slowing down ...

   these posts are coming further and further apart, I know ... my energy level is dropping like a rock these last few weeks, so, it "is what it is" ... doing my best ...

   on my way east, old route 50 takes me thru Delta, Utah, and going thru town, I noticed an old structure on my left, so I drove around the block to get a closer look ... (I like old buildings for photo subjects) ...

   my best guess is that this old, old building is being restored, possibly by the owners of the house directly in front of it ... an odd pairing of old and new, I thought ...

Delta, UT

     driving on, route 50 intersects with one of the prettiest stretches of Interstate highway in the nation, Utah's I-70 heading towards the Colorado state line ...  

I-70 west of Green River, UT

    Utah had the sense to build several parking areas with great views, all along the highway for many miles ... 
   while there are semi-trucks in these photos, big trucks usually don't run I-70 out west for a couple reasons ... 

   first, I-70 is considered too risky for modern-day truckdrivers, to be blunt ... the steep grades and tight curves can be too risky for " learned how to drive in a 2-week classroom course " drivers ...

   second, the altitude changes can destroy some types of freight ... one company I drove for had a contract with Phillips Corp., and we had an entire truckload of their light-bulbs explode going over a pass ... when the driver opened the rear doors upon delivery, every bulb and lamp was in fragments ... whoops, $$$ ...

   another outfit I worked for was the core carrier for Schwan's ice cream, we supplied all their depots ... one time we had a partial loss while hauling a load for them over the Divide ...  how was ice cream damaged by altitude ?

   part of the load was what Schwan's calls 'novelties', (their  rocket-shaped ice cream in a cardboard tube) was the primary victim, and the little 'ice cream cups' came next ... after going over the pass, they had all 'popped their corks', and even the regular packaged ice cream was swelled up, so our drivers were forced to take a much longer route from that point on ... 

   so much for 'truck trivia',

   next:  on to Colorado and Kansas

home after road trip ...

   I have returned ! ... actually, I got back home to northern Kalifornia about a week ago ... it all went pretty well ...

   I took my time going out and returning, resting whenever I got tired or bored ... fact is, I would have postponed my return trip by a few more days, but I just couldn't handle the heat whenever I wasn't driving ... the van has a good a/c in it, but when it came time to lie down, it was just too much ...

   I was hoping to get a lot more photos than what I did, but the unusually hot June weather was so withering, I shot at least a few photos right from the driver's seat - quickly lowering and raising my window so my air conditioner wouldn't have to catch back up ...

   anyway, as long as I was driving, I felt great - I joked to my doctor, if I didn't have to climb in and out of the van to gas up, I could do this every day ! 

   Nevada's old US Route 50, of 'America's Loneliest Highway' fame, was uncharacteristically well-traveled this trip ... not exactly rush hour, but cars were driving by every few minutes ...

a 'wildlife viewing area' west of Ely, NV

   more to come,