Day 15 (full version)

Day 15
Tuesday, July 9, 2013

0600 Wake up

0728 Leaving - only half an hour behind schedule

0735 Starbucks line is way too long so don't stop

0737 Wag-n-Wash

0744 Gas, $3.61/gallon

0806 Heading up Ute Pass

0807 Fire danger is Extreme

0819 Stop at McD's in Woodland Park.  The GPS lied to us.  It said there is a Sonic (there's not) and there isn't a McD's (there is).  Oh well.  At least I got food and coffee.

0844 Rocco is making a weird noise in the back.

0846 Painted lizard rock grafitti

0850 Rocco making weird noises again - what's wrong with him?!

0855 South Platte River

0905 Pike National Forest and Wilkerson Pass.  Elevation 9,507 feet

0909 Cows

0912 Antelope

0932 San Isabel National Forest and Trout Creek Pass.  Elevation 9,487 feet

0940 Chaffee County.  "Now *this* is Colorado!"

0947 Buena Vista, elevation 7,954 feet

0955 Sign advertising a 10 day rafting trip

1016 Arkansas River

1024 Leadville, elevation 10, 151 feet.  "On top of it all!"

1037 Tennessee Pass and Continental Divide, elevation 10, 424 feet.  Current weather conditions - 66 degrees, sprinkling and breezy.  Feels cold!

1050 Top o' the Rockies Scenic Drive.  Looks like a nice area to camp and hike.

1055 White River National Forest

1100 Eagle River

1105 Notch Mountain, elevation 13,237 feet

1106 Old mine town

1108 This road is super curvy but has an awesome view!

1118 I-70

1131 Bellyache Ridge Road

1151 Colorado River

1153 Glenwood Canyon

1158 a long tunnel

12:06 p.m. No Name, CO

12:08 p.m. Glenwood Springs Hot Springs pool - the place is packed!

12:30 p.m. Rifle, CO - roundabouts in this town - yuck!

12:32 p.m. Sonic for lunch.  Program the GPS for Heber City.  205 miles away as the crow flies.  Current ETA is 6 p.m.

1:01 p.m. Gas, $3.89/gallon

1:08 p.m. Show on the radio about fire-adapted communities.  We have moved farther and farther into the mountains and forests and we need to learn to live in an environment that has fires.

1:18 p.m. Smells like rain

1:33 p.m. Construction stop

1:51 p.m. Stegosaurus Ridges

1:53 p.m. White River

1:56 p.m. Sheep

2:10 p.m. Rio Blanco River

2:37 p.m. Desperado Mine Road

2:40 p.m. Kenney Reservoir.  Maybe next time we should plan a break to swim in the lake.

2:47 p.m. Two plastic pink flamingos stuck in the rocks.

2:48 p.m. Cool globe statue

2:53 p.m. Chevron oil field

2:59 p.m. Pretty desolated out here in this corner of Colorado

3:07 p.m. Dinosaur, CO - elevation, 5,900 feet

3:08 p.m. Brontosaurus Blvd/ US-40

3:12 p.m. Utah

3:23 p.m. 97 degrees

3:27 p.m. Green River

3:43 p.m. Highway Patrol drives a pickup truck here

3:50 p.m. Gas, $3.73/gallon in Vernal

4:21 p.m. Uintah River

4:28 p.m. Best Western Plus - seems like a pretty nice hotel for a not-so-scenic area

4:32 p.m. Roosevelt, UT, 100 degrees

5:02 p.m. Starvation State Park

5:20 p.m. Wahsatch County

5:39 p.m. Chicken Creek East

5:46 p.m. Summit, elevation 8020 feet, 80 degrees

5:49 p.m. A semi truck is going 10 mph down the hill

6:02 p.m. Another one-lane construction road.  We are so close to our destination.  Will we really be there in 15 minutes?

6:20 p.m. Jordanelle State Park.  Are there campsites available???  Yes!!!

6:28 p.m. Campsite selected.  There is some highway noise but otherwise pretty quiet here.

7:17 p.m. Camp it set up so head over to the beach.  The kids made a new friend - Ted the Rock.  They helped him become a Driftwood Sailor and gave him swimming lessons.

7:50 p.m. Back at camp to make dinner.  Tacos.  The refried beans smell funny so we throw them away and Bella ate a quesadilla instead.

0840 p.m. Finishing up dinner.  The sun is down now and it is cooling off nicely.  We play some Crazy 8's before bed.