2011 Post Moab Rally in Salt Lake City, Utah

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Betty Brewer

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We spent 3 additional days  at Portal in Moab soaking up the last of what  Moab has to offer, off road trip to Pritchett ARch, dinner at Jefferies( Bill R. you were right it was one of the most delicious steaks ever) , shopping at Hogans.

Then we decided to pick one of the worst weather days for travel.  We encountered rain ( light then heavy at times) , wind, slush, snow and more rain and  terrible traffic  and construction in SLC area. I was glad I was not driving!

But it was all worth it to meet up at VIP,the KOA in SLC and join friends for a  somewhat of a tradition and dined  at Ruby's.  Betty and Terry were joined by Phil and Doris, Jerry and Ardra, Frank and Barb and Russ.  Those sweet potatoes with cinnamon butter were the best but  I must now get  back on program as  this eating out is  hard on my weight campaign.  However it is worth it to dine with  good friends. 

We are holed up here in SLC for another day letting the rain subside (it ain't happening today) Terry is off to the Apple Store with Russ and then to lunch at In & Out.  I am hunkered down in my jammies just watching the world go by.
 

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Russ will be giving his "wives" a worry workout as he limps his broken motorhome back to Iowa.  Where are the rest of you headed?

Margi
 
Jerry & Ardra, Frank & I took the SLC bus tour yesterday, and it was great. It ended with a mini concert, and rehearsal of the choir. So wonderful......

And on Saturday we are heading over to the mine. But sometime before that, gotta get Frank and In & Out fix.

We will slowly be making our way up to Yellowstone.

Russ will be just fine. It a little bity limp. And I think he has his repair appointments already set. He's looking pretty good. He told a dirty joke a dinner the other night, that I'm still chuckling over.

Safe travels to all our good buddies, and may the road be smooth before ye.

 
Thanks for the update, Barb.  Thanks, too, for the reassurance about Russell's limping trip.  I always worry when he's on the road.  I just list it as one of my retirement hobbies.  ;) ;D

Margi
 
Just to put your minds at rest, we've all been helping Russ watch the weather.  This morning he signed up to stay another day in SLC.  Still nasty in the higher elevations going across Wyoming.  He won't start out until it appears more promising (two wives left here to beat him with a wet noodle if he tries).  Terry and Betty left this morning for Junction City to get their work done there.  Who knows what direction we'll go.  Snow, tornados, floods in the north, east, south, and midwest so maybe we'll go west instead.

ArdraF

 
Terry and Betty headed  north at  8:45 am today  and within an hour of SLC the rain quit.  As we headed toward Idaho the sky got blue.  We are now overnighting in Ontario,  Oregon at a beautiful Welcome Center.  It is  80 degrees outside at 5:45 pm.  So nice to be warm again.

We  plan to  head west across Oregon tomorrow and will be in Junction City Or for our Monday service appt.  Then we can get on with "MY VACATION."  As a consolation prize ,  I am having my sofa recovered and valances redone.
 
I'm not surprised you got out of the rain, it's all over here in SW Colorado !! We had one good afternoon after we left Moab and used it to traveling out Temple Mountain Road near Goblin Valley State Park. There's a great big BLM parking area with fire rings and pit toilets about 6 miles from Goblin and it's FREE. Otherwise, we've been rained on, snowed on, slushed on and lightning on - but it made for some awesome waterfalls and running water in the washes.

Watching another storm rolling in from the west. Hope everyone got out of Moab and the bad weather and has found spectacular blue skies.

Happy Travels
Wendy
home in Cortez
 
We got out of SLC before the bad weather, landed in Rexburg, Idaho, then got out before the bad weather, and are now in Ennis, MT, and the bad weather caught us after two good days...

Not before we got to Yellowstone, tho', for the Dancing Bison and Bullwinkle show...headed back over Sunday to catch up with Don and Mary Ann at Grizzly...
 

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Betty - Glad you're finally in some nice weather and feeling warmer.  It was still chilly, wet, and windy until late this afternoon when we finally saw some blue sky and sunshine.  Tomorrow should be nicer.  Russ hopes to have a good day and we think he'll leave tomorrow morning.  We and Weimerts will go to the Kennecott copper mine, assuming the weather is decent.

Barb and Frank treated Russ, Jerry, and I to a homecooked (crockpot) pork roast with all the accompaniments.  Yummy and a delightful evening in good company!

ArdraF
 
Kim,

Wish you had time to stop at the Old Faithful visitor's center. Would have been nice to meet another framily member. We're working tomorrow morning and have Sunday off. Hoping to find some bears.
 
Jim,

No doubt we will catch up to you and Pancake Bill (orders from Bob Maxwell)...we will make many trips into the park over the next month...too much to see, so little time!!!

Looking forward to meeting more framily!

