The South Riding RV Travels

567

20th May 2010 - Provo UT to Declo ID Utah

Most established campsites have some shade often from mature trees. This was a particularly attractive specimen at the Lakeside campsite at Provo.
As we turned out from the campsite there were beautiful views of the mountains which extend all along the east side of the Great Salt Lake area.
This is the commercial centre of Salt Lake City. This part is much like any other mid sized US city.
The bit which makes it different is the LDS temple complex just to the north.
No we haven't got a fetish about grain silos. This is Deseret Mills which is owned, as many things are around here, by the Church of Latter Day Saints (The Mormons).
Further north around Brigham City is Hill air force base which is home to an extensive museum. We missed it this time but will visit if we ever pass this way again.
As part of the same complex is Tooele Army base where we found several locomotives and wagons for transporting ammunition. This (poor) photo is of GG20Biv 2000hp Green Goat locomotive USAX 6004 which was originally built for the Canadian Pacific railroad.
Another grain silo, much larger than the last. We are really heading towards the arable prairie, the grain basket of North America.
We are on a plain at .about 4000ft but the mountains are much higher. There must be some local conditions here which result in the formation of clouds at the base of this mountain.
Triple trailers are permitted in many of the western states. A lot are owned by the parcels companies. They are quite common west of the Mississippi River.
But as we head north from Utah towards southern Idaho it gets emptier again. There is basically nothing between the Salt Lake City area and Boise.
We expected to see potatoes but it seems to be mainly grain here - where anything is grown at all.
Idaho is the 44th state in population terms with only 6 people per square km. By comparison the UK has 383 and Charente-Maritime has 88.
There is a lot of irrigation here. We have read about problems with the degree of irrigation here and its impact upon the water table.
Mostly it is just a flat barren space much like we saw in Kansas.