San Rafael to Salt Lake City (Day 1)

We left at 8 am, three hours later than planned, for Andy, as many will attest, cannot manage time or space with the finesse that most possess. After a frantic search for the various things left unpacked, we tore out onto the Interstate 80 East, the back of the car packed tighter than Dick Cheney's clogged, evil arteries.
Nevada passed by slowly; three discs of a Carl Hiaasen book-on-tape, four pit-stops/gas-ups, half a bag of turkey jerky and counting those "can-you-imagine-living-here" trailers in the desert helped ease the journey through that smoggy, bland scrubland, but the real highlight of our mad race to SLC in one day was our last pit-stop at Wendover, literally on the Nevada/Utah border.
While I loaded the car back up with dog and drink, Emily played two pulls on the penny slots at the Peppermill Casino- and won $104! Needless to say, we immediately raced on, fighting the urge to feed the slots and lose her lucky winnings.
We arrived in Salt Lake City late in the evening, the last few miles of the highway shining in the sunset tinted by the pink mountains ahead. Meeting my Auntie Sue at the Addicted Cafe, a small vegan cafe in the bohemian section of town, we caught the tail end of Shannon 's show, a talented singer-songwriter friend of Emily's from college.