Mercurial Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 These are from December 2009, taken along I-15 from Butte, MT to Los Angeles, CA. I-15 takes you all the way down from Montana through Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and into the Los Angeles basin. Has its boring stretches but overall it's a nice drive, with a huge variety of scenery. From the forests of Montana, to the high desert of Utah, to the low desert of Nevada/California, it is an interesting drive mostly. The Centennial Range in Southwest Montana Blowing snow north of Monida Pass in Montana Welcome to Idaho North of Idaho Falls in the very boring/flat Snake River Plane A fork in the road near Pocatello, Idaho Upon entering Utah, the scenery picks up considerably as the Wasatch Range immediately comes into view More Wasatch Range, 50 miles north of Salt Lake City And more Wasatch Range... Still the Wasatch Range, but now south of Salt Lake City and about 250 miles north of Las Vegas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercurial Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 Dropping 3,000 feet into St George, Utah, and dropping below the snowline. A major climatic transition occurs here, from snow/cold/evergreens to warmth/palm trees/cactii Now in Arizona, in the Virgin River Gorge an hour north of Las Vegas Virgin River Gorge, AZ Virgin River Gorge, AZ Descending into the smoggy Las Vegas valley Mojave desert between Las Vegas and Los Angeles Joshua Trees in the California desert Sitting in traffic at Cajon Pass, which drops into the Los Angeles basin LA! Phew, that was a long drive.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baroclinic_instability Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 "Upon entering Utah, the scenery picks up considerably as the Wasatch Range immediately comes into view". So does the smog as you enter the Wasatch One thing I won't miss about that place--but the mountains on clear days are spectacular--especially the Wasatch as it rises 6000 feet over the SLC Valley in only 5-10 miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewxmann Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 The Wasatch Range is gorgeous! Great photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercurial Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 "Upon entering Utah, the scenery picks up considerably as the Wasatch Range immediately comes into view". So does the smog as you enter the Wasatch One thing I won't miss about that place--but the mountains on clear days are spectacular--especially the Wasatch as it rises 6000 feet over the SLC Valley in only 5-10 miles. LOL yeah. In Salt Lake City I remember not being able to see 500 feet in front of me. Heaviest smog I've ever seen.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzucker Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 The Wasatch and Uinta Ranges in eastern Utah are two of the most beautiful I've seen...I spent a few days hiking and camping near Kamas, UT...really great spot in the Mirror Lake Recreation Area, pass crosses the 10,000' benchmark with various alpine lakes and waterfalls. Forest is also much more diversified than in Montana with more aspen and different types of pines mixing in. Also visited the Snake River in Idaho.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baroclinic_instability Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I am pretty sure the photo that says "more Wasatch Range..." is actually the Oquirrh Range south of the Salt Lake as I-80 tracks W. http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=40.512755,-112.084579&spn=0.502192,0.953751&t=p&z=11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baroclinic_instability Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 The Wasatch and Uinta Ranges in eastern Utah are two of the most beautiful I've seen...I spent a few days hiking and camping near Kamas, UT...really great spot in the Mirror Lake Recreation Area, pass crosses the 10,000' benchmark with various alpine lakes and waterfalls. Forest is also much more diversified than in Montana with more aspen and different types of pines mixing in. Also visited the Snake River in Idaho.. That bottom picture is definitely the Uintas. Neat picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baroclinic_instability Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 That bottom picture is definitely the Uintas. Neat picture. Soapstone? Looks like the west end--I think I can see the Wasatch sticking out way out in the background. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzucker Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 That bottom picture is definitely the Uintas. Neat picture. Yeah I was more in the Uintas but definitely went past the Wasatch, such a dramatic contrast between the Salt Lake Valley and the heights. I hiked up to 12,000' on Bald Mountain; it had to be about 40F with the wind whipping like a winter day in August. Apparently the Mirror Lake area is one of the first to see snowfall each season, starting in mid to late October. I loved camping near Kamas as the days were always sunny and in the mid 60s at moderate elevation, with nights dipping to the upper 30s, basically perfect weather for a campfire but not too cold to make it unenjoyable. Utah is one of my favorite places, and I want to go again in winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercurial Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 I am pretty sure the photo that says "more Wasatch Range..." is actually the Oquirrh Range south of the Salt Lake as I-80 tracks W. http://maps.google.c...953751&t=p&z=11 Could be, I don't know much about Utah geography... I took it north of Ogden along I-15, IIRC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baroclinic_instability Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Yeah I was more in the Uintas but definitely went past the Wasatch, such a dramatic contrast between the Salt Lake Valley and the heights. I hiked up to 12,000' on Bald Mountain; it had to be about 40F with the wind whipping like a winter day in August. Apparently the Mirror Lake area is one of the first to see snowfall each season, starting in mid to late October. I loved camping near Kamas as the days were always sunny and in the mid 60s at moderate elevation, with nights dipping to the upper 30s, basically perfect weather for a campfire but not too cold to make it unenjoyable. Utah is one of my favorite places, and I want to go again in winter. Winter is nice as long as you stay out of the valley and the nasty smog inversions Baldy is a great hike! Not too vigorous but get great views of the surrounding terrain. Mirror Lake Highway SR 150 is an awesome loop. It usually closes early and opens late--and it is the highest state road in UT I believe at Baldy Pass--over 10,500 feet. Great area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baroclinic_instability Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 LOL yeah. In Salt Lake City I remember not being able to see 500 feet in front of me. Heaviest smog I've ever seen.... In winter during "red alert" days for air quality--some of the ski resorts offer deals as they are all above the inversions. Kinda sad one has to go to 6000 feet to escape the smog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzucker Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Winter is nice as long as you stay out of the valley and the nasty smog inversions Baldy is a great hike! Not too vigorous but get great views of the surrounding terrain. Mirror Lake Highway SR 150 is an awesome loop. It usually closes early and opens late--and it is