Road Trip Time Day 32 - Provo to Moriarty, NM

 Welcome to July.  With today's arrival, we were not in our house a single day in June.  Woah.  I knew this going in, but it's pretty strange for the entire month to have passed just like that.  Today, we are beginning the final trek home.  About an hour and a half into our drive, we come to Helper, UT and take a side trip to check it out as it lists coffee being available.  What a fun little town.  Come along and share a step into the past with us.  It's pretty much a Main Street U.S.A town surrounded by bluffs.

The shop is called Happiness Within and it's really got a fun atmosphere going on inside.

I LOVE this little espresso tic tac toe.

Take a peek around with us.  Looking towards the seating area and serving station.

Looking back from the serving station.  How comfy is this?

Opting to take our coffee to go provides us with a chance to roam the town a bit.  Looking the other way.

LOVE this balanced rock.

The Lincoln Hotel - now AirBNB's.  Funky and fun.

Helper has its very own tourist attraction.  Seriously.  "Big John was an original idea, born from the creativity and enthusiasm of Helper citizens, the Mayor and the City Council.  In February of 1964, many of the movers and shakers of Helper decided the city needed a civic attraction.  On February 27, 1964, the first meeting for the formation of a museum was held, where Councilman Al Veltri was appointed chairman.  Things snowballed from there.  By March 12, 1964 the Western Mining Museum was on its way.  It was discovered that a firm, International Fiberglass in Venice, CA, made large fiberglass figures for promotional purposes.  The company was a fiberglass boat builder that had begun making tall advertising figures in 1963.  With some discussion, the order went out and created the largest resident of Helper.  Paul Bunyan became a miner.  Of course the miner still needed a name, but that didn't take long.  In 1961, the song of fame (the first was "16 Tons) about mining won the best Country Song and Album of the Year.  It was, of course, "Big Bad John".  What other name was fitting for the 18 foot miner in Helper except "Big John."  Big John is a proud symbol of pride for the mining industry.  John also signifies the memory of all those who have given their lives in the local mines since the late 1890's.  John is the foundation of civic pride and strong work ethics for a unified community.  The stand was built from rails, spikes and plates gathered from Castle Gate Mine Tram Way."

Across the way is more information about the area and it looks like there is a bit of exploring to be had here.  Perhaps a return trip is warranted.

On the way back to the car - 

These little chalk bins are all over town - encouraging fun at all times.

Even between the buildings is fun to see.

An old-fashioned soda fountain.  Sure wish it was open this early in the morning (it's 9:15 at this point).

A look across at the coffee shop one more time.

As we are driving away --- this old caboose is spotted.

AND this station on the way out.  HOW FUN IS THIS?

Well, that's it for Helper at this time.  A couple of hours later, food is required and we are in Moab.  I bet we can make things happen.

The brewery opens in 10 minutes, so we wait.  A refreshing drink and some hummus fits the bill.

At this point we start hearing about HOURS of delay up ahead on the interstate, but since we are HOURS away, we just keep going.  SEVEN hours later, we hit the problem.  It is still backed up for hours and we opt out.  Although we wanted to go further tonight, I guess it's just not going to happen.  We grab some dinner at a hole in the wall Chinese spot in Edgewood.  It's called China Chef.  It's actually pretty decent, but I'm tired and was over hungry, so perhaps not the best judge.

As we leave - the sky shows some beauty to help my mood.

And a bed finishes us off.  Not our usual fare, but it works.  See ya tomorrow.