MOAB UTAH TO GRAND JUNCTION COLORADO & THE RIG RAN PERFECT

THIS IS A NORMAL EYE’S VIEW OF THE CANYON FLOOR BELOW THE VIEWPOINT…NOTICE THE CAMPERS AT PHOTO’S CENTER

THIS IS A 300mm TELEPHOTO SHOT OF THE SAME SCENE SECONDS LATER

Our time spent in the Moab area was way shorter than we had planned but due to the problem with our rig we had to move on to a repair facility in Grand Junction Colorado some 140 miles to the east.  Up at 7 & on the road by 7:30.  Kelly followed in the Jeep with Pheebs & I out front with the Motorhome.  And the motorhome could not have run better.  No problems on the grades heading for Moab other than the normal slowing down a bit.  The rig was acting like a wild Mustang horse just wanting to run as fast as the wind.  Moab was no problem & traffic was light.  After effortlessly topping the long medium grade north of Moab I pulled over & we hooked the Jeep back up.

SAID GOOD-BYE TO OUR BOONDOCKING SPOT & BOVINE FRIENDS THIS MORNING

We had a fine sunny morning going on as we headed north on 191 then east on I-70.  The rig handled all the grades without so much as a hint of trouble.  Engine running fine & the big Allison transmission downshifting at the correct times going up I-70’s grades.  It is indeed a perplexing problem as to what has caused our 3 ‘low power’ times each one on a steep grade.  Our ‘check engine’ light is still on & hopefully the people at Bear Auto can shed some light on what could possibly be wrong.  I thank everyone for their input.

NORTHBOUND ON HIGHWAY 191 FOR MOAB UTAH

HEADING EAST ON I-70

ROLLING ALONG BESIDE THE COLORADO RIVER WEST OF GRAND JUNCTION COLORADO

Stopped at McD’s in Fruita for breakfast & coffee.  Picked up a little fuel but not too much.  Do not want to drag a full load of fuel over the mountains sometime in the next few days.  We rolled into Grand Junction at 11:25 & found Bear Auto in the south end of town about 15 minutes later.  Pulled into the recommended dirt parking lot but realized right away it was not somewhere we wanted to spend the night.  Sandwiched between double lane Pitkin Ave. & a major set of railway tracks the noise level alone was deterring.  Out with the computers & looked for a nearby RV Park.  We know KOA’s are expensive but we found one on highway 50 about 4 miles south of Bear Auto’s location in Grand Rapids & decided to blow the budget for one night.  Need to dump tanks & take on a bit of water anyway.

WE CERTAINLY DIDN’T LIKE THE LOOKS NOR THE NOISE OF THE GRAVEL PARKING LOT

 

FOLLOWING KELLY AS WE HEAD FOR THE KOA CAMPGROUND WITH PHEEBS KEEPING A CLOSE EYE ON THE JEEP MAKING SURE IT DOESN’T GET LOST ALONG THE WAY

Fortunately the Park was not slide to slide full & we did end up in a pull-thru spot with nobody beside us.  And yes it is nice to have water, electric, & sewer at one’s site plus cable TV if we opted to use it which we didn’t.   

OUR SPOT FOR THE NIGHT AT A KOA CAMPGROUND

A couple days, a couple weeks, not even a couple months is enough time to explore all there is to see & do here on the eastern side of Utah.  It would take a lifetime of wandering & exploring to take in this whole western America experience.  The more one see’s the more one knows what they will never see.  It is a vast land & still a wild untamed country for the most part out here in the mountains & deserts.  Following in the footsteps of our ancestors can still be done as one explores up hidden canyons, walks upon tall Mesas, & wanders through green deserts leading to rocky mountain trails.

We again experienced a touch of that unending vastness Monday afternoon when we turned off highway 191 south of Moab & headed 22 miles west along road 133.  I had often seen the Needles Overlook marked on maps & my Utah Atlas over the years & Monday I was finally able to stand on a range of tall cliff tops overlooking Canyonlands National Park from the Needles Overlook itself.  The view for as far as one’s eye can see brings home the true incomprehendable vastness of a land that stretches beyond the borders of forever.

   

The drive along paved road 133 is scenic in itself but what road here in the great southwest isn’t.  Had a high thin cloud cover over us so colors were muted a bit but no matter.  Even a rainy day is pleasing to the eye in this land. 

THIS SCENE IS BUT A VERY SMALL PORTION OF CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK

 

NICE TO SEE A SAFETY FENCE & A WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE SIDEWALK TO A VIEWPOINT

 

As one walks from the parking lot at Needless Overlook an immense panoramic scene begins to unfold ahead.

 

 

WE WERE IN THIS AREA OF CANYONLANDS MONDAY 

 

TELEPHOTO VIEWS OF THE COLORADO RIVER MILES AWAY

PROBABLY 20 MILES ACROSS THE HAZY CANYON ARE THE NEEDLES

CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK is so large my photos only cover a fraction of how big this park really is.  Next time in the area we will tour the north end of the Park which is reachable from Moab via highway 313.

CAN YOU SEE THE OLD ROCK MAN’S FACE AT LEFT TALKING WITH A LARGE MORAY EEL AT RIGHT??

 

ONLY ABOUT A HALF DOZEN PEOPLE HERE & WHEN WE LEFT THERE WAS NO ONE

CAN YOU SEE THE STONE TORTOISE ON THE LEFT & THE BIG STONE FROG ON THE RIGHT

AND THIS LITTLE LIZARD FELLOW JUST HAPPENS TO BE REAL

Our thoughts & attention are now turning eastward & we’ve been checking weather conditions & temperatures between Denver & home.  Haven’t decided which way we’ll head east yet either or for that matter which route we’ll take through the mountains once we leave Grand Junction.  Best weather is behind us now so we’ll have to play the rest of our journey by ear.  In other words we don’t know where we’re going next & that’s almost always sometimes Okay.

 

A COOL SHADY PLACE ON A HOT SUMMER UTAH DAY

  

 A GOOD PLACE TO SIT ON A RAINY DAY

HEADING BACK TO THE RIG WE SAW……………………….

CAN YOU SEE THE CANYON’S LARGE EYE LOOKING BACK AT YOU ?? >>>

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A pediatrician in town always plays a game with some of his young patients to put them at ease and test their knowledge of body parts.  One day, while pointing to a little boy's ear, the doctor asked him, "Is this your nose?"  Immediately the little boy turned to his mother and said, "Mom, I think we'd better find a new doctor!"

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One night at the dinner table, the wife commented, "When we were first married, you took the small piece of steak and gave me the larger. Now you take the large one and leave me the smaller. You don't love me any more..."
"Nonsense, darling," replied the husband, "you just cook better now."