Mountains to Red Rocks, July 14, 2010

Packed up our stuff and headed for Moab, UT, the home of Arches National Park. What a ride! Starting in the heart of the Rockies, we drove south on Route 7 to 72 from Estes Park through some small towns and spectacular scenery on a curvy 2 lane road. Ray was not happy when we found ourselves behind someone doing 15 miles less than the speed limit. They were from Iowa, probably flummoxed by the hilly and winding roads. On the way, we went through one town, truly in the middle of nowhere that was chock full of what appear to be brand new casinos--Black Hawk, CO.

When we reached Route 6, we headed west and followed a narrow, steep walled canyon to I-70. From there we climbed to about 11,000 feet to the Eisenhower Tunnel. And then, as we descended, I-70 took us by all the ski towns--Vail, Copper Mountain, Dillon and more. As we left the mountains, we talked about how Lewis and Clark must have been amazed (and dismayed) to realize that their task was not just to surmount one mountain, but 500 miles of them.

When we passed Glenwood Springs, we found the scenery much changed. The lodgepole pines had been replaced by the scrubby pines and bushes of the high desert. Rather than follow the directions mapped out by Bambi (our GPS), we decided to take the scenic 54 mile route through Cisco (now a ghost town), down Route 128 along the Colorado River. What a ride! You start out through miles of flat, wide open country, and then you cross the Colorado River, and enter red rock country. Oh my God! What a sight! The river is bounded on both sides, for mile after mile, by towering red cliffs and spires. I can't imagine having lived without seeing this beautiful part of the country.

As we got out of the car to take pictures along Route 128, though, we were swarmed with some type of fly. There were so many in the air, that when we got back in the car and sped away, the bugs sounded like rain drops hitting the windshield.

Once we had checked into our cabin and turned on the AC (it was in the high 90s), we ate dinner, and decided to take the short ride into Arches. It was 8:00 by then, and the sun was getting lower in the sky, making the rock walls glow red. We just drove in about 5 miles, took some photos, and then decided to come back early tomorrow to do more exploring.