This is part V of an extended version of the yearly road trip writeup. You may wish to visit Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Evanston in the morning is a bit chilly, but I was still a little worried about the weird vibration from the night before. As I was checking out, I asked the hotel clerk if it was going to be a problem for me to be removing a wheel from and possibly working on my car in the hotel parking lot. Her response was, "This is Wyoming. You can pretty much do what you want here." With that blessing, I jacked the car up and pulled the passenger front wheel.
No missing weights, no loose endlinks, nothing I could see to account for the vibration. There were a lot of nasty bugs stuck on the inside of the wheel, but I didn't think they could affect the balance that much. But, on the off chance there was something I couldn't see, I took it to a DIY car wash, where I promptly managed to cut my knuckles on the front license plate and bleed all over. Nice. I considered it a blood sacrifice to make it to Toledo safely, and then got on the road.
There was no drama on the trek towards Green River, so when I saw the sign for Fossil Butte National Monument, I decided to jump off I-80 and head towards Kemmerer. It turns out that it's a lot further from the interstate than I thought, but that was okay, as I had plenty of time to get to Toledo before Wednesday night.
Random railroad crossing
Wish I'd been able to capture a train too.
I went through a cloud of locusts right after I washed the car. This one was still moving 10 minutes later. Ugh.
The colors of the rocks at Fossil Butte are amazing. Maybe they aren't as dramatic as the Yellow Mounds in the Badlands or the Painted Desert, but it's still a sight to see.
The visitor center has an incredible diversity of fossils from the beds -- plants, animals, seeds, embryos! Everything. If you can't visualize what that ecosystem looked like from their collection, you have no imagination.
Bowfin
Mioplosus labracoides, a predatory fish
Gar
Paddlefish with Knightia (the small fish)
Seeds
Knightia meeting a grisly end
Hummelichelys guttata with teeth marks in its shell
Echmatemys with teeth marks
Protohippus
Chisternon undatum, extinct
Soft-shelled Apalone heteroglypta (with Knightia)
This Axestemys byssinus was larger than me! It's another soft-shelled turtle
Stingray
I didn't take a lot of plant photos, but this frond (and a matching on on the other side of the case) was almost as tall as me!
A horsetail/rush, with several juvenile Knightia
Two different layers; these fish died many years apart
This guy was much more personable than the one at the Badlands.
Heading back towards the highway, I considered hiking the Historic Quarry Trail (2.5 miles roundtrip), but then decided that it might take longer than I wanted. So, it was back on the road, to US30, which I stayed on through Kemmerer and towards Green River until I saw a sign for "Granger Station". I didn't know what it was, but it was only 1/4mi off the road, so I detoured into the tiny town (less than 150 inhabitants) of Granger. The first historic marker I saw took me to a pioneer community graveyard.
Most of the graves here are unmarked and unknown. The last burial was in 1942, and it is mostly infants and children, but that is sadly typical of pioneer cemeteries.
The other historical site in Granger is the Granger Station, first established in 1850 as a wayside for those traveling the Oregon Trail, then later used as a Pony Express Station and as a train station. The railroad coming to town is what allowed Granger to incorporate as a town in 1914.
The main structure is about the same size as the Pony Express station in Gothenburg.
This additional portion may have been stables or something else in the past, but has long since gone into disrepair.
My curiosity got the better of me; I lifted up the boards and found a cobwebby well underneath of them.
The doors were nailed shut, but you could see through the windows the building was empty.
The railroad still passes through Granger to this day.
Another claim to fame is that Mark Twain once stopped at this very station, which I discovered after I'd left.
From Granger, I headed back towards Green River and then I decided to check out the Flaming Gorge. This is another one that I really wish had said how far from the interstate it was, since it was even further. With few paved roads as options across Wyoming, this would mean that I wouldn't get very much past Rock Springs within the first several hours of leaving Evanston! But some of the views were worth it.
It looks barren, but it's teeming with its own diverse lifeforms.
There are also tons of fossils throughout the Green River formations.
Once you get into the northern reaches of Utah, there are signs along the road saying which epoch or age you are at (like the Jurassic or Cambrian age).
