taking the long way...part I

So of you reading this may or may not know that I often prefer to take the scenic route...both literally and figuratively.  As of late, it has been in the more literal sense as evidenced by the pictures below.  

A couple weeks ago I took a day trip up to Chubbuck, ID. Why Chubbuck you ask?  Well why ever not?!  It is only the home of one of the most fabulous ladies to ever have graced the earth! 

Cali and I have been friend since the summer of 2005.  It was a memorable summer to say the least, one of the best I've ever had.  Suffice it to say we've been best buds ever since.  And so whether she lives in Provo "horrible place to drive" Utah or "where the #$!! is" Chubbuck, ID...I am making the drive.  (And just a PS regardless of where Cali lives, I'll always be visiting.)  Anyway...after a super fantastic visit full of laughter and good counsel and delicious food I headed home down I-15.  While making my way musically down the road I saw a billboard for a scenic route via Highway 91.  Being a fan of back roads and wondering what was on the east side of the Idaho mountains I was off...

Clearly I made the right choice!!

Arriving in Logan I decided to get out and take some pictures of the Logan temple with my "best guess" camera.  Who knows, maybe I would get lucky the same way I did at the Portland temple.  

I'll let you be the judge...

I can't believe I I barely missed getting the entire west side in the shot! 

I think this was my favorite.

After my jaunt around the temple I figured it was time to head home.  As I was leaving Logan I came to the fork in the road.  I could either go down Sardine Canyon or head off towards Hyrum.  ASSuming (RED FLAG) I could make it back to Salt Lake going through Hyrum, I stopped at Wal-Mart (because the Chevron I stopped at didn't sell road maps...not all of us have GPS people) and bought a road map and saw that there was indeed a back road that would take me from my current location to my beloved Huntsville.  I failed to notice that a chunk of that road was marked as a dirt road and merrily headed down the road...

And then...the choice I made may have not been clearly the right one...

That is a cow

And this is the road...all the way to Huntsville...in fact in some spaces there were big rocks to avoid.

The drive was gorgeous...some of the leaves had started to change...and then of course there was the bat incident as I was driving down the mountain into what I was pretty sure was Huntsville...it was totally dark at this point. I was disappointed that I didn't get to see the valley as I drove down the mountain...since it was pitch black...however that did made for some FANTASTIC start gazing as I drove across another mountain to get to the canyon to drive home.  

A 2+ drive ended up taking almost 5+ hours and it was worth ever bump and minute.  

The Champ loved the drive as well...and she really earned her name...as she always does!