Sept 4 -- On the road again

We left Ouray this morning.  I was a little sad – I really like that little town.  We’ll be back here again some time.

The goal for today was Vernal, Utah, 200 miles up the road.  We made it to Grand Junction, 90 miles up the road, and decided that since we had never seen the Colorado National Monument, we should stop there.  The road winds up and up and up to the top of the mesa, and I tell you, the road to Silverton would be a cakewalk compared to that one!  Especially the tunnels hewn out of red sandstone; at 16’ high (in the center) they were tall enough but still breathtaking to go through them. 

We picked out a campsite in the campground behind the Visitor Center, and then drove along the road at the top of the mesa.  Lots of red sandstone.  We’ve seen so much of the geology of the Colorado Plateau on this trip that even Gerry can tell the difference between Kayenta and Morrison formations.  At least this week he can.  I suspect this is information that he won’t worry too much about retaining.

The good thing is that most of the sight seeing could be done with only short walks.  As we were driving along, I saw something scamper across a flat section of the cliff in front of us, so we stopped and created a Big Horn Sheep jam while I took pictures.  The sky is so blue, they look like a bad photoshop job!

 

          

Now we’ve seen it and we have the pin for our collection.  This was the 12th time we used our Senior Access card to the National Parks on this trip.  We’ve gotten our $10.00 worth!