FF2: Filling in the Suburbs

[krigl]

Okay, so this time we are up for a rather confusing journey dipping in and out of various states.


We started by leaving Kayenta in Arizona and heading into Utah. Here we’ve reached the town of Mexican Hat, which has a bridge and this interesting structure in the middle of it.


Yep. But where’s the Hat?


Here it is, just outside town.


Just about to head southeast back to Arizona – to where the Kayenta Coastline quarry is.


Southwards ho!






Here we are, back in Arizona by the quarry.


Of course, the Kayenta weigh station had to request our presence as we made a brief hop eastwards through Arizona.


Now driving back north-ish towards Utah.


Here we’ve reached the point where four states touch – Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. At this point they have erected the spectacular Four Corners Monument!


No, no, no that’s not it, it’s much more impressive.


Here it is! The FOUR. CORNERS. MONUMENT.


Heading northeast from there takes us into Colorado.




We get a brief taste of green…


…before heading back southeast towards New Mexico.




New Mexico again, and driving to Farmington. Confused by now? Me too.




Time to drop off the trailer in Farmington, about 11 years late.


New trip – Kayenta to Moab. Sunrise near the Coastline quarry.


Off to pick up the load. No ducking and diving, no dodging and weaving this time.


Just a straightforward trip northwards through eastern Utah up to Moab.




To be continued…
Dan

[Bernhard_]

A big thank you for your recordings

[krigl]

And the same to you for your support, Bernhard!

Back for that straightforward trip to Moab today.


Not far over the border in Utah we come to the town of Bluff, established in 650 A.D., apparently. ‘By whom, and where are their ancestors now?’, I ask innocently.


Just passing through.






Moving steadily northwards.




Okay, there’s some kind of farm here, scratching out a living from the dusty soil with the aid of high-tech irrigation equipment and water diverted from the local river.


Or perhaps from here, Recapture Reservoir.




On we go, Monticello lies ahead.




Here’s Monticello. We arrived here from Colorado just a couple of sets back.


Pretty cool for a scenery town.


The final port of call shall be Moab.


The endless variety of these arid landscapes never fails to amaze me. How did SCS do it? And (mostly) without horrible repeating patterns.


Ahead lies Hole N’’ The Rock.


See, told you. Why there are two apostrophes after the N I do not know. It’s a massive 5000 sq/ft dwelling burrowed out of the rock. 14 rooms, 65 ft chimney. And a gift shop.


And some really weird kitsch objects.


The statistics are impressive, but what impresses me more is how on earth two individuals got permission to create this from what seems to me should be a protected natural monument. I guess protected natural monuments are two-a-penny in this world, but the Hole N’’ The Rock is unique. So I’ll take my Grinch-ness elsewhere.


It’s just a short hop from the Hole to Moab.


The Adventure Begins! Indeed. Another adventurous teleport back to Arizona, in our case.


But first things first, let’s get the cargo dropped off and pass the hat around.


Done and done. Next time – Page in Arizona to Glen Canyon and Kanab. Two more sets to go before we’ve completed the ring around the state.
Dan

[krigl]

Right. One last trip into Utah from outside. It’s been quite a tour, and we haven’t even visited any cities in Utah properly yet…


Starting out in Page, in the north of Arizona.


I really like some of the retrowave repaints.


Manicure those hedges, baby.


If you want to make decent jam, you need more than one balloon.


Whoa! Another spectacular gorge yawns beneath our wheels.


It’s the Glen Canyon Dam, so I guess the gorge is a canyon, then. Silly me. Another great dam, though.


Wahey. Looks really safe. Not.


Passing the Visitor Center.


And now yet another magnificent parched vista opens before us.


We cross the border into Utah for the last time.


Now we’re heading west, hugging the border on the Utah side, until we get to the town of Kanab.






And here’s Kanab. We were here at the start of the tour, but didn’t stay for schnapps.


Let’s take a look at it properly this time. It’s pretty nice for a scenery town.




Righteously cheesy.




Heading out of town past the weigh station.




Moqui Cave. Some kind of natural history museum with dinosaur tracks and Native American artefacts is located within.


Continuing north through more spectacular scenery.








Next time we’ll finish the route to Salina, and complete the loop around Utah.
Dan

[krigl]

Just a quick update... I've got distracted again, this time by Warhammer Total War. Really into it right now, and no idea when I'll be back posting again.

I wish everyone a really great spring in the world of trucking, and look forward to taking part in this screenshot forum again when I feel the call of the road once more.

Cheers!

Krigl

[krigl]

Hello again... it's been a while. Just popping in to post something, not sure if I've been properly rebitten by the truck bug yet, but here's a token effort.

Today we have some shots from the final part of my circumnavigation of the Utah border regions.


Travelling north towards Panguitch.


The small scenery town of Panguitch.




Now we're heading further north to Hoover Rest stop.








We've arrived at Hoover Rest Stop. I quite fancy an iced cappuccino.




Cool details at this little place.


Grasslands nearby.




...and here is the most iconic bit of the whole area.


I guess you can stay here in old railway wagons.




Now all that's left is to follow the river north to Salina.












Before Salina we pass the distant scenery town of Richfield, coming up now.


It's got a definite Alpine feel.




A closer look. Almost Switzerland, right?


But luckily not, we've got better burgers.




Finally Salina.




And we're done for today!

Hope to be back and posting with the inner parts of Utah state a bit sooner than in another four months.

