That's across the street from the visitor's center that's at the edge of the gorge that nature built. Engage in fruitless (but exercise-inducing) search for a fanny pack. (The latter needed after abandoning my long shorts, that have pockets, for my short shorts, that don't.) Spot the first smoke plume at 11:15 a.m., as I'm attempting to leave town. Turn around. Head south. Due south. Bank clock says 92 degrees. Feels hotter. Drive in straight-assed lines for miles, on back road farm roads. Don't find any fires, but see some awfully beautiful farm land. Spot a second plume. Drive that way. All told, forty-five minutes are wasted, from chasing the smoke from... farmers burning off their fields. Duh. At least my trek takes me eastward, so I don't have to backtrack. Once back on Interstate, see sign for "Idaho Agronomics." Do you suppose they practice ergonomic agronomics? "Play That Funky Music" on the radio. I drum on the dashboard, missing my kit. Miss Seeing Movies, As Well - Caught two in Seattle and that's probably it. Too busy trying to find Target stores. Ha ha. I have had success, however, keeping up with other biz. Such as checking both local and national news on the WRAL and CNN sites. Plus other ritually visited sites for movie news, entertainment headlines, heavy-metal happenings, and die-cast fire truck collecting talk. Even took along a list of writing ideas, one of which is an essay on favorite (and useful) music sites. That would include icemagazine.com (for release dates), cdnow.com and cdworld.com (for ordering or music samples), hardradio.com (for all things metal), allmusic.com (The All Music Guide, for biographies, discographies, and reviews), and ubl.com (The Ultimate Band List, for both fan and official artist sites). Maybe I'll get around to writing it. Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops on the radio. Excepts from their album "Sailing," easily the most mellow of the Kunzel canon. And - It beats hearing the morning's only interesting talk host, Rush Limbaugh, rant yet again about Al Gore's running mate. (If I prefer to build things without instructions, does that make me anti-schematic?) Later, the local talk shows will be discussing logging and the clearing of forests and how the gov'ment's policy about both has contributed to this year's fire season. ('Tis popular both on the editorial and call-in front.) Still not seeing much Big Smoke. Nor many fire units, save the occasional "brush truck" traveling on the Interstate. Back to Kunzy. Come to think of it, the Pops haven't made a memorable album in a while. Recent movie scores-- yawn-- and a disc of recent Broadway fare comes to mind. True story: Mr. K. once conducted the North Carolina Symphony for a Halloween concert. The musicians were in costume, as was the Maestro, dressed as the Devil and raised via mechanical platform from the bowels of Hell (actually the orchestra pit). See telarc.com for information on Kunzel's complete catalog. "Mississippi Queen" by Mountain on the radio. The late Sam
Kinison covered this once, rewriting the lyrics to slam Jessica Hahn.
Remember her?
Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher" on the radio. Wish I could play drums as good as Alex Van Halen. Pass Idaho State University - Bigger, closer mountains before me. See delivery truck for a "Dutch Oven" bakery. Hilarious. The term is also slang for, ah, bed-based flatulence accompanied by the pulling of sheets over someone's head. (Kids, don't try this at home!) 3:08. The town of Malad, for gas, a car wash (so sue me), and an order of fries (plus Diet Coke and two fried chicken pressings) at Burger King. Also parked at the service station is a tour bus with a "World Championship Wrestling" logo. I look around. No Rick Flairs in sight. Shoot. Resume riding. Fiddle with radio. Discover that the "fader" controls are off balance. Maybe that explains the crappy sound of the previous portable CD player. Hmmmm. Maybe have to purchase another to test further... By late afternoon, I'm passing through a wide mountain pass. The hills are brown with bits of green; the valley is both brighter and greener, with farmland in spots. Hazy, in the distance, and with whipped-cream fluffy clouds overhead. Anne Murray's "Could I Have This Dance?" on the radio. The
quintessential country waltz and a damn pretty one at that. I choose not
to think of everyone I've held close while dancing to that song.
