So, with salt air in our lungs, we turn west again.
Actually, the road from here gets really interesting. Travelers along the Lincoln Highway have some choices to make at this point. Take the straight and easy course on I-80 across the Great Salt Lake Desert to Wendover, or follow the original route to the south past Orr’s Ranch and through Fish Springs to Ibapah, Utah. The southern route is mostly on unpaved roads and is one of the grand adventures of the cross country trip. But we’re behind on time.
Butko has sent me an email: “You’ll be tempted by I-80 into NV but don’t do it! Not only are that and the road back to the LH known as the most boring roads anywhere, but you’ll miss one of the LH’s most popular parts, around the SL Desert.”
We need lunch. It’s 4:30 and we head slightly south for Tooele. Conor at Saltair had taught us that the town name is pronounced “too-illa.” We pull into a slick looking local place called Tracks. I take the maps and Butko’s book with me into the restaurant. I’m thinking we keep going toward the wild road south. Bob (who is no wimp and maybe the best driver I know) is adamant that it’s too risky to head for the unpaved route so late in the day.
And we want to be in San Francisco by Friday. Bob is serious.
I see a man sitting alone at a counter nearby, and I say, “Excuse me. Do you know the roads around here?”
And he says, “Yes.”
And so I explain the situation. Should we go back to I-80 across the desert? Or can we continue south through Fish Springs on the unpaved roads?
“Do you have plans to stay somewhere down there?” the guy asks?
“No, we’d like to be in Ely by tonight.”
“You’ll never make it,” he says. “Those unpaved roads can be treacherous and confusing. And you really should never drive over 30 miles per hour on any unpaved road. I’d recommend the interstate.”
So, he sides with Bob. And I think Jarrett agrees with Bob too.
I say, OK, we’ll head back for I-80.
We eat our late lunch quietly. I’m disappointed, but I accept the decision. We’ll come back some other time for the other route. Butko had told me he’d like to be interviewed out here. Maybe we can make that happen.
After we finish, I say “Thanks” to the guy who’s still sitting at the counter with his chicken fried steak. “You are the man who changed our course.”
I explain what we’re doing, give him one of the explanatory flyers that we hand out, and learn that his name is Neal Hayes. I ask, “Would you mind if I took your picture?”
“No problem”
He then gets warm handshakes and thanks from Bob and Jarrett.
Then he says, “Now I’m gonna tell you who you’ve been talking to.”
Huh?
I immediately imagine he’s the President of the Nevada Lincoln Highway Association, or maybe Director of Nevada Highways or the local highway commissioner or something like that. Maybe he’s the mayor here.
He says, “I’m the Idol of Tooele.”
“Excuse me?” I say.
“I’m the Idol of Tooele. I won the local American-Idol-style singing competition.”
“You’re kidding?” I say. “When did you win?”
“Earlier this year.”
“What did you sing?”
“Fly Me To The Moon,” he says. “Tony-Bennett-style.”
“Excellent,” I say. “And you know the local roads.”
“Yes. And we have karaoke here tonight. That’s why I’m here.”
We head several miles north to meet I-80, and turn directly west to cross the desert, our path changed by the Idol of Tooele, the Utah King of Karaoke. Let us play among the stars.