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Post by ChrisB on Jun 27, 2015 19:13:04 GMT
14 Jun 2015 at 5:07am
Canyonlands National Park- more rocks, more heat, more walking. Once again the scenery is incredible. And some ....err.....'interesting' driving opportunities!    Another arch. This one is hanging off a cliff  Go up close and take a peek through the gap - a looooong way down & what a view!    After the park, we headed south. We clocked up our 2,000th mile this evening, on a quick 20 mile side trip to see some petroglyphs on a rock wall.   Then a little further south to Monticello, where we turned east(ish) again. This point is fairly close to the point where the borders of Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado all meet. We toyed with the idea of dipping into New Mexico, a State we have never been to, but decided that is for another trip. So, into Colorado and a town called Cortez.  Utah is a dry State and if you want anything other than beer, you have to go to a State operated liquor store, which keep crap hours. So, after a good few days in Utah, it's a bit of a treat tonight for us to have a bottle of wine. Mesa Verde National Park tomorrow - a place where there are ancient relics of native American culture, including several cliff dwellings.
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Post by ChrisB on Jun 27, 2015 19:20:56 GMT
Oh, I forgot to mention... ....just when we thought we had seen all the holes in rocks that Utah had to offer.... .......we saw another one......  |
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Post by ChrisB on Jun 29, 2015 18:30:37 GMT
15 Jun 2015 at 6:19am Mesa Verde was great. We have all seen photos of the houses built into caves and ledges in the cliffs but, as ever the photos only tell part of the story.    It's only really when you take a panoramic shot that a flavour of the scale and setting can begin to be expressed.  Moving on from the park in the early evening, we got the distinct feeling that we were getting very close to the Rocky Mountains now. Tonight's stay is to be in Durango and we'll be going north tomorrow on Route 550, which is supposed to be one of the most spectacular drives in the US. Built in the late 1930's. The 'Million Dollar Highway' is part of the 'San Juan Skyway' and is fairly high on the list of roads that can kill you! It ascends three very high mountain passes: Coal Bank Pass (10,640 ft /3,240 m); Molas Pass (10,970 ft /3,340 m) and Red Mountain Pass (11,018 ft /3,358 m). The region was thick with gold mines and has also been used as the location for quite a few classic western films such as True Grit. But all that is for tomorrow.
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Post by MartinT on Jun 29, 2015 18:42:07 GMT
Amazing!
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Post by ChrisB on Jun 29, 2015 21:03:24 GMT
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Post by ChrisB on Jun 29, 2015 21:31:38 GMT
The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is another one of those 'stand at the top and look down into the hole' National Parks, I'm afraid.The name comes from the fact that it is so deep, steep sided and narrow that parts of the gorge only receive 33 minutes of sunlight a day. 2,000 foot sheer drops! It was stunning and left me speechless over and over again. Just fantastic.     Even the residents have to stop and take it all in every now and then!   One of the ideas that we had toyed with were to go east and end up at Pike's Peak but at the end of the day we decided to continue north-ish and head for Grand Junction for the night, making the last few days into a great swooping loop south, only to end up almost back in Green River. Today's route. 
Taking refuge in a motel in Grand Junction for the night, we're taking stock. Just a couple of days of touring left now and the plan was to head for the Rocky Mountain National Park. Looking at the current conditions it may not be so good, as the weather there has been atrocious for the last few days and some areas in and around the park are under several feet of water. We will have to see.
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Post by brian2957 on Jun 29, 2015 22:14:13 GMT
Amazing images again Chris . Very different from your previous pictures and just as spectacular . How does one contemplate coming back home to UK after a couple of weeks of this  |
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Post by ChrisB on Jun 29, 2015 22:21:20 GMT
It does make normal life seem rather humdrum, but it's always good to come home.
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Post by ChrisB on Jun 30, 2015 7:54:18 GMT
17 Jun 2015 at 7:30am Grand Junction to Greeley  A long day today. We headed east along the Interstate, dipping in and out of the old Route 6 in places where it splits out from the big road that half swallowed it up. This used to be a single unbroken route from Long Beach, California all the way across to the Atlantic at Provincetown Massachusetts and the longest road in America. We drove along a portion of it back in California and Nevada earlier on in this trip. One of the spells we did off the Interstate was a spin over the Loveland Pass, the highest pass to be kept open all year round. It was here that we crested the Continental Divide at a height of just under 12,000 feet.   High snow banks by the side of the road, showing evidence of what a big job it must be to keep this road clear - and last winter was a fairly mild one!  Serious measures to keep people safe  Amazing views all around   After Loveland Pass, we jinked off north to the Rocky Mountain National Park. More on that shortly.
