Day 25: Wyoming to Utah

Thursday, April 30

View Day 25 in a larger map

The fun continued at the Plains Hotel on Thursday. First, we asked the front desk to have housekeeping send up more towels, as we weren’t convinced that the ones we had were clean. Then, a few minutes later, the front desk called us back and asked who we were, as they didn’t have a record of anyone staying in that room. Apparently, the night crew had not updated our room assignment when they moved us. Lastly, later in the day when we returned to the coffee shop to get a pick-me-up for the road, it had closed early—for reasons unknown to the front desk staff. Overall, our take on the Plains Hotel: thumbs down.

The Luxury Diner

After checking out, on the advice of our friends Gina and Correna, we had breakfast at the Luxury Diner. This was good advice—the Luxury Diner not only has a fun atmosphere (it’s in a converted rail car), but they serve really good biscuits and gravy, and really good corned beef hash. The only warning we have is that they’ll give you exactly what you want—meaning that “extra crispy” hash browns are almost too crispy to eat. Maybe you should try ordering your hash browns “somewhat crispy.”

Back on the Road

Anyhow, we finally got on the road again, taking I-80 toward Salt Lake City. One interesting thing about the freeways in Wyoming—they will close in bad weather, even the interstates. This didn’t happen to us (it’s probably reserved for the coldest and iciest months) but there are signs as you leave town saying, “if lights are flashing, the road is closed—go back to Cheyenne” or whatever town you’re leaving. The Wyoming Department of Transportation probably figures the commerce and travel they interrupt by closing the roads are worth less than the expense and risk of keeping the roads clean.

During the Wyoming part of the day, we passed the highest point on I-80 (8640 feet) and the Continental Divide. In fact, we passed two different signs that indicated we were crossing the Continental Divide. We couldn’t figure out how the same east-west line can cross the Continental Divide twice, but clearly, the Wyoming Department of Transportation knows better than we do.

There were also other curious signs, such as this rather comprehensive exit sign. We weren't sure if we were supposed to be able to memorize this sign!  Fortunately, the next sign was not a pop-quiz about it.

The scenery improved as we entered into central and western Wyoming; the harsh high desert was replaced by rolling hills and mountains.  But when we passed into Utah the beautiful mountains and lush valley we drove by seemed to dwarf the beauty of Wyoming.

Somehow, eastern and southern Utah has nearly cornered the market on natural beauty. Sandy did remark, however, that the western part of the state is a different story, which was borne out when we traveled that way the following day.

Sandy did remark that Utah also had quirky roadside items, such as having individual traffic signals on a seven-lane one-way street.

Is Salt Lake City trying to out-do Los Angeles?

Approaching SLC from I-80

Hotel Monaco

As we neared Salt Lake City, we rolled the dice with Priceline yet again. This time, we were very successful, as the Hotel Monaco accepted our bid of $60 for an upscale hotel. This great hotel (consistently rated as one of the best places in town) is part of the Kimpton chain, which has never disappointed us, and through any other website would have cost us $209. Of course, we used much of the $150 savings to pay for dinner at the hotel restaurant, Bambara. Zahid had a delicious corn bisque with crab and a mixed greens salad, followed by an apple-cranberry pandowdy that was a bit of a letdown after the fantastic meal. Sandy had roasted chicken (as you may have noticed, she is in a bit of a rut lately) with mashed potatoes, and an excellent crème brulée with apricot confit.

Gorgeous flowering trees lining the street – 

dogwood, maybe?  We are useless at identifiying flora!