Kim

p.s. we are looking for bears as well...Don and Mary Ann shot theirs; but they have not gotten their moose yet like Christi did!  Framily Feud ? 8)
 
Kim,

Looking forward to it. Bill has Saturday and Sunday off and we have Sunday and Monday starting next weekend.

Bears were out from Norris to Mammoth last Monday. I'm going to try to find them tomorrow if the weather cooperates.

I told Mary Ann I might hire her as a guide. ;D ;D
 
Saturday, May 21, 2011 ? Russ was gone before we got up this morning.  He must have looked outside and seen sunshine!  What a beautiful day it is here in Salt Lake City ? blue and sunny skies.  SO much nicer than it has been!  Today the Weimerts went with us to the Kennecott Utah Copper?s Bingham Canyon Mine.  It?s one of two manmade objects that can be seen from space, the other being the Great Wall of China.  Talk about impressive!  Even after seeing it, it?s difficult to comprehend its size.

In 1863 soldiers from Ft. Douglas in Salt Lake City discovered lead ore in Bingham Canyon (named after the Bingham brothers who farmed the canyon).  In 1893 Daniel Jackling and Robert Gemmell proposed the revolutionary ?open pit? mining method to extract ore.  The Utah Copper Company was formed in 1903 and the first steam shovels began work in 1906.  At that point there was a mountain and today there is the largest pit ever dug by man.  It is 2.75 miles across at the top and .75 miles deep.  (Think about this when you look at the last photo which is a panorama of the mine pit 2.75 x .75 miles!)  You could put two Sears Towers on top of one another and they would not reach the top of the mine.  More than 500 miles of roads are within the mine, enough to reach from Salt Lake City to Denver.  This mine recovers 55 million tons of copper ore every year and it takes one ton of ore to obtain 10.6 pounds of copper.  Other products of this mine are gold, silver, and molybdenum.  This is a 24/7 mine and blasting takes place every day.  What surprised me most are the 80 gigantic haul trucks that carry about 320 tons of ore on every trip at an average speed of 13 mph.  This fleet of trucks travel more than 10,000 miles every day! 

The roads within this open pit mine are much larger than I would have thought with two-lane traffic.  The occasional pickup truck looks like an ant from the Visitor Center.  Within the mine is a huge building where they dump the rocks which are crushed and then carried several miles by conveyor to the copper concentrator plant where the copper is extracted from the crushed ore.  Eventually the copper goes in a pipeline to a smelter and the leftover rock (tailings) is sent in another pipeline to the tailings impoundment area near the Great Salt Lake.  Copper is a very important material in numerous products we use every day.  Americans use on average about 30 pounds of copper per person per year.  You should visit the Bingham Canyon Mine if you ever have a chance.  It?s a National Historic Landmark and absolutely fascinating and awe-inspiring!

ArdraF
 

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I am so  glad you enjoyed this  site.  When we toured it,  we could not  believe the size of those earth movers, nor the cost of the tires which are replaced so often.  And we thought motorhome tires were expensive!

Betty
 
Yes, we get off easy by comparison!  ::) ;D  I think it safe to say all four of us were really glad we went to the mine.

ArdraF
 
Ardra, thanks for the copper mine info.  Visiting the copper mine & SLC sounds like a nice change after we get finished seeing the rocks & trees in southern UT & AZ.  After Moab Judy & I went to Mexican Hat for a few days where we visited Hovenweep, Natural Bridges, Four Corners & drove up the Moki Dugway.  Now we're at Goulding's for a few days & we drove through Monument Valley today.  How did you guys drive your coaches into the campground over that road? 

We're headed to Page (thanks to Bill R for the suggestion) after this where we'll explore the GC, Bryce & other places over there.  We're going to be at Grizzly for a week in the middle of June where I hope we get to see Don & Mary Ann again & meet Jim Dick & Pancake Bill & see Kim's Dancing Bison. 

We enjoyed our time at Moab & meeting members of the Forum Framily & hope we get to see everyone again.

Mike & Judy
 

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Mike and Judy,

If you do come to Salt Lake City, we certainly can recommend the city tour.  Our driver, Chris, was very nice and knowledgeable.  Don't miss walking into Temple Square, not only to see the Tabernacle which is a stunning structure, but also to see the flowers.  I think every square inch of flower beds is in bloom and it's gorgeous!  Also, the surrounding mountains are covered with snow.  It's quite a contrast to the Moab area.

Glad you're enjoying our part of the country.  It sure is different from PA!  ::)

ArdraF
 
ceemike said:
  How did you guys drive your coaches into the campground over that road? 



Mike & Judy

We drove past the Kiosk and then through the paved parking lot, then we drove  VERY SLOWLY over that nasty bumpy road.  Some lost a few dishes from overhead cupboards.  We did have quite a bit of entertainment as we watched rental RV's navigate that  road way too fast.  They sure bumped and  bounced and groaned.  But the view was worth the  poor drive and the price was good too. $10.
Betty
 
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