Around Sheep Creek Bay, you start to see some of the layers for which Flaming Gorge is named.
Sheep Creek Bay of the Flaming Gorge Reservoir
The road to the overlook
Swett Homestead from the Greendale overlook
I didn't see any. :(
Swett Homestead
Carter Creek Bridge from the Cedar Springs overlook
Carter Creek Bridge
Flaming Gorge Dam from the Visitor Center
They are very, very worried about invasive aquatic species in the Western states. This is from Lake Meade, after just 3-4 days in the water.
Flaming Gorge Dam
A real cowboy, herding cows towards a pond. He seemed amused by me taking a picture of him
Yellow rocks overlooking the Clay Basin
Clay Basin
Eventually, I made my way back to I-80 at Rock Springs, then pushed on towards Cheyenne and Nebraska. I knew my time away from the interstate was going to hurt me, but I was seeing such awesome stuff and meeting interesting people, so I didn't so much care. It was funny at Fossil Butte that one of the women at the Visitor Center saw my Washington Capitals hat and exclaimed how much her son would love to know that a Caps fan had stopped by tiny Kemmerer. Then I told her I was a season ticket holder, and she was extremely amused. But, I guess Caps fans don't venture outside DC too often, or if they do, they don't advertise their hockey affiliation. ;)
I tried finding a hotel in Sidney, Nebraska (home of Cabela's) to no avail, so I ended up driving another 90 long minutes to North Platte. The vibration had stayed away for most all of the day until I'd gotten into Nebraska, and it was still only in right hand sweeping turns at speed. If I was just changing lanes, it wouldn't happen, and if I slowed down to 60-70mph, it didn't happen. I was still perplexed, but I'd hopefully be in Toledo the next evening and PURE Tuning could look at it and hopefully fix it.
The plan on Monday morning was to continue towards Boise, then take the US 93 exit towards Wells, Nevada, and pick up I-80 towards Salt Lake so I could visit the salt flats again, just as I've done the past two years. I didn't need to be in Toledo until Thursday morning (well, Wednesday night if I didn't want to squander a night's cost), and with that being seven hours closer than home, it shouldn't be as difficult of a trip if I wanted to see some sights.
So, just before the Twin Falls exit off I-84, I see a brown information sign that piques my interest.
Exit 141 leads me to US 30/Scenic 30, the Thousand Springs Scenic Road. Several miles down the road, there is a scenic overlook, with a bit about the fossil beds, but some interesting debris below as well.
Are the rock with the heart and the automobile remains related?
The Snake River below.
Several more miles down the road, and I come to the town of Hagerman, which is where the visitor center for the Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument is located.
Hagerman horse
Wandering around the visitor center and looking at the fossils on display, I'm asked by two men who came in about ten minutes after me where I got my shirt. It's a shirt I picked up at the NSTA Conference in San Antonio earlier this year, and I told them as much.
I ask if they are science teachers, and the one replies that he's a geologist, and is a professor at Boise State. We chat for a little bit about students, then I head out to go to the actual fossil beds, which were about 10 miles away from the town, down a little back road that also included this scary-looking bridge, the Owsley Bridge, built over the Snake River in 1920.
Evidently it's an historic structure. Go figure.
Why on earth would anyone want to loiter???
Another mile or so away was the boardwalk overlook to the fossil beds. Not a whole lot to see except for some American white pelicans in the basin.
There were a half dozen pelicans on the water.
I drove up the road a little further to the next overlook, and that's when I realized the other historical significance of the area -- the Oregon Trail passes through here.
Thousands upon thousands of wagons carved a groove through the hillside.
I went back down to the previous overlook where there was an historical marker across the road that I'd seen only when leaving the first time. It was another reference to the Oregon Trail, which you could walk down to (though you weren't supposed to walk out onto it, and you were also supposed to watch out for rattlesnakes, scorpions, etc.).
The gravel path is the trail you are supposed to stay on. The sunken road to the left of it is the Oregon Trail.
The sunken road that is what remains of the Oregon Trail through this part of Idaho.
Fortunately, this was not an issue. Nor was fording rivers.
