Nomad Life - Day 132

Because it was hot and stuffy in my room, I woke up in the middle of the night more than once.  When I finally started some sleep (0200?), didn't wake up again until 0615.  After getting out of bed, I did some blogging, took care of finances, caught up on my reading and completed puzzles.  Meanwhile,  it was raining outside of my room at the Motel 6 (Twin Falls).  In preparation for Mass, I skipped breakfast.  Before departing my hotel, I made reservations for a week near Ogden, UT at Hill Air Force Base.  I found it funny that they still had my registration profile from my visit in 2011!  At 1015, I checked out of my room and drove a short distance (south) to attend Mass at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church.  The service began at 1030 and all the pews were packed.  Surprisingly, the priest chanted nearly all of the service - I'm not really a fan of that because I couldn't understand him very well.  Everyone else seemed very enthusiastic, though.  Mass was over at 1120 and I made my way north again on US-93, stopping for lunch at Burger King (1125).  There wasn't anyone else there and, while ordering my Whopper combo, the nice cashier somehow added a SpongeBob side (seemed like fried mac & cheese) for free!  I worked on Duolingo exercises before getting back in my car at 1200.  By then, the rain had ended, the ground was drying up and the western sky looked much clearer.  On the way out of town (following Google Maps on side roads to the east), I made a last second decision to take a detour to Shoshone Falls Park and Dierkes Lake.  This turned out to be a great idea because I got some amazing views of a deep gorge where the Snake River passed through the area.  The Falls themselves weren't very exciting because there wasn't much water available.  I did some walking near the falls and the lake (I had to drive a bit to reach each location) and it remained dry for a little while.  I had no cell signal during the time I was there  (1220 to 1245).  Wanting to get to Ogden in a reasonable time, I curtailed my outdoor activities, got back on the side roads (including Falls Avenue East) and started looking for the Interstate.  On the way, I stopped to marvel at the Hansen Bridge (built over the Snake River) and the deep gorge it crossed.  Shortly after that, I was back on I-84 and tried to fit into the busy traffic.  I passed the time by listening to audiobooks.  Before long, it started raining much harder.  Like yesterday, the Interstate speeds were higher than I'm used to but I stayed near 70 mph.  I followed I-84 at the I-86 split and headed towards Utah.  Along the way (1405), I passed over Sweetzer Summit (5500 feet).  On both sides of the road, I saw lots of sheep on the open prairie and several Oregon Trail markers.  A bit later, I passed through Rattlesnake Pass and entered Utah.  The first town I encountered after that was Snowville (Box Elder County) at 1455 - it seemed aptly named because there were snow covered mountains all around at that point.  I continued following I-84 until it joined I-15.  In addition to the speedy cars I've already mentioned, there was lots of construction from this point.  One pleasant surprise was that the gas prices were amazingly low.  The Interstate later split and I stayed on I-15.  The weather never got better but I managed to safely arrive in Ogden by following the instructions of the lady at the Air Force Inn (who told me to use the South Entrance to Hill AFB).  Google Maps was no help and was running amok with bad suggestions about where I should go (perhaps it is a Base force protection distraction?).  Meanwhile, it was still raining... After some misdirection (I wasn't in the correct lane to enter the Base), I made it to the Air Force Inns by 1545.  Even without any map assistance, I recognized the building from my visit in 2011.  The very nice staff helped me to check into my room quickly and I then spent time unloading the car (before the rain really picked up).  I also made dinner in my room's full kitchen (1630).  For the rest of the evening, I did some more reading, organizing and repacking - after that, I watched movies until about 2000.  Hoping to complete my step goal, I went outside and was pleasantly surprised that the walkway in front of my building had a rain covering!  That meant I was able to walk underneath a portico (lots of good cover) and I had enough patience (despite the "boring" track) to log 2.5 miles.  Finished by 2100, I spent the rest of the evening working on eBird, setting up for my telework day and watching more movies.  Bed time was at 2230.  Very glad to be settled in my "home" for the week!