Dead Horse Point

We talked to several friends about our planned stay in Moab, Utah; several advised a must see--Dead Horse Point State Park. Initially our thoughts were, "We hope they've disposed of the horse!" But it was nearby, so we went.

The park is situated near Canyonlands National Park; the view into the canyon of the Colorado River was worth the visit.

The brown ribbon at the left is the Colorado. There were a surprising number of folks visiting the park. The visitor center was crowded and hiking paths and roadways were obviously popular as well. Juniper was everywhere. I'd heard juniper berries were used in the production of gin. You can see the wheels turning here as Herb calculated just how many berries it might take.

So having seen this preview of Canyonlands, we moved on to the national park. But that's another story.

Changes in the Map

You may notice a change in the map of states in which we've camped. I must confess the original was inaccurate. And we've added states in our current travels. So this is correct, I think!

Rocky Road

We had driven through Iowa and Nebraska--now we were ready for some mountains. We headed up I-70 out of Denver and into the Rocky Mountains.

It soon became obvious our motorhome wasn't going to perform well above 10,000 feet. The transmission and the braking systems were keeping Herb very busy. The propane flow to the fridge quit altogether. So we stopped along the road for a break here and there.

We drove through the Eisenhower Tunnel at Loveland Pass.

After that, a seven percent grade. I hate going downhill (or downmountain, in this case). I generally close my eyes tightly and push my feet firmly against the floor believing somehow that will slow the coach. Herb is an outstanding driver, but all this was wearing him out.

We stopped several times to walk around and enjoy the cool, mountain air--a change from the odor of hot brakes permeating the coach. We were giving the driver and the brakes a break!

All day the skies had threatened rain. We had a few drops here and there as well as periods of light mist. Wet pavement and dicey brakes on the downhill slope of the Rocky Mountains are not conducive to a safe trip. Going uphill, on the other hand, slowed us down considerably. We seemed to find ourselves behind big trucks with emergency blinkers operating.

Eventually we came to Vail where we glimpsed ski chalets through the rain.

We eventually found our way out of the mountains and into Glenwood Canyon--more about that later!