Day 2 - Friday, May 6, 2016

I was pretty wiped out last night, having not slept well the past two nights, plus the strenuous hike and all the driving.  We were listening to the Rockies game on the radio while we read, and my eyes wouldn't stay open, so I gave up and rolled over and went right to sleep (just before the Rockies had their 13-run inning).  We both slept until almost 7:30 this morning, but since we're not in rush to get anyplace by a certain time, no le hace.

After our usual coffee while propped up in our tiny bed, we roused and had a quick breakfast of cereal with berries and split a cinnamon roll, and were rolling by about 8:30.  We couldn't leave Colorado National Monument without at least a quick drive part-way around Rimrock Drive, the scenic road which hugs the edge of the fantastic red rock canyons of the side of the mesa.  For those that have never visited this little slice of heaven in western Colorado, it's like an abbreviated version of the Canyonlands region of Utah -- red sandstone cliffs dropping precipitously down into the canyon floor below, with magnificent buttes and spires terminating the long and narrow headlands between each of the deep canyons.  But, alas, we did have to start heading west once more, so down the steep and winding road from the top of the mesa to the broad river valley below.  After a stop for gas, we were up on the Interstate and Utah-bound under cloudy skies.

Colorado National Monument

 I-70 westbound through central Utah, as those that have driven this way before know, traverses through some of the most diverse geology in the American west.  After crossing the state line, the highway passes through a mind-boggling mix of sagebrush flats, winding through ranges of a variety of multi-colored sandstone buttes and canyons, and at one point crosses the San Rafael Reef through a narrow canyon hacked through the solid rock of this massive uplift that splits the state of Utah.  Farther west, the highway climbs up and over a wooded mountain range reminiscent of the mountains left behind back in Colorado.  Snow-capped ridges were visible to the sides and to our front as we climbed up to the summit in a light rain shower as we watched the dashboard thermometer drop 10, 20, 25 degrees as we wound our way uphill.

I-70 Passing through the San Rafael Reef

From the summit, the road dropped down to the town of Salina, where US 50 branches off from I-70 and begins a zig-zagging route through a lush, green inter-mountain valley where it joins I-15 for a short distance before turning off first west, then north, then west again before shooting off like an arrow toward Nevada.  It was here that we stopped for the night at the town of Delta, Utah, where we're staying in an RV park so we can get a warm shower and enjoy the comforts of shore power to propel our microwave.

Western National Parks 2016

Day 1 - Thursday, May 5, 2016

We actually got on the road early -- I guess there's a first time for everything.  We were shooting for a 9:00am departure and backed out  of the driveway at 8:25.  I'm sure that won't become a habit.

The drive west up I-70 was pretty uneventful; weekday traffic was about normal, and summertime road work was about as one could expect.  The major lane addition project between the Twin Tunnels and the Empire/Winter Park exit seems to be just about finished except for the first (eastmost) exit into Idaho Springs.  There was some fairly major work around Vail, and what appeared to be the last vestiges of the road repairs in Glenwood Canyon where the rockslide occurred a few months ago.

Speaking of Glenwood Canyon, we've been through there dozens of times and always say to ourselves as we pass the exit to Hanging Lakes, "We need to stop there sometime."  Well, this time we did. We were surprised at the number of cars in the parking lot for a weekday; we had to park way down near the entrance.  After a walk of a about a quarter mile along the paved bike path through the canyon, the trail up to Hanging Lakes branched off up a narrow canyon to the north, following a small tumbling stream.  It is a steep and rocky trail -- I'd probably rate it among the top two or three trails in difficulty that we've hiked over the years with our Tuesday hiking group.  I wouldn't call it crowded, but there were a lot of people on the trail, most of whom were headed down as we stepped aside to let them pass, thankful for an opportunity to give our lungs a rest.  Finally, after about a mile and a quarter and seven crossings of the stream over very nice wooden bridges, we reached the clear,  turquoise main lake.  Water pours over a wide cascade of small falls from an upper lake, and a boardwalk with benches spaced here and there reaches about two-thirds of the way around the lake.  We paused for a protein bar snack before the final short climb up to the upper lake.  The upper lake is little more than a broad, shallow pool, but interestingly is fed by a gushing torrent of water that shoots directly out of a hole in the rock face above.  Then, having satisfied our curiosity about Hanging Lakes, we started back down the steep and rocky trail to continue our journey west.

Lower Hanging Lake

We had hoped to make it Green River, Utah, for our first night, but since the hike to Hanging Lake had taken longer than we had anticipated, we decided  to stop in Grand Junction for a late lunch/early dinner, then spend the night at one of our favorite Colorado spots, the Colorado National Monument.  We arrived just as the attendant was leaving the entry gate, and she told us to drive on up to the campground.  We were somewhat surprised at how many campers were already there; in fact we got one of the last of the non-reserved campsites.  Once again, we marveled at what a great deal the Federal Interagency Senior Pass is -- $10 for a lifetime of free entry to national parks and other attractions, plus half-price camping.  Our night in the campground high on the mesa overlooking Grand Junction, Fuita, and the valley of the Colorado River cost us the grand sum of $10.  Since we had already eaten dinner, there was nothing to do except have a glass of wine, take a stroll around the campground, and button up in the mootor home with our books.