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Published: November 19th 2006
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Brrr… it was chilly this morning. It was also a little windy - but nothing like last night! The plan for today, drive as far and as fast as we can and hopefully make Arches National Park or somewhere near there! This, of course, will depend on just how much snow there was in the Rockies and whether or not it has been cleared. Early indications were not good - snow chains required for all commercial vehicles west of Denver…
Statistics
Starting Destination: Limon, Colorado
Ending Destination: Moab, Utah
Ending Destination GPS: N: 38° 33.439’ W: 109° 32.454’ Elev: 4165’
Miles Driven: 442.4
Highest Elevation Reached: 11,013’
The Tumbleweed Adventure, Part Two
We set off early - for us - courtesy of the time change… Maria had forgotten to change her watch to Mountain Standard Time, so the alarm went off at 6:10am instead of 7:10am! This was good - it meant that we got on the road earlier and could take advantage of the dwindling daylight hours. We hadn’t driven too far along Interstate 70 when we started noticing tumbleweeds stuck to the road right-of-way fences… In places they were so thick that you couldn’t even see the fence - just a little confirmation that we weren’t dreaming last night! Driving west you can see the Rockies for miles, getting ever so slightly closer and closer with every mile. Pikes Peak is one of first peaks that is really clear… As most of you probably know, it is possible to drive a vehicle all the way to the summit - something that Maria has thought about doing every time she has driven by… Having climbed only one peak in Colorado, Mount Sopris, which isn’t even a “14’er,” she was eager to add an easy one to the list… perhaps next time?!
Up and Over, The Rockies
We made good time driving east, through Denver and up into the Rockies… Maria noticed that the “official” elevation for Denver was listed as 5280ft… hence the moniker “The mile high City,” Carl wondered “at what location did they take that elevation!” We didn’t see much snow until we were well and truly into the mountains - and then it was everywhere!! We made it through the Eisenhower tunnel and then through Vail Pass with little trouble, there was a little extra snow/ice on the road, but Carl just slowed down a little… Thankfully, we didn’t have to negotiate the “incident” on the western side of the tunnel - somehow a snow plough became separated from the blade… traffic was one lane as vehicles negotiated the chicane created by the equipment!
We stopped at the rest area atop Vail Pass, it was quite a bit different from the last time we had been there… one fourth of July weekend we rode our bikes from Dillon to the top of the pass. But the scenery was beautiful; there is something about undisturbed snow that adds an aura to any view! From Vail pass it was downhill for the rest of the day… Carl was very interested to see the completed road construction in Glenwood Canyon - the last time he had driven through the area was in the 1980’s and the complex mix of bridges, tunnels, cantilever road sections and the bike path had not been completed. Whereas Maria had forgotten that she had driven this way once on the way to Aspen… Thus, we stopped at several spots to admire the jigsaw - how engineers could squeeze the river, railway, bike path and a two lane, two carriageway interstate in the minimum possible area! Continuing west the scenery started to change - from the green of the pine trees, the white of the snow and the sharpness of the peaks… to the earth-tones, rounded edges and aridity of the Colorado Plateau. However, there were a few exceptions… The large number of drilling rigs and the amount of “new” oil-field equipment, the fruit trees in Palisade and, of course, the Colorado River…
Slow Down and see the Sights?
By the time we reached Grand Junction we felt like we were nearing our destination, and to our surprise there was still plenty of daylight left… hence the dilemma - do we keep on going or slow down and see the sights? Our first opportunity, a detour to the Colorado National Monument, was vetoed… we might still be able to see some of the Arches if we got to the National Park in time. Obviously we hadn’t made the transition from road warrior to tourist yet! Over the border into Utah we decided that we needed to take a deep breath… and decided to take the scenic route into Moab - Route 128. In the early 1900’s this road was a vital link from Southeastern Utah into Western Colorado - today it is a route less taken… filled with lots of interesting sights. We just had to slow down!! Our first stop was the Dewey Bridge, a suspension bridge across the Colorado River, constructed in 1916 to support the weight of 6 horses, 3 wagons and 9,000 pounds of freight - the bridge was still in use until the 1980’s when it was replaced by one of concrete!!
The road then followed the Colorado River through the bluffs and down into the canyon… walls of red/orange rocks rose from either side of the road, which was narrow and windy in places! We passed the Fisher Towers where wind/rain had eroded away most of the surrounding rock leaving only spires behind, several expensive looking western “resorts,” and many other geological wonders… We could even see the snow on the peaks of the La Sal Mountains in the distance! By this point we had slowed down sufficiently that we were not going to make Arches National Park before sunset… so we didn’t even try. We admired the color changes caused by the sunlight directly on the rocks before continuing into Moab to stay the night. We were tucked up, snug as “bugs in rugs,” in our hotel room and it wasn’t even 6pm!
Carl’s Travel Trivia
Yesterday’s Answer: Carl says a group of Tumbleweeds is a heard, Maria thinks it is a tumult… event with the power of Google we couldn’t find the “official” correct answer!
Today’s Question: How long is the Eisenhower Tunnel?
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Cecil
non-member comment
Which side of the tunnel?
Which side of the tunnel? Google tells me: The Westbound tunnel is 1.693 miles. The Eastbound tunnel is 1.697 miles