We took a notable vehicle trip
from May 10 to June 29, 2018.
We left town at 5:30 pm after stocking up at Safeway supermarket in Safford. The day was sunny, and miserable hot. High of 104℉/40℃. I was uncomfortable packing the car in the heat.
Drove east toward Clifton AZ but diverted on the Mule Creek “shortcut” toward New Mexico. The drive is a winding, mountainous route but there’s no traffic unless you count Black Angus cows grazing along the pavement, or a few Javelina. Once in New Mexico we head north on US 180 which roughly parallels the San Francisco River. As daylight faded, we see many, many elk grazing. In the darkness their 500 to 700 pound presence in the grass along the road is a bit unnerving. Standing up to 5 feet at shoulder height, it would be very unpleasant to collide with one.
We wind back across the AZ border. In the small town of Alpine I get out for a good stretch and refreshments in the pine scented night air. We are at 8000 feet in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. More elk notice our 2015 Nissan Sentra humming carefully along as we head north and come down in elevation. Near the junction with the road leading to Zuni Pueblo, we pass the unimproved road that leads out to our 40 acre parcel of land in Apache County that is mostly sand and Juniper trees. Traffic is virtually zero.
Drove east toward Clifton AZ but diverted on the Mule Creek “shortcut” toward New Mexico. The drive is a winding, mountainous route but there’s no traffic unless you count Black Angus cows grazing along the pavement, or a few Javelina. Once in New Mexico we head north on US 180 which roughly parallels the San Francisco River. As daylight faded, we see many, many elk grazing. In the darkness their 500 to 700 pound presence in the grass along the road is a bit unnerving. Standing up to 5 feet at shoulder height, it would be very unpleasant to collide with one.
We wind back across the AZ border. In the small town of Alpine I get out for a good stretch and refreshments in the pine scented night air. We are at 8000 feet in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. More elk notice our 2015 Nissan Sentra humming carefully along as we head north and come down in elevation. Near the junction with the road leading to Zuni Pueblo, we pass the unimproved road that leads out to our 40 acre parcel of land in Apache County that is mostly sand and Juniper trees. Traffic is virtually zero.
At the town of Sanders we hop on Interstate 40 and head east for a short hop to Gallup, NM. Husband asks when I am going to stop for the night and then he falls asleep. The drive north across the Navajo reservation is uneventful. Upon entering Colorado the Ute Reservation has brightly lit casinos which are busy even in the wee hours. I decide to stop in Cortez, CO for a nap. It’s about 3 AM so I pull into the Chamber of Commerce lot and snooze for about 90 minutes before pulling out and heading northwest toward Dove Creek. In the early dawn light the scenery is absolutely beautiful. Green fields, farms, ranches. We roll into Utah and turn north again on US 191 at Monticello in the famous geologic area of Utah. I stop to photograph outstanding rock features like Church Rock, and Wilson Arch.
Then we come to Moab which is on the Colorado River. I chose to follow the longer, more “scenic route” way to get to Interstate 70. Utah State Highway 128 is one of the top 3 auto drives I have ever taken. I found myself in a deep, red rock, and close-in canyon along the river. It starts off along the southern boundary of Arches National Park. Mile after twisting mile, all we did was gawk at the scenery. And I took pictures and video of course.
The 38 miles on I-70 to Loma, CO is wide open and not terribly memorable. It’s called the Grand Valley. Except for its size, it is hardly grand from what I’ve seen. The drive up Colorado State Highway 139 was also scenic as it went through high country that was just starting to leaf out on this 11th day of May. The weather was chilly, sunny, and windy at Douglas Pass at 8268 feet. Picture taken!
Dinosaur National Monument Headquarters was in Rangely, CO so I stopped to get information. Then we headed west, back into Utah, to get to the road that accesses the monument which straddles the Utah-Colorado border.
After 766 miles we arrived at Dinosaur NM. It was 2 pm.
Dinosaur National Monument Headquarters was in Rangely, CO so I stopped to get information. Then we headed west, back into Utah, to get to the road that accesses the monument which straddles the Utah-Colorado border.
After 766 miles we arrived at Dinosaur NM. It was 2 pm.
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