Ut"ah" Oohs and Ahs - Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Today was the best travel day of this trip so far. We left Tawoac, Colorado, at 7:25 am when the temperature was a cool 63 degrees! It wasn't long until we crossed into Utah. 

Our first interesting experience happened halfway between Cortez, Colorado, and Monticello, Utah, on the rolling hills of U.S. Hwy 491. I was driving, traffic was very light, and I was in a line of semi trucks. One semi had just passed me. I looked ahead of him as we came over a hill. The semi in front of me was stopping. Oversize loads of wind turbine parts were on trailers on both shoulders of the highway awaiting pilot cars. But that wasn't the most interesting part! 

We had to stop for a motorcade of pilot cars and police cars that were pulling out from the side of the road assisting two extra-large wide loads. The loads looked like big orange scoop buckets. It was quite a production. I'd estimate there were three pilot cars, and about six police or sheriff vehicles, all with their lights flashing.

Four police vehicles led the line. They went about a mile ahead and had all oncoming traffic pull off to the side of the road and stop. The line of cars on our side of the road stayed in line behind the whole procession and traveled at 55 mph. The line of trucks and cars behind us had grown to about a mile long, judging by what I saw in the rear-view mirror. We were coming up on a major intersection, the turn from U.S. 491 to U.S. 191 in Monticello, Utah. Bob took photos.

Coming into Monticello, Utah, they had to close the
intersection to give the oversize loads room to maneuver.

We were first in line behind the motorcade.

Turning wide at the intersection to get that 
big bucket into position.

We found this whole process fascinating!

U.S. 191: The two oversized loads can be seen on
the hill. Oncoming traffic is off to the side.

We are coming down the hill by the Bee Hive
formation. At the bottom, we were allowed to pass.

They let the cars that were following
the oversize loads pass here.

At this point, we are entering Utah's red rock territory on the way to Moab. U.S. 191 is our favorite highway to head northwest toward Nevada or Idaho. The scenery is so unique. 

We switched drivers after we were sure the oversize loads wouldn't pass us. I wanted to take photos to share with y'all!

U.S. 191 in Utah, south of Moab.

U.S. 191 in Utah, south of Moab.

U.S. 191 in Utah, south of Moab.

The La Sal Mountains in Utah.

U.S. 191 in Utah, south of Moab.

U.S. 191 in Utah, south of Moab.

The clouds put on a show this morning.

U.S. 191 in Utah, south of Moab. The La
Sal Mountains are in the background.

This is a wonderful travel day. Traffic is light and the scenery is stunning. U.S. 191 is very hilly and some of the hills are big. There are signs asking slow drivers to use their flashers. And believe me when I say, we took our time going up some of those hills. We passed through Moab on our way to I-70.

A massive red rock wall on the way into Moab.

Crossing the Colorado River in Moab, Utah.

Rock formations at the entrance to
Arches National Park.

The Visitor Center at Arches National Park.

A huge red rock wall going north from 
Arches National Park on U.S. 191.

Our fuel was down to about a quarter tank. I get nervous when it's under a third of a tank. Fuel was over $4/gallon in Moab, so Bob decided we would get fuel when we got to I-70. Biting my fingernails here. When we got to the intersection with I-70, there was nothing: no gas stations, stores, nothing. It was a few miles west on I-70 until we came to a town. We found diesel fuel for $3.53/gallon. 

The gas station we went to had a nice convenience store. I purchased some cheese to go with our Triscuits and two kinds of Chex Mix. There was a large truck parking lot next to the store so we picked a spot, took our food inside the 5th wheel, and had lunch. We fed the kitties, gave them water and love, and gave them a respite from the rolling earthquake.

Once back on I-70 headed west, we were treated to more gorgeous scenery and a few geology lessons thrown in for good measure. First up, the San Rafael Reef and San Rafael Swell. The geographic term for this formation is an anticline. 

The San Rafael Reef is a 30-mile-long
barrier wall.

Before roads were built, it was extremely difficult to navigate through the San Rafael Swell. The early Spanish explorers detoured 20 miles north to avoid this wall.

The earth's crust heaved from below to form a great dome of rock layers. Over millennia, erosion erased the top of the dome. You can now see the sharply tilted layers of hard sandstone. This is an alien landscape of slot canyons, sheer cliffs, pinnacles, spectacular pour-offs, and desert varnish. There is a great view point with historical markers here.

The San Rafael Swell.

I blend into the scenery today.

From this view point, we continued west on I-70 through the San Rafael Swell. Our next stop was at Black Dragon Canyon View Point. 

Erosion of the San Rafael Reef exposed jagged edges.

I-70 goes through the San Rafael Swell.

The San Rafael Swell.

Black Dragon Canyon.

Fascinating and mind-blowing!

Black Dragon Canyon.

Rigamarole and Beauty.

Hello from Utah!

We continued west on I-70. The next point of interest was the Ghost Rock View Area. The truck/RV parking lot here was rather small. All the big rig parking was full (a car had taken up one of the large parking spots). We had to exit the parking lot and park by the ramp onto the freeway, then walk back to read all the signs and see the glorious vistas. We never did figure out which big rock formation was Ghost Rock.

Scenery along I-70 east of Richfield, Utah.

Scenery along I-70 east of Richfield, Utah.

Scenery along I-70 east of Richfield, Utah.

Ghost Rock View Area, I-70, Utah.

Ghost Rock View Area, I-70, Utah.

Ghost Rock View Area, I-70, Utah.

Ghost Rock View Area, I-70, Utah.

Ghost Rock View Area, I-70, Utah.

Ghost Rock View Area, I-70, Utah.

The Old Spanish Trail detoured 20 miles north.

Ghost Rock View Area, I-70, Utah.

See my Ghost Rock View Area panoramic video below.

At this point in our journey, you can see big clouds building up. The temperature was pleasant at 84 degrees. As soon as we left the Ghost Rock View Area, we saw lightning across a valley to the southwest. Raindrops spritzed the truck. Then it rained in earnest. The lightning show entertained us for a number of miles.

We arrived at the KOA Holiday RV Park in Richfield, Utah, at 3:30 pm. It stopped raining long enough for us to pull into our site and get hooked up. I also had time to wash our back picture window and dining room slide-out window. Then it rained quite a bit. The temperature dropped into the mid-70s. Woo hoo! Tonight, the temperature will drop to 64 degrees.

After the rain let up, I made it my mission to replace a light bulb over our kitchen sink. NAPA auto parts said they didn't have it. They suggested I go to Jorgensen's RV repair. First, I had to find it. The customer service guy at NAPA gave me directions, but they sucked for someone who had never been to their town before. I ended up in a U-Haul rental parking lot and an employee walking across the lot explained how to get where I needed to go. It was really close! I found the light bulb that we needed. 

Bob and I did a little drive around town, had dinner at Taco Time, and filled the truck with fuel. We stopped at the Visitor Center and read the signs. (The Visitor Center was closed for the day.)

Bob went out for a long bike ride this evening and got back just before dark. He was happily riding around the neighborhoods in Richfield on FLAT roads.

Today's drive was excellent! We had so many interesting things to see. It was a road travel tour made possible by Mother Nature, and pull-out view points at regular intervals on I-70. 

 

Tomorrow, we are headed west to Eureka, Nevada. Have a great Thursday everyone.