Burl Ives' "A Little Bitty Tear" on the radio. His first country recording. Wish he had better compilation albums available. Forty, Maybe Fifty Minutes Later, I Leave - And just as the first of two heavy wreckers arrives. (They'll be used as counter-balances, while the scraper operator "floors it.") Head to my original Ogden destination, Historic 25th Street. Old buildings galore, all absolutely picturesque. Most of the shops are closed, but that's okay. I don't have time. Union Station is there, too. Looks restored and has a couple steam locomotives outside, or a quick glance assesses. Happen upon the Ogden Public Safety Center -- a sprawling, shiny fire 'n' police facility. Shoot a couple exteriors and then head to the lobby, where a number of display cases display antique items, mostly fire-related. Back outside to the apparatus bays. I go around back, to shoot into the open rear doors. One pumper, one "tiller," one chief's car, one paramedic unit, three ambulances, and single-axle equipment trailer. 6:37 when I leave. The Scorpions' "Big City Nights" on the radio. Theirs was one of the first metal albums I ever owned. Along with ones from Judas Priest, Motley Crue, and Quiet Riot. Checking My Trip-Tik - I discover 90 miles that I don't need to drive. Excellent. Now approaching Salt Lake. Hill Air Force Base to my left. Are those concrete bunkers missile silos? Oh, to have another day around here... 7:20 p.m. and my glasses have broken. And on the side of the nose bridge, so they can't be taped. Try Super Glue. Doesn't work. The contact point's too small. (Successfully glued the Centerville Target's electronics counter's scissors, however. That's where they break, where I've stopped to call my cousin Kathi who lives down the road.) What does work, at least as a temporary fix, is that tacky, picture-hanging stuff. Perfect. Of course, it does look like a wad of yellow chewing gum stuck above my nose... Salt Lake City comes and goes, passed because of today's trifecta of oops: stupidly chasing smoke in Twin Falls, taking the wrong Interstate later, and having my glasses break. Oh well. Grand Funk Railroad's cover of Little Eva's "Loco-motion" on the radio. Never listened to them in their heyday. Curious, I bought a compilation a couple months ago. Still evaluating. Cool Petroleum Complex To The Right - Smells like natural gas. A mile past that, and also to the right, is what looks like an airport control tower. Is an airfield near? Lots of construction here, as in Idaho. Work zones suck. Passing the city, I observe a very attractive cityscape. Skyscrapers rising from the base of the hills; the State Capitol dome rising, in turn, above them. Will have to visit some day. Rearview mirror shows wad of yellow chewing gum above my nose. Can I disguise it? Signs for Las Vegas, just by following I-5. Must resist urge... Road construction continues. Back and forth, between concrete barriers. Annoying, but kinda fun. Like a giant Hot Wheels set. Good thing I can see well-enough, should I experience a Catastrophic Chewing Gum Failure (CCGF). Billboard for Thomasville furniture. Where my sister works. (In Winston-Salem, that is.) Aerosmith on the radio. "Dream On," one of the first songs I ever learned to play on the drums. Yeah, maybe you do have to lose to know. Snow-Capped Mountains! Wohoo! - Getting dark, though, making the hilly haze even harder to see through. Do more thinking. You know, this is a tough trip to misbehave on, because I'd have to write about it. Which, in turn, might piss somebody else off. Now passing through Salt Lake. This is clearly my kind of town. Mall after mall right off the highway; hundreds of recognizable, brand-name places to eat; recurring Target, K-Mart, and Wal-Mart stores. Even an outlet mall! (Eh, I guess it's my Minnesota upbringing. You know, learning to love indoor activities during the winter months.) Haven't been haunted by cops on this trip, I note. Guess 'cause I'm not speeding, much, 'cause I'm not really in a hurry. (Must experience each mile as it happens! No fair rushing!) Pass a prison on the right. Huge prison, actually, seeming to stretch a mile. Sun-setting scenery getting gorgeous-er and gorgeous-er. To my left and as far as I can see, a string of Burlington-Northern hopper cars, on railroad tracks running parallel to the freeway. Neat. Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Who'll Stop The Rain?" on the radio. I've been "playing along" to Creedence of late. Good drumming music. Provo In Another 20 Miles - That's where Cousin Kathi lives. Big body of water on right. Great Salt Lake? And, more importantly, do people go saline on the Great Salt Lake? Another industrial complex on the right. Do you suppose I'll have a nightmare tonight about a giant yellow bug on my nose? Should make fast-food ordering far more interesting. Exit at 275 to something called "800." Street name? Highway number? Turn left, heading east and right into a well-stocked suburban area. (Shops, stores, places to buy things, etc.) Continue for four miles and turn left, toward Provo Canyon. Drive into Provo Canyon. Yet another adjective-inducing sight. Kathi's log cabin is somewhere down there, past the various parks, trails, and waterfalls. Look up and see people hiking on the mountainside. And its nearly dark! The Rolling Stones "Paint it Black," the only song of theirs I really like. Have a kickin' orchestral version from the London Symphony Orchestra at home. Five Miles Into The Canyon - I turn onto her "street."
But not before spotting a sign saying "Warning: Fire Traffic." (Kathi
later informs that bucket-toting helicopters have been flying overhead of
late!) Go past the park that's right off the road and drive into an entire
subdivision of log homes! Kathi's, of course, is the coolest. I get the
guided tour of all rooms and all floors, plus the building history of
"Moosewood Lodge." (Her name.) Such as how Kathi caulked the
logs herself, both interior and exterior. (She performed 1400 hours of
labor overall!) Or the stories behind the various moose decorations. Or
how she's adapting to life in Utah versus Southern California, where she
recently moved from. Snap a roll, chat some more, accept an invitation to
spend the night, chat some more, start a load of laundry, chat some more,
and begin writing. Can't wait to see what this place looks like in the
morning!
Total mileage today: 300-something Total mileage total: 1100 or so Copyright 2000 by Michael J. Legeros Home
Copyright 2023 by Michael J. Legeros | ||||||||||||||||
