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Fabulous scenery across 6 states spread over 13 days: Grand Tetons NP, Bighorn Mountains WY, Maroon Bells CO,
Colorado Riverway UT, Arches NP, Dead Horse Point UT, Crater Lake NP & More

Day 9 -Arches National Park


Day 3 - Grand Teton National Park


Day 5 - Bighorn National Forest


Day 7 - Near Rocky Mountain National Park


Day 9 - Colorado Riverway Recreational Area


Day 13 - Crater Lake National Park


Winter was long and winter was cold. Snow and ice. Windy - with downed trees on the property, trees threatening to come down, 9 degrees F and then..... no power. Twice. A scramble to decamp to lower elevations (we only need 500' less) and get to a warm hotel. The M850 performed flawlessly during each escape. I'm still snowbimmer dammit!

A pinched nerve a year ago gave me all kinds of driving pain on our Glacier Park Trip last fall. A steroid shot in February finally helped. Cabin fever was beginning to set in. By April I wanted another shot, but they said I had to wait until June. So we put off the spring trip to very early summer.

My western US map is getting filled in. But there was a large hole in Wyoming that needed attention and, since you're out there, why not fix a missing problem in Colorado, too? OK, Maroon Bells near Aspen was the actual target for the trip, Wyoming was just an excuse to get there. Maybe you can see why. Just sayin'.

Day 8 - Maroon Bells, CO


The benefit of early summer is slightly fewer crowds and everything is really, really green. The color green adds to my well being. I was OK delaying by 2 months. Plus, there won't be a snow problem getting out of the state. And the wild fires haven't started yet. It's all good.

This is travel thread #11, since first diving in with a marvelous trip through Utah in 2019 in a Donington M5. I've had great inspiration from many of the other travel posters here.

The route to the promised land this time goes through places we have been many times. But, even at 4,032 miles, I was still able to get in 1,856 miles of new roads. I'll take it.

The Route: 2 clockwise loops.


The absolute best pictures start on Day 7, (Post #2) as we get in to Colorado. From then on we hit up all those areas mentioned at the top of the thread. Those places are something else.

Days 1 to 6: Portland to Laramie, WY


Day 1 (427 miles) Portland to Ontario, OR
Day 1 is usually long and we always try to get to Ontario, OR. Shooting east out I-84, we stop at The Dalles Dam Visitor Center (for the first time). Nice little history lesson, but not much to see. The dam is the longest on the Columbia. The entire structure is 7,365 feet long.




Back on I-84. OK, it's not ALL green.


Grabbed lunch in Pendleton and then headed south down US-395 for the first time. This road will take you out of Oregon, thru Reno then down past the eastern flank of the Sierras and end up in San Bernardino, CA - if you want. We're soon stuck in a 50 mile long re-paving section. It just seems like they used oil and gravel. It's slow. There's crap flying off the tires for over an hour. It eventually ends and we follow the highway through some nice mountains for 40 miles.

We turn on to a county road that will take us down the hypotenuse of a triangle to US-26, but the track is narrow, windy and poorly paved. Not making up any time here. But, it's new territory. We reach a welcome rest area at Bates State Park. It's starting to rain.


US-26 is much nicer, and through more mountains and forests. We reach Ontario by 6 o'clock, grab dinner and get the car washed. Day 1 in the books.

Day 2 (345 miles) Ontario to Rexburg, ID
After getting through the monotony of the Boise area on I-84, the speed limit goes to 80 mph. We get off on US-20 at Mountain Home and head up out of the brown to a fabulous high plateau full of green farms and ranches. We are also skirting the southern flank of the still snowy Sawtooth Mountains. Much better than I-84. A stop for lunch in Fairfield is welcomed (there's nowhere to eat on this road) and we pass Craters of the Moon National Park. Saw it last year - didn't go in this time


A little further on and the road opens up to the snow-capped Lost River Range.


A quick stop in Arco, ID - the first town in the world lit by nuclear power on Dec. 21, 1951.




Just down the road we stop at EBR-1, the experimental breeder reactor that actually produced the nuclear power for Arco. Probably been through here a dozen times, never turned in. Very nice museum.






Then it's off to Idaho falls and a nice hike around the falls area.


Our Rexburg stop is just up the road and the restaurant is right next door. Pretty nice.

Day 3 (392 miles) Rexburg to Thermopolis, WY
Going to be a long day with lots of new roads. We head east out of Rexburg on ID-33 for a look at the back side of the Grand Tetons. Here, they are about 50 miles away.


The entire region is a verdant patchwork of massive green farms. Lots of wheat. We reach Tetonia, which sits in a very flat and wide valley on the west side of the Tetons.