the highest state road in UT I believe at Baldy Pass--over 10,500 feet. Great area. Wow, I didn't realize you'd hiked there; you've really been to some great places in the Intermountain West, and seem to be quite physically active as well. Not too easy to find hiking opportunities in the Great Plains sometimes although I suppose the Dakota Badlands offer some relief from the monotonous prairies. Yes, Bald Mtn was a nice hike...I'd done 15 miles in the western part of the recreation area the previous day, so I wasn't looking for anything too intense. Bald Mountain fit the bill since it only took a couple hours to complete the round trip and spend some time snapping photos at the summit. I felt a bit out of breath as I pushed passed 11k but nothing that some water and a brief break couldn't take care of...I spent three solid days hiking in the Mirror Lake area, just incredible, and I happened to find it by accident as I was looking for camping near the highway, stopped at another state park, and the ranger guided me towards Mirror Lake. My 2000 Mazda, tiny car that it is, barely made it to the top of the pass, was a seriously struggle. But what a beautiful beautiful view. I had a great time out West in Summer 2010...got to see the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Glacier National Park, Angel Lake Recreation Area in eastern NV and then Mirror Lake.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzucker Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 BTW I did this exact drive from MT to Idaho Falls when I quit my job cooking up at Glaicer, but I didn't stay on I-15...Instead of heading for Las Vegas/Cali on 15 south, I took the fork towards Twin Falls and then state highways down to the Nevada border to go camping in the East Humboldt Range/Ruby Mountains near Wells. Talk about a dusty desert town but surrounded by some of the best scenery in America...also liked the local bar very much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzucker Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Eastern Nevada Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baroclinic_instability Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 BTW I did this exact drive from MT to Idaho Falls when I quit my job cooking up at Glaicer, but I didn't stay on I-15...Instead of heading for Las Vegas/Cali on 15 south, I took the fork towards Twin Falls and then state highways down to the Nevada border to go camping in the East Humboldt Range/Ruby Mountains near Wells. Talk about a dusty desert town but surrounded by some of the best scenery in America...also liked the local bar very much The Rubies are beautiful--tell Famartin I didn't know you lived in MT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitemountainhiker Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 That blowing snow pic...the 2nd pic down, is awesome!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quakertown needs snow Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 nice series! Wasatch Mts.. so many great ski trips.. Alta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avdave Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Nice series Jack. i like the one in Utah with all the rock around you there. Never been out there so it was fun to see what it looks like. Thanks for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzucker Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 The Rubies are beautiful--tell Famartin I didn't know you lived in MT. I don't live there...I just took a job right outside Glacier National Park for Summer 2010 to be able to hike there and experience something different. I drove out from NYC in the early summer and was out West until around 8/20 when I hit the road for home. I've lived near NYC all my life, went to college in VT and am looking to start teaching in NYC public schools next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allenson Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Great shots through the windshield. Love the blowing snow one in particular. Though I've been out west many times, I always find the (nearly) treeless landscapes out there....disconcerting, or strange, for lack of better terms. It's hard to describe but coming from where I do, in a quite forested part of the world, the wide-openness out there is hard to miss. I've hiked a fair bit in the Highlands of Scotland where the landscape is also very free of trees and didn't feel the same there as I have while out in the western US. Curious.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhotoGuy Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Nice series of pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aslkahuna Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Have to remember that the valley floor around SLC is at 4500 ft elevation so you are only going up 1500 feet to get above the Inversion and smog (which is REAL smog being a combination of fog and fumes). The temperature contrasts can be unreal. When I was at Dugway, during the winter fog situations the temperature at the weather station would be around 15F while at the top of Johnson's Pass about 2000 feet higher it would be in the mid 50's. Same general range can be found during the Tule Fog situations in CA with temperatures 2000 feet above the valley floors being about 40 degrees warmer (and very much drier). Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercurial Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 Great shots through the windshield. Love the blowing snow one in particular. Though I've been out west many times, I always find the (nearly) treeless landscapes out there....disconcerting, or strange, for lack of better terms. It's hard to describe but coming from where I do, in a quite forested part of the world, the wide-openness out there is hard to miss. I've hiked a fair bit in the Highlands of Scotland where the landscape is also very free of trees and didn't feel the same there as I have while out in the western US. Curious.... Thanks. There are a lot of forests in Montana, but I-15 avoids most of them. NW Montana is almost entirely densely forested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baroclinic_instability Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Have to remember that the valley floor around SLC is at 4500 ft elevation so you are only going up 1500 feet to get above the Inversion and smog (which is REAL smog being a combination of fog and fumes). The temperature contrasts can be unreal. When I was at Dugway, during the winter fog situations the temperature at the weather station would be around 15F while at the top of Johnson's Pass about 2000 feet higher it would be in the mid 50's. Same general range can be found during the Tule Fog situations in CA with temperatures 2000 feet above the valley floors being about 40 degrees warmer (and very much drier). Steve Well not to be picky but the valley floor bottom is actually around 4200 feet with the benches starting around 4500 feet and going up to 5500 feet. But I agree--around 5500-6000 feet you can usually escape the smog--unfortunately there is very little real-estate that goes that high in the SLC Valley. You typically need to head up into the canyons to escape--and all that is up most of those is ski resorts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aslkahuna Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Same thing with the Tule Fog in CA-most of the major towns and cities are in the valleys well below the 2000 ft level where the warm and dry air is located. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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