Sandstone and deep canyons


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North America » United States » Utah » Moab
July 12th 2008
Published: July 12th 2008
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It has been an incredible couple of days of scenery as we continue to move our way across Utah and now Colorado. Yesterday we stayed in Moab, in the heart of the signature sandstone canyons and rock sculptures of Utah. The heat continued but it dipped a little to just over 100 F. We continued to travel along I-70 in Utah under blue skies but managed to get off early from Richfield so missed some of the heat. We turned onto #191 South to Moab and the scenery got progressively spectacular. It is hard to describe so I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Last evening we took a ride through Arches National Park to see some of the spectacular formations. We did not have time nor were we prepared to do any hiking in the area but there are countless trails for those who want to get up close and personal to some of the natural sculptures that abound. The bad news was that my glasses were stepped on as we left the cabin this morning. I did bring my old pair but lets just say that things are a little blurry with them and I need a seeing eye passenger to read the road signs.

Coming out of Moab, we rode along Highway 128 along the Colorado River through a spectacular canyon back to I-70. At Grand Junction, we headed south on Highway 50, the road we have been taking and will take across most of the country. We stopped in Delta for a quick lunch and got into a conversation with a 75-year-old local biker who was just taking off on his huge Harley. He steered us into taking Highway 92, which wound its way back to 50 along the cliffs of a canyon that made the Princeton-Coalmont road look pale in comparison. The bottom of the canyon was so far down we could barely see it. There were no guardrails for most of it and sheer drops to thousands of feet below. My backseat passenger, who is afraid of heights and understandably nervous because I couldn't see much, made a lot of strange noises along the way. We could have veered off and toured Black Canyon State Park but didn't like the sound of "last six miles is dirt road" so we decided against that little side trip. Number 92 ended with a trip across the Blue Mesa Dam back to 50.

Tonight we are staying in a fancy KOA cottage in Gunnison, up in the mountains of Colorado. I managed to get my new glasses repaired this afternoon at a vision center in town and was not charge anything for it. It is a lot easier to drive a motorcycle when you can see. Tomorrow we head down the road to La Junta.



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12th July 2008

WOW!!!!!!!!!!
Spectacular scenery!! The mauves are absolutely awesome! Thanks for sharing! SB

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