I should also note that my second time at the fossil beds overlook, I ran into two physical anthropologists. When I asked where they were from, they said Tempe, Arizona. Like my previous research professor encounter, we talked briefly about our students, and then I bid them farewell. It's always cool to meet interesting people on the road.
My curiosity appeased, I drove back to US 30, and continued on to the small town of Thousand Springs, named for the tiny springs bursting through the rock from an ancient lava flow.
US30 meets up with US93 south of Twin Falls, so I pressed on towards Nevada and Utah, stopping only briefly to quench the WRX's thirst for some dirt, driving down one of the access roads to the Salmon Falls Reservoir.
I shouldn't have driven with the windows down.
The breeze off the water was cool and refreshing.
Koni 8611s and 650#/600# springs were not the proper setup.
Strangely, the car looks at home here.
I arrived in Wendover about 4:30PM Mountain time, and swung by the old Wendover Will sign.
A portion of the original Lincoln Highway (US30) through town. Called a Victory Highway, these roads commemorated WWI veterans, and only 5 of the original bronze eagles (this one is a recreation) are known to still exist.
From town, it was over to the salt flats! Driving down the access lane, I pass the familiar, "Do not drive onto salt -- SOFT MUD" sign, and just past it, there was a Cobalt/Cavalier up to its front axles in the mud. I should have taken a photo, but I figured it would still be there when I came back, since it's a good $500 to get towed out (hey, stupidity should be painful, right?). Another mile down the road, and as I'm pulling up to the circle, something seems off.... the sunlight.... it shouldn't be.... reflecting off the surface like that, right? And are those.... waves? Damn it!
Too much rain the previous week.
I blame global warming. Damn you, Al Gore!
Speed Week is in two weeks?! They better get some kitty litter out here!
Dejected over losing my opportunity to go out on the salt, I headed back to the Salt Flats Cafe for an early dinner, then over to the old airbase for some photos before going to the Nugget to lose some money at blackjack.
It's amazing to think that we just casually would lean up against this hangar while in impound at the Wendover Pros.
Training bomb
After I lost my limit at blackjack, it was time to get back on the road. As I drove across the flats, and the sun began to set, I stopped at the Knolls exit to take it all in. The photos don't do it justice.
I'd made a reservation for the night in Evanston, WY, so I pressed on through Salt Lake City, and up the mountains through Park City. Several miles before the Wyoming line, I started having a strange vibration in right hand sweeping turns, but only if I was doing an indicated 75mph or faster (keep in mind the speed limit here is 75mph). I kept it around 65-70mph until Evanston and had no further issues, though I left a message with Greg McCance and let Pat know what was going on. I hoped it was something simple, like a lost wheel weight or just the weird grooves in the highway from construction and truck traffic.
There are two parts ahead of this, running through the trip out. You might want to read them. Part I is here and part II is here.
My codriver, Sam Krauss, did not particularly want to get to the event site by 6:30. But I'm a little spastic in the morning, and since we were in group A, I wanted to get a few walks in, plus make sure everything was good with the car. So, we met in the lobby about 6:10, stopped to grab the ice I promised I'd bring for McCance, and we were on site by 6:30, easy... after all, the hotel Annie got was maybe a mile from the site.
So, with only a hair over 110 entries (similar to last year), the National staff opted for only two groups this year. ESP was in the second half of group A, which meant that as soon as we were done running, we'd be working. It was a little odd to only have two groups at a Pro, but usually the Packwood events are pretty laid back for worker changes so I wasn't concerned.
I was running first, paired up with Greg.
Notice how early I take off on my first left side run? Yeah, a definite red light. I would proceed to have problems with red lights and cones on my left side throughout the day, leaving me third after the morning (Greg had nothing on the right side).
Sam started off well with the car, running a 27.4 on the left (to my coned 27.7) and a 28.7 on the right (I had a 28.9). This would be good enough to put him in first for the afternoon runs, ahead of Kit Gauthier by 0.4.
We had almost 90 minutes for a lunch break, so there was time to grab something from the on site grill (which was a fund raiser for a local church youth group) plus walk again. Sam and I discussed how the car was handling, and it seemed fine to both of us, despite my two red lights.We prepared for the afternoon battle.
