Weather: sunny and warm
281 miles
I got up at 8.30, and, unwilling to break with tradition, purchased breakfast at a nearby gas station (there being nothing else suitable nearby). Afterwards I checked out and walked back into the city centre, reckoning I could spend the morning there. A French Mormon guide invited me to join a tour of the Temple Square area, and this I duly did. The tour explained a little about the history of the church and of the construction of the temple, then went inside the Tabernacle, built largely from locally-available wood but with seats painted to resemble oak and pillars painted to resemble marble.
We were then led into the north visitor centre, where we were led to a large marble statue of Christ and made to listen to a short recorded sermon, possibly in the hope of obtaining a few converts. I declined the offer of a copy of the Book of Mormon, and wandered over to the nearby skyscraper housing the church offices. In this I was taken to the 26th floor observation deck for an excellent view of the Temple Square area and indeed most of the city, the nearby mountains making for a splendid setting. Visible nearby on a prominent hill was the Utah State Capitol, similar in style to that in Denver (and probably to most of them).
I returned to street level and spent a while walking around the square, taking a few more photographs, before deciding I had better return to the motel and remove the car before the 12.00 checkout time, in case they got upset. In any case I wanted to make some distance that day.
I rejoined the I-15 freeway, then after a few miles turned east onto I-80. This headed up into the mountains beside the city, and proved to be one of the more alarming stretches of motorway-class road I have encountered, with sharp curves and steep gradients, altogether something of a roller-coaster ride. However, having a large, powerful car enabled me to maintain a decent speed (albeit with considerable noise as the automatic stepped down into second gear) and leave heavy trucks far behind.
I left the freeway at Evanston, just across the Wyoming border, and stopped for fuel and then lunch in a neighbouring supermarket, hardly haut cuisine but enough to keep me going. I rejoined the freeway for a while longer before turning off onto a side road heading through superb scenery towards the Flaming Gorge area, heading back into Utah. This is an area dominated by the Flaming Gorge reservoir, flanked by brilliantly-coloured cliffs, and with numerous recreational opportunities both on the lake and in the surrounding hills.
I detoured slightly to the visitor centre beside the dam to take a quick look around, passing on the way a bridge on a pillar of which another osprey nest was just visible. Having parked at the visitor centre, I made the mistake of trying to cross the dam on foot -- I did not get very far before a police car appeared and an officer politely told me this was not allowed (no doubt for security reasons). I ended up driving across and stopping at a viewpoint below the dam, before continuing on my way, passing a huge mining complex.
The next place worth a visit on my route was Dinosaur National Monument, spanning the Utah/Colorado border. I passed through the town of Vernal (and the neighbouring village named Naples -- I imagine the original to be rather more enticing), which had several possible places to stay, but wanted to get slightly closer, noting that the town of Jensen about ten miles further on was the nearest place to the entrance to the main part of the site. I stopped in Jensen but learned that it had no accommodation to offer, being too small. (The guidebook I had with me only covered Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, and so was no use while I was still in Utah.) The only options were to head back to Vernal or to continue to Dinosaur, about 20 miles further on. I chose the former as it meant I had less far to travel the next day.
My motel guidebooks showed that Vernal had both Super 8 and Motel 6 establishments, but the former seemed a slightly better deal. Alas it turned out to be full, so I ended up at the latter, which had opened quite recently. I spent a while resting in my room, watching the news, dominated by the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping in Utah and the wildfires in Colorado. The latter might influence my plans for the next few days -- a large fire was burning in the Glenwood Springs area, on the freeway to Denver, having spread to the surface from a coal seam fire which had been burning underground for several years. I made a mental note to avoid the area and take a more northerly route.
After watching part of a very silly action film (``Charlie's Angels''), I went out in search of dinner. The area was not terribly promising regarding places to eat, despite the motel's claims of a restaurant next door -- this was a ``Golden Corral'' fast-food establishment. It had a buffet on offer, though this proved to be somewhat indifferent and I hoped for something better the next day. I returned to the motel and went to bed around 11.30.