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Post by brian2957 on Jun 30, 2015 8:24:40 GMT
Nice pictures again Chris but don't like the snow mate . We see enough of it up here without going looking for it  Looking forward to ' viewing ' the next leg of the trip . |
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Post by ChrisB on Jun 30, 2015 12:15:57 GMT
Ha! It's almost three times the height of Ben Nevis, so a wee bit of the white stuff is a possibility at any time of the year.
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Barry
Rank: Trio
Posts: 195 
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Post by Barry on Jul 1, 2015 0:59:17 GMT
15 Jun 2015 at 6:19am Mesa Verde was great. We have all seen photos of the houses built into caves and ledges in the cliffs but, as ever the photos only tell part of the story. It's only really when you take a panoramic shot that a flavour of the scale and setting can begin to be expressed. Moving on from the park in the early evening, we got the distinct feeling that we were getting very close to the Rocky Mountains now. Tonight's stay is to be in Durango and we'll be going north tomorrow on Route 550, which is supposed to be one of the most spectacular drives in the US. Built in the late 1930's. The 'Million Dollar Highway' is part of the 'San Juan Skyway' and is fairly high on the list of roads that can kill you! It ascends three very high mountain passes: Coal Bank Pass (10,640 ft /3,240 m); Molas Pass (10,970 ft /3,340 m) and Red Mountain Pass (11,018 ft /3,358 m). The region was thick with gold mines and has also been used as the location for quite a few classic western films such as True Grit. But all that is for tomorrow. |
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Barry
Rank: Trio
Posts: 195
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Post by Barry on Jul 1, 2015 1:01:15 GMT
I saw troglodite 'dwellings' like that in Mali in the Bandiagra escarpment.
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Barry
Rank: Trio
Posts: 195
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Post by Barry on Jul 1, 2015 1:03:48 GMT
Did they sell "atonal apples and amplified heat, and Pressed Rat's collection of dog's legs and feet"? |
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Post by ChrisB on Jul 1, 2015 6:10:10 GMT
I did stop to ask but all the owners (who were dressed in red jodphurs and a striped tie) did was to mutter something about bad Captain Madman. A shame, as I would have liked to have seen a Derogga tree.
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Post by ChrisB on Jul 1, 2015 8:02:17 GMT
17 Jun 2015 continuedSo, into the Rocky Mountain National Park, where, despite some distant lightning, the weather held out OK for us. It was late afternoon when we arrived, which is a great time for getting amongst the wildlife. There's a half tonne cow Moose in there somewhere!  Smile!!  Up close with the Elk   This visit also entailed another trip up a 12,000 ft hill   ....more roadside snow banks ......and another part of the Continental Divide.  ....and not forgetting the sunset at the top of the world.  Then we made the run down the hill in the quest for a bed for the night. It was a long drive before we could find somewhere and, going against all principles, we had to settle for a chain motel. Yeeuuuchh! It was all that was on offer when we rolled into Greeley, Colorado (just a little north of Boulder) at 11.30pm. So, just one more day of it before we head home.
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Post by brian2957 on Jul 1, 2015 8:24:47 GMT
Fantastic Chris . I'm usually an organized 'leave nothing to chance ' kinda guy where holidays are concerned . However you seem to have been very successful at this ' taking pot-luck ' kind of journey where you go where the mood takes you and find accomodation whenever and wherever . As I've said before , I've never been to the USA but it seems like this type of holiday would never cease to amaze and satisfy the curious side of my nature wherever we went . This has been a valuable chronicle of your journey and if I was ever lucky enough to attempt this kind of holiday I'm sure I would refer to this thread for the wealth of information contained within it. Many thanks for taking the trouble to post  |
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Post by ChrisB on Jul 1, 2015 13:54:10 GMT
Thanks Brian. It's great that you have been able to get something good out of it. Being spontaneous works well for us but I can see how others might not go for it at all. It works well in the US and Canada because of the number of motels there, but I'm not sure I'd do it this way anywhere else.
When I have finished the tale of this trip, I'll share some of the other routes we have taken on previous years. Now that might really wet your appetite for a trip over the Atlantic!
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Post by brian2957 on Jul 1, 2015 14:22:47 GMT
Look forward to it Chris |
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Post by MartinT on Jul 1, 2015 16:59:32 GMT
It works well in the US and Canada because of the number of motels there, but I'm not sure I'd do it this way anywhere else. Agree with that, there's something about the scale of the US and the feeling of freedom given a car to drive. I do like that aspect very much. |
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