Leaving Spanish Fork

After 8 nights staying on the Harvest Host farm, we were ready to head out on Wednesday. But, we had some last things we wanted to get done while we were there. We drove up to Orem... 

This pictures was taken when we were stopped at a traffic light in the left turn lane. There was a lane that went straight in front of us, a continuation of the lane that was to the left of us...

... it was marked for "bus only". The busses use the leftmost lane of the roadway, and the bus stops are in the center of the street. We did not specifically notice any busses while we were there, but it would seem that their entry/exit door would need to be on the left side of the bus for safety.

I did a little research on this, and it seems that this is called "Bus Rapid Transit" (BRT).

Bus rapid transit (BRT) uses specialized buses that run in dedicated traffic lanes to efficiently transport large numbers of riders to their destinations. BRT systems feature many of the amenities of light rail, like frequent service, traffic signal priority, ticket vending machines, shelters and benches, while providing communities with a lower-cost, more flexible transit solution. (https://www.rideuta.com/Services/Bus-Rapid-Transit) 

It was odd for us -- when the traffic lanes had a green light, the bus (which was in a lane to the left of the left turn lane) also could go straight through the intersection. When waiting at a left turn signal, it was a little disconcerting to have traffic passing us on both sides. 

One of our reasons for going to Orem was to visit our favorite Golden Corral restaurant... 

Carl had indicated that he thought he was "over buffet'd" from our cruise, but after thinking about how much we had enjoyed this restaurant a few years ago, we decided to make a stop before leaving town.

Information in the restaurant

It is clean and bright and well stocked.

When we were leaving, we thought that the ad on the sign was funny, "Weigh and Pay, Baby!" -- touting their to-go option.

From lunch we went to Sam's Club -- Carl gazing longingly at the big TVs as we were entering...

A massive "Roomba-like" device -- automated cleaning machine, though we honestly couldn't tell that it was actually vacuuming or cleaning.

On the way out, they had these new arches...

If you have shopped at Sam's (or Costco) before, you know that your receipt and items need to be checked by an associate as you exit. Evidently, this technology is intended to make that process quicker, in some cases, not requiring a check by an associate. (https://www.samsclub.com/content/exit)

Before getting back to the rig, we also stopped at Petsmart, Costco, and Walmart! You'd think we were heading out into the wilds of Africa for months!