Pointing out the magnetic on the rear may have incited Greg to drive better
Annie had pointed out that the Packwood surface tends to deteriorate over the event, so that the afternoon runs weren't as quick as the morning, though I hadn't experienced that in the previous events I'd attended. Sam, however, wasn't able to match his morning times, while Greg and Kit improved, leaving Sam in third and Greg in the lead.
Meanwhile, I did have better times, though my red light/cone issues on the left continued, so for Sunday morning, I'd still be sitting on my coned 27.7 for that side. I also coned a 0.3 improvement on the right. :( I'd go into Sunday's runs DFL. I was particularly angry about my red light on my last left side run, where I thought I'd given myself plenty of time to be green. I guess I deep staged or something.
We finished up fairly early due to the two heat format, so we walked the courses, then sat and talked with McCance who shared some brews, including the Hellrazer IPA I'd brought. He relayed that he'd "detuned" his car to drive up on 91 octane (it was usually running E85), and that his driver side seat was miserable for a road trip. I sat in it momentarily and pronounced it unfit for even four runs in a heat at a Pro. Seriously, it has a weird hump in the lumbar area that is awful. I don't know how he dealt with it for however many hours of a drive.
Eventually, Sam and I decided to head into town for a quick bite, and ended up going back to the Blue Spruce. Things certainly seemed dead there this year, as there was no karaoke, and I think a lot of people just stayed on site for the Hymans' party, where we eventually went. Eric was gladly pouring margaritas for all -- heck, we'd barely come within the RV's perimeter, and he was already pouring drinks -- though even here, things seems a bit more subdued than last year. I'm not sure which key element was missing, but while we had fun, it was definitely not the same.
Sunday morning was do-or-die for me. I needed a clean left side time to get out of the basement. I was getting frustrated, especially after the last one caught me off guard, and wasn't feeling particularly confident that I could pull it off. My times were good, just dirty.
Sam started off much as he had when he ran my car at the NJ ProSolo -- he spun on the left. He followed that up with... I don't know exactly what he did. I just know that when he came in, there was a cone wedged under the car that didn't want to come out, plus my front bumper cover was so askew, the fog lights were ready to go BMW and fall out. He was officially credited with three cones, but it didn't matter. The time wasn't there on that run, much less the next two. Meanwhile, Greg didn't improve either ("BFGs aren't morning peoples" is what he says about his tires), but Kit dropped a few tenths on the left side.
The door was open.
I was starting on the right, with the knowledge that I had to get a clean left side time. I launched somewhat tentatively and got a 0.7 -- my slowest all weekend. Taking that into consideration, the 29.1 I ran was on par with the 28.9 I was sitting on. Then the left side. I waited, waited, and waited, making sure I had a good, green light (another 0.7), and then stayed off the cones. The result was a clean-but-slow 28.5 which put me into fourth. Another right side, and another mediocre effort that was no faster than Saturday's last run had me slide back to fifth when Jessy ran a 28.1. So, it was all on the last run, and I knew it. I cranked out another 0.5 light, and proceeded to run a respectable 27.642. Why couldn't I have done that earlier and been in contention for the lead?
I was a bit defeated by my performance, but I was given a chance to redeem myself.... I was chosen for the bonus challenge! Except.... I was up against an F Stock Firebird, of all things. Why did it have to be an FS F-body?
I tried, I really did. But we were on our own indexes, and so he probably had an advantage, especially being on street tires, while I was on cold A6s. Still, he went on to win, so I was okay with bowing out in the first round. Plus, any event where I can drive the WRX home is a good event. ;) I parked the car, then went to work the starter position for the Super Challenge, where Stephen Hui would take the win and McCance would go out in the round of 8.
It's truly a unicorn. It makes its own rainbow running board stripe.
While I was working, Sam graciously changed tires for me, then Greg and Sam helped me load the car and we enjoyed some beer while just talking. Since we were done so early, it was weird heading out by 4PM (the Challenges were done just after 2!), but it gave me the opportunity to get as far as Ontario, OR for the night.
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