Departed Salt Lake City at 0800 after a hearty (free) breakfast at the motel. Bagels + cream cheese = a plate of awesome.
Travelled through Utah and then Montana on the way to the US/Canada border. I have to say that there isn’t much to really see in Utah. Montana starts out much the same way, but as you approach Canada the terrain changes and it’s beautiful.
We expected a lot more fanfare at the border. Instead, there was just one guy in a booth who asked us a series of questions: What kind of things are you bringing in? Did anyone ask you to bring anything across the border for them? Are you carrying anything for your own personal protection? In the end, the only thing we had to dispose of was a bag of apples, which we placed in the freezer as instructed after he had sent us on our way. No stamp in the passport though – doh!
Reiterating our expectation of a little more civilisation near the border, we were running low on fuel and so need pretty desperately to find a gas station. The first one we came across was a pokey little store that closed at 1900. We were in luck – it was 1851! But when we went to see what we needed to do (pre-pay or otherwise), they advised us they were closed. Uh oh. So we crept along to the next “town” to conserve petrol, hoping that the amount we had would be enough to get us there. It was. I’ve never been so relieved to see a petrol pump in all my life.
After we’d refuelled we headed to Cranbrook. It’s a busy but funny little town.
We decided to get Pizza Hut for dinner. I don’t know why, but Pizza Hut is extremely expensive over here. I think a large pizza and some chicken wings cost us around NZ$45 – ouch! While we were waiting for it to be cooked, I started thumbing through the local newspaper. The town is very focussed around a guy called Sam Steele and he is mentioned everywhere. I don’t know any towns in New Zealand that are like that.
Can’t wait until tomorrow – it’s the bit I’ve been waiting for and I have high expectations.