Looking for Autumn Leaves in Central Utah

Photo of Autumn Leaves

Just this week we were driving west on I-70 in Salina Canyon. I was noticing that the leaves are already starting to change. The leaves were beautiful with red and yellow and orange trees all over the mountain sides. I was getting a package ready to send to my daughter and I told my husband I really wanted to send her some leaves. (She is a preschool teacher and I thought she might like them for her class.)

Well, we were pulling our four wheeler on our way home from a job site and my husband said, “I will just drop you off with your pink Polaris RZR and you can “get in and go” on a leaf hunting journey.”

I said, “Really? You are going to send me off by myself?”

He said, “You can do it and I will send Suki with you to protect you.” Do you remember that Suki is my 8 pound brown and white Shih Tzu. If you are ever confronted by her, she may lick you to death. I felt safer already.

Trailhead - Great Western Trail

Kirk pulled off at the Gooseberry exit and unloaded the RZR at the trail head for the Great Western Trail. That would have been a great ride, but since it was just me and Suki we stuck to the frontage road. Suki and I just headed east as Kirk turned west onto I-70 toward Salina. I usually worry about Suki jumping out of the RZR, but she did great with her face in the wind she is super happy.

Railroad Tunnel on Frontage Road I-70

Polaris RZR in Old Railroad Tunnel

Suki and I drove for only about 3 miles until we drove through the old railroad tunnels. I think the tunnels are super cool, but I like things like that. I know there is no one in that RZR, but I couldn’t figure out how to take my own picture and Suki would not sit still for a photo opportunity.

Red Autumn Leaves

Sidekick Suki in Red Fall Leaves

We finally made it to the beautiful leaves and I gathered a few branches for my daughter. Suki was having fun chasing squirrels and grasshoppers, but I thought I could get her to hold still for just a moment in the leaves for some puppy pictures. The pictures aren’t perfect but there she is in the leaves. I think she was looking for more squirrels. What a beautiful place, even if it is a frontage road.

Get in and Go See Autumn Leaves

Orange and Gold Autumn Leaves

Time to head back home. You know, I can ride my wheeler all the way to my house from Salina Canyon and I did. I stopped and took a few pictures along the way. Over the years as we have driven along I-70 I have heard stories about the early settlers of Salina back in pioneer times and ancient times as well. My husband’s family has long been road contractors and as they were working on the I-70 interstate, they found old indian ruins. I have been told that there was a cave along the road up in the cliffs where they found these ruins. So on my journey I thought I would look for that cave. I took pictures of every cave I saw and when I got home I asked Kirk which cave these prehistoric indians lived in. Here it is:

Prehistoric Indian Cave on I-70

Pretty interesting, huh?

Suki Got Tired of the Ride and Jumped Out for a Run

After I found the caves I continued on my journey an somewhere along the way Suki got tired of riding. While driving along at the rapid speed of 15 miles per hour, all of a sudden Suki jumped off the four-wheeler and ran along side of me. She ran for a while, chasing squirrels and grasshoppers again. I sped ahead and watched as she ran as fast as she could to catch up. She needed her exercise after all. Finally she got tired of running and jumped back in to continue our ride home.

Frontage Road to Salina

Autumn Leaves Just Starting

We kept driving down the frontage road until we reached Salina and then continued on the back roads over to Redmond. As I unpacked I realized that the roads must have been dusty because Suki and I were gray with dirt. Baths and showers were definitely in order so we gathered up our leaves and treasures and headed in to clean up. Oh, and my package got mailed off to my daughter. She plans on sharing it with the class if they are good. This was definitely a fun adventure. Even though at first I was a little scared, I realized that I could do this by myself. As long as I had my guard dog Suki with me.

Suki with Autumn Leaf


Comments

Looking for Autumn Leaves in Central Utah — 8 Comments

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  2. Everything looks so wonderful! Gotta love fall colors 🙂 Happy to have stumbled upon your blog via blogfrog- we’re two wildlife biologists who just joined your community and are really enjoying these photos!

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