Final Motorcycle day 9/18 Montpelier to Coalville, UT

Our final day was a relatively easy day of approximately 175 miles. From Montpelier, Idaho we headed further west into Idaho and then south along the western shore of Bear Lake. Bear Lake is a long lake nestled in a high mountain valley shrouded by a large number of beautiful homes on the surrounding hillsides. They belong to Salt Lake residents who use the lake as an escape from the summer heat. We enjoyed a nice Subway lunch at the south end of the lake and recapped the amazing scenery and comraderie we have enjoyed for the last seven days. We then headed up into the Wasatch mountains crossing over a 9,000 ft. pass where we "endured" a strafing run by a private jet passing over us at about 500 feet. Boy it must be fun to play with your million dollar toy in this mountainous terrain. We passed the Great Basin Ski Resort nestled in this high mountain valley. We are just at the begining of the Aspen and other non-coniferous trees turning into their fall colors. In another week, this area will be ablaze in the bright yellows and reds of the local vegetation.

We then dropped down and picked up I84 on the way to I80 and the town of Coalville where my father spent the week with our truck and trailer. Along I84 we passed a unique geological outcropping called Devil's Slide. This structure is formed by several layers of hard sedimentary rock with a layer of soft rock in between that juts out of the ground vertically. This is rare in that sedimentary layers are usually horizontal or at various angles in mountain ranges. The soft rock in this structure eroded away, leaving a trough or slide as it's called between the two hard vertical layers.

Arriving back at Coalville, we begain the loading process of securing all of the bikes and our gear for the trip back to PA. The game plan calls for me to drop off Rich, Joe and Gerry at the airport for their flights and then to hitch up the trailer and begin the way back home. It seemed totally appropriate to take our final picture under this sign as we experienced many beautifu8l places and friendly people throughout our trip. Now, the process begins to decide where the Phat Pac will go on its seventh annual adventure.