Krigl

[krigl]

Hi again. Today - we begin the second, slightly smaller half of the Utah tour - the cities of the state, and the roads between them.

Everything up to now has been roads leading into/out of Utah, which has a very strange distribution of cities - see below.


All the yellow roads are routes we've taken during the tour. Although there are plenty of scenery towns to discover along these roads, the focus has mainly been on the landscape. Now there's going to be a lot more of the urban side of Utah, and there's plenty to see!


Salt Lake City seems like a good place to start, so I bought a garage there.




We're crossing the town from west to east to make our first pickup.




It's at Avalanche Steel. Feels strange heading to it outward from the centre, I'm so used to driving to the edge of cities from outside the state and then spending little time in them.


Looking good.


Heading back into town with the cargo. We're going to make the short trip north to Ogden and check it out.




A rather extravagant local landmark.


Take me home, empty roads.


Ah, a fellow traveller.


OMG, I shouldn't be on this road. I quickly accelerate away, hoping nobody saw me.


So, this is Ogden. That's a very sharp corner to traverse with a long trailer.


Hmm... I need more practice.




Suburban streets.


Drop-off at Plaster and Sons. I wonder how old Harry Plaster's doing these days.


Okay, now to check out the downtown area.




Definitely Ogden.






Impressive edifice.


On the way to the train station. We'll take a cargo from there next time.
Cheers!
Krigl

[krigl]

Alrighty, here we are at a transportation hub, ready to transport something transportable.




Logan-bound goods train coming through. Race ya!




Ogden's picturesque railway station behind us, we set out north-ish for Logan via Tremonton.




This architectural gem stands on the outskirts of Ogden. Hmm. I'm guessing Frank Lloyd Wright. It does bear certain similarities to the dreamlike, iconic Fallingwater, or perhaps certain echoes of the bold, flowing, futuristic statement that is the Guggenheim.


Or perhaps William F. Lamb?


Well, enough of that, I've got pipes to haul.


It's a short trip down the freeway to Tremonton.








Tremonton exit.


Okay, dropping off those pipes now.


Pipes slipped from the sling during unloading (not my fault), so one of my underlings brought me this nice fresh banana-coloured cab. On the way to Logan.


Here we are, back at the steadfastly rustic Farmer's Barn in Logan.


We beat the goods train, at least.


Landmarks lurk in Logan's leafy lanes.


The Logan Utah Temple.




Picked up a container to take back to Ogden.


We'll check out some more of the sights before we leave.






That's it for now. Back to Ogden next time.

Dan

[krigl]

The Utah tour continues, and this leg finds us travelling from Logan back to Ogden and then picking up some chemicals there, which sounds pretty prosaic, but the chemical plant is something special.


On our way out of Logan, we pass this church with an intriguing sign.


It often pays to take a closer look.




En route to Ogden.




Scalextric Crossing.




Taking a rest.


Closing in on Ogden.


That sharp corner should be easier this time.


Delivering the container to Sell Goods.


At Sell Goods I spotted this interesting vehicle.


Nearby Wallbert hub.


Passing through Ogden's suburbs on the way to a very cool jobsite - CHEMS.


Pumpkins. Could CHEMS be a farm?


Eeeeee. That's almost spooky.


Am I authorised? Am I safe? Yes, my truck is yellow. All other coloured trucks get the Vulcan cannon treatment at 500 yards.


Picked up some rock-dissolving chemicals manufactured from distilled pumpkin juice to take to the vast Bingham Canyon Mine near Salt Lake City.




I always liked that Windows screensaver.


This is where they where they turn the pumpkin concentrate.... to acid!!!




Back through farmland on the outskirts of Ogden.




That's it for today. Next time - the trip back to Salt Lake City and its giant mine.
Yep. They're stone giants.
Dan

[krigl]

Alright. It's the weekend, almost, and I hope to get a lot of posting done cos I got a lot to post...


So, here we are with our CHEMS trailer full of corrosive pumpkin juice driving through Salt Lake City, destination the Bingham Canyon Mine.


Compared to the rest of the Utah DLC, Salt Lake City is a bit of a disappointment. You can drive through the middle with some decent downtown views like this one, and encounter some suburban or industrial areas, but you can't really enter the city streets like you can in Ogden.


Six Flags amusement park.


An aquarium? I think so. Obviously, there are some cool things to see in SLC as they flash by, but its not quite as awesome as elsewhere. However, it helps if one takes it that the state capital isn't just SLC but also the smaller cities that are just down the road, just a minute or two away in-game - Ogden, Tremonton and Logan to the north, and also Provo to the south. Taken altogether, along with Avalanche Steel and Chems, and the Bingham mine and you have a very impressive conurbation to visit indeed.


Suburbs of SLC.












The low-key suburbs segue into the outskirts. It's nicely done.




And then we're out of the city, back in pumpkin country. Can they, I wonder, hear their erstwhile compatriots calling to them from within the tank, warning them of their potential fate, mercilessly mutated by drastic chemical processes into a substance capable of melting stone?


Entrance to the Bingham Canyon copper mine.








And they call this a mine.


The scale of the mine is impressive, but so are the details.


Cleaning out the elephant house.




Dropped off the chemicals and picked up an excavator next to this nice loader, or whatever it is.


Taking it to Coastline to the north of SLC.




Destination. Another job done. That's it for now.
Dan