Crossing the Wasatch is NOT for the whoosies

We awoke in Vernal to thunder and pelting rain. We seriously considered staying over an extra day but the weather looked the same the next few days. After breakfast the rain lightened and we headed off to Duchesne on route 40 to make another decision on direction for crossing the Wasatch range.  The weather network warned of snow at altitudes over 8000 feet.  At Duchesne the waitress in the coffee shop warned us that heading to Helper could be dicey so we elected to follow route 40 into Park City and on to Salt Lake City. As we climbed through the canyons the rain became heavy and the temperature dropped to 35F, just above freezing.  We were worried that there would be ice on the road.  As we reached the summit, the rain stopped and we pulled over for chili (at 8003 feet) and seriously considered switching vehicles (note the snowmobiles in the photo).  AND, look at that truck parked by the bikes....yikes, that's a LOT of snow on the front windshield.