These images look southeast along the highway at the Idaho-Utah border south of Strevell, Idaho. At the state line the road changes from Idaho SR 81 to Utah SR 42. The upper photo, taken in 2004, shows my Subaru station wagon. The lower photo, taken in 2011, shows my Toyota Sienna.

The upper photo is important because it was taken to document my arrival at the Utah state line during my first trip to Utah. I was happy as a clam on this occasion. When I drove past the Box Elder County sign I let out a joyous shout to celebrate---I was in Utah! But it was all a mistake, caused by what I first thought was a hoax perpetrated by the states of Idaho and Utah but later realizer was a product of my stupidity. I realized the mistake later, when I took the lower photo.

Seven years later I drove this way again and photographed my Sienna in the same spot. But just before arriving here I had noticed a modest "Mile 0" sign by the road. It was about 260 feet (80m) north of the "Welcome" sign. Seeing that sign aroused my curiosity, so I looked around and found a survey marker identifying the state line. I realized that neither the "Welcome to Utah" sign nor the "Box Elder County" sign was at the state line. In 2004 I had been duped, tricked, and lied to. My joy of crossing into Utah had been a cruel misconception because I had already been in Utah when I took the upper photo. Celebrating the crossing of a state line counts for nothing when one has crossed that line 260 feet earlier. Life is tough.

In 2014, when editing images, it dawned on me that if common sense had prevailed in 2004, I would never have thought of being duped. If the small green sign showed the boundary of Utah's Box Elder County, then the "Welcome" sign had to be in Idaho. I cannot imagine Idaho's allowing another state to place a welcome sign on Idaho soil. I need to get my head screwed on tighter.

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