Tonight we're in lovely Beaver, Utah. It's another one of those places that makes you wonder why it exists. Beaver was settled in 1856 by Mormons following the Mormon Road. I think now it's here supporting local agriculture. We're at a Best Western that is not terrible, with one exception. When I book rooms, I always look for internet, a microwave and a refrigerator. What I don't think I need to check for is an elevator. Tonight we have stairs; it's an old motel, the kind that has a big window that looks outside, and people can look in your room if the curtains are open. Since we're incapable of packing light, getting up the stairs was an effort, also because we're at 6,000 feet of elevation. It's noticeable.
This is a cool boat, I've never seen one like this. Our theory is that it's used for (literally) hiding in the weeds on the water and shooting birds. In this weather, you really have to want to do it. That's fake grass attached to the sides with zip ties.
When we left Pocatello, it was snowing sideways. With the exception of a short section, the roads were clear.
The phone camera was focusing on the windshield, but you can see how visual conditions were not great. Fortunately, it did not last long.
Here we are near Salt Lake City. Those are the Wasatch Mountains in the background. They're a nice looking range.
Downtown Salt Lake.
The road construction we've encountered over the years is complete. There is an Easy Pass/2+ transit lane now. People in the transit lane were going slower than the other lanes, but I'll bet at rush hour that is not the case. It was a pleasant drive through Salt Lake today.
Now we are here, and I'm really happy to be out of the car. There are two more days of driving.
By now, everybody is aware of the epic meltdown experienced by Southwest Airlines due to winter storm Elliot. Juan Browne, who is a pilot, did an excellent youtube detailing how the meltdown came about. CLICK HERE for the link. The link may not work, if not, type in youtube.com to go there, and put the word blancolirio in the search box. This is the title you're looking for: The Largest Airline Meltdown in Aviation History. It's really interesting how it was a system of cascading failures. The comments are also interesting, talking about what it's like to work for Southwest.
So, that's it, I'm tired now.
Thanks for the link. I'll take a look at it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link. Pirate (retired aviation engineer with FedEx) was very interested
ReplyDeleteYou are utterly MAD!!!! Driving to SLC in winter is a death wish . I drove it sideways all the way from Rawlins Wyoming in winter. The roads do not look terrible for you- lucky day! Now i will go check out the link, thank you.
ReplyDeleteI read a FB post from a SW pilot and it seems this crash has been coming for a long time. Sad that it happened at the holidays. I'll check out the video shortly.
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll be out of the nasty winter weather soon. Safe travels!
You skipped town during my busy days. Had to back up to see your progress. Looks like snow and snow and more snow. Better you than me.
ReplyDeleteI'll check the link but I did read a post from a pilot who explained what the fuck was going on. My sister always flies SW and in fact was flying home from Albuquerque on Tuesday when they canceled all those flights. Hobby airport in Houston was a madhouse and they brought in more police to keep things calm. Her flight from Albuquerque was delayed by 3 hours, no flight attendants, but she did finally take off and they landed at Hobby.
This is the first I've heard that the winter storm has a name -- "Elliot." It's funny how meteorologists like to name everything nowadays. We get that in the UK too.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'd say that boat is made for duck-hunting.
37paddington:
ReplyDeleteSafe travels my friends. That is some gnarly weather.