The title of this post was just a word play that came to my mind, persiflaging the Eagles song “Long road to Eden”. Not quite sure St. George UT is like eden, but arriving after 12 hours on the road sure was.

Day 1 of traveling involved the long and boring ride down to Utah from the Bay Area. I left at 6:15 am, the sun was just up. I guess this will be good for Utah sunrises given the 1 hour time zone change. The first stop at Walmart was not really helpful, there is no sensible “no contract” phone plan that allows tethering with unlimited data. 65 bucks is a bit steep, so I gave it a pass for the moment.

Driving is boring, and navigating everything at the same time also – I wish I had lane assist. Or that Subaru Outback in front of me, which would have more ground clearance and traction than my “All Wheel Drive Chevy whatever it is people mover” with 12 seats or so, and it would be much better on fuel economy 🙁

A good distraction on the road is the loop to Red Rock Canyon, where I do a bit offroading – or as much as I dare with the Chevy. Randsburg Ghost town however is rather strange, and the other Ghost town off I-15 is a cheat, with an entrance fee and busloads of people. Forget it, drive on!
This roundtrip is accompanied by Don Henley on 106.5, and the road stretches to the horizon.

Then I hit traffic on I-15 north. Skyrocketing hotel prices in Las Vegas on weekends are known, this is why I had wanted to avoid LV and go straight to St George in Utah instead (another 1.5 hours of driving). What I missed, however, is that in order to get there, you have to drive I-15 to and through Las Vegas. I tell you: I-15 North on a friday afternoon is a very bad idea!