It's a brisk 40 degrees in Evanston WY this morning as we prepare to head out for Salt Lake City and our overnight destination of Boise, ID.
Running low on gas, we began looking in earnest for a place to fill up. It soon became apparent that our options were somewhat limited in eastern Utah, until we spotted a sign for Henefer and Grump's General Store. Despite the old fashioned non-electric gas pumps, Grump's had a fabulous digital sign, a well stocked store, reasonable prices, and clean restrooms ( always a big plus for me!). And we had a fantastic chat with the owner....,,
Grump's has been in business for over 50 years, with only three owners. The current owner bought it, despite his wife's reluctance, about three years ago upon his retirement from the Salt Lake Police Department.
The store's first owner was the original "Grump", (a nickname that had been with the man from infancy). His son, who was the mayor at the time, eventually took over as the store's second owner.
The store has not changed much over the years. At one time it had a repair shop, specializing in repair of milk tanks.
Today's store is proudly not affiliated with any of the major oil companies. The owner, his wife and daughter work very hard to ensure that they offer quality merchandise at competitive prices. I'd say they are very successful and their work is much appreciated!
Grump's is not open on Sundays. It never has been and never will be. According to the owner, none of the locals would go there on Sunday anyway because they are all in church.
Henefer is a lovely town of approximately 750 surrounded by incredible mountain views. Many thanks to the good folks at Grump's for a most enjoyable stop. If you are ever in Henefer, stop in and say hello!
Views and more views....
At the Great Salt Lake (Antelope Island)
I'm not really obsessed with restrooms, but some things simply cannot go undocumented.
We had lunch at the Buffalo Grill and yes, we had buffalo burgers. The seagulls enjoyed our leftovers.
We found some very interesting rocks in the lake. There were also loads of gnats all over everything on the shore and sea monkeys (brine shrimp) in the water.
Leaving the Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island we ventured into Salt Lake City for a glimpse of the Mormon (Salt Lake) Tabernacle. We snapped a few photos and hit the road for Boise.
We stopped in the official "Middle of Nowhere" and found a sheep, two donkeys and two sheared alpacas. And a basset hound.
Next stop was the Snake River Canyon. Yes, the one of Evel Knievel fame. It's an incredible canyon, located in the middle of wide open spaces. While not quite on the scale of the Grand Canyon, it is pretty impressive. It is spanned by the Perrine Bridge, which is one of the few places that allow BASE jumping without a permit. We got to see quite a few jumpers. But, wait, there's more!
As we arrived, a film crew was setting up. At first we thought it was for the BASE jumpers, but then learned that there was a young woman being led up to the bridge to bungee jump. So we stayed to watch, taking lots of photos and video.
Her jump was successful, but she burned her hands and after the jump, one of her entourage got some of Lizzie and Say's first aid supplies to help her out. It turns out they were filming a commercial (will only be seen in Britain and parts of Asia). The woman, an actress from London named Katrina Ward, was taken, blindfolded to the bridge. She was told they'd found a place for her to bungee jump and took the blindfold off. She was asked if she would do it, she said yes, and did! It was very cool!!
So all that excitement done, we are back on the road again, heading to Boise for the night!
We made one final stop, in Mountain Home, ID, to see the Penny Wall, a mural on the side of a bar, made mostly of pennies, but also containing done nickels, dimes and quarters. Nice work!
U-turns - the Mother of all U-turns, the double dog U-turn at Grump's General Store in Henefer UT (see above)
Brine shrimp: twenty-seven gazillion
Sheep: 1 small flock + 1
Donkeys: 2
Alpacas: 2 (sheared)
Tumble weeds:1
BASE jumpers: 8+
Bungee jumpers: 1
Commercials being filmed:1
Cars stopped for speeding: 0
U-turns resulting from going the wrong way on a one way street: 1
Bunnies:1
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