Our target is the Teton Canyon Observation Site up in the foothills on the road to the Grand Targhee Ski Resort. It seems like we pass thousands of new houses on the way. I can see why

The day is a bit hazy, but there they are - the "back side" of the Grand Tetons.


A little further south, at Victor, the road turns east to head over Teton Pass. Unfortunately, this happened the week before. We had to detour an extra 60 miles down to US-26 to reach Jackson. Someone's got some 'splainin' to do.


We pass through the insanely busy touristical town of Jackson and head for our first major objective of the trip: Grand Teton National Park.


The day is gloriously clear. The mountains were hard to see when we visited in 2017. It was August then and there was a lot of forest fire haze. Not today.




Grand Teton on the left. Elev. 13,775'




The Tetons can get crowded because of their close proximity to Yellowstone, but it's not too bad today. We drive along Teton Park Road and have lunch at Signal Mountain Lodge overlooking Jackson Lake. Nice.


We end up at Grand Teton Lodge in the north end of the park and wished we'd eaten here. What a grand lodge it is. With a view over Willow Flats. It's almost 3 o'clock and we still have 210 miles to go.


We head east on US-191 and stop at Oxbow bend on the Buffalo Fork of the Snake River.




And the Snake River Overlook.




We hop on US-26 at Moran and head east through the mountains. What a great road. Always wanted to see where this road leads. The scenery is tremendous.




We pass through Shoshoni after 150 miles and head north toward the Wind River Gorge on Hwy 20 as the light is beginning to fade. The road is basically ours.


Then we're in the gorge and the granite walls are literally glowing. There aren't really any places to stop.






And just like that, you're out of the gorge and we roll in to Thermopolis, WY at about 7:30. Not many places to stay, but we're in the Best Western - 100 years old....how 'bout that? We will also be back here in 2 days on night 5.


We find a nice pizza joint not too far away. Quite the successful day.

Days 4 to 6: Thermopolis to Laramie, WY


Day 4 (103 miles) Thermopolis to Cody, WY
Today is completely jammed. A dam, 5 museums, an all-you-can-eat-barbecue, a country western show and a rodeo. Giddy the eff up, cowboy.........

Cody is only 84 miles away. We were in Cody last fall. We arrived too late in the day to see the dam and didn't have time for the museums the next day. Was going to spend 2 nights here this time, but the mileage didn't work out, so Thermopolis gets all the attention.

We get to Buffalo Bill Dam about 9:30, just west of Cody. It was built between 1905 and 1910 - mostly in the winter months because of the lower flows. It was bitterly cold. Crazy stuff. It sits in a very narrow gorge on the Shoshone River and is 350' high. Very impressive.






Then it's back to Cody to see the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. William Cody was quite a colorful character. He rode for the Pony Express, was a soldier, hunter, trapper, business owner and showman. The five museums are the Whitney Western Art Museum, the Buffalo Bill Museum, the Plains Indian Museum, the Cody Firearms Museum and the Draper Natural History Museum. One reasonable admission ($23), all under one roof. We spend almost 4 hours there and hit them all. Very nicely done.


The man himself


Whitney Museum




Over 7,000 firearms spanning many centuries


We explore a little more of Cody and check in to the hotel to freshen up. Dinner is at the Cody Cattle Company just up the street. They have a package of an all-you-can-eat buffet (brisket), a fabulous country music show and then over to the Cody Rodeo - our first. Now when someone asks me about something I'm doing, I can honestly say "It's not my first rodeo." We are surrounded by people that don't care about pronouns.


Like the guy in City Slickers said, "You came out here city slickers. You're gonna go home cowboys." Man, what a day.


Day 5 (305 miles) Cody to Thermopolis - again
Lots of new territory today. Heading back to Thermopolis, but going east through the Bighorn National Forest to return. There are three Scenic Byways through the Bighorns - we will take two of them today: US-14a (the northernmost route, called the Medicine Wheel Passage); US-14 (the middle route, called the Bighorn Scenic Byway) and US-16 (the southernmost route, called the Cloud Peak Skyway). I had planned on taking 14a, but our dinner mates at the buffet last night recommended 14, and showed me a picture of Shell Falls. Yup, going there, for sure.

We head down US-14 out of Cody and quickly end up in ranch country.


Just before Greybull, we stop at a rest area and look through the fence at a few of the planes at the Museum of Flight and Aerial Firefighting. Next time.


Greybull is a bit of a crossroads


Then it's off to the mountains, stopping at a colorful turnout at the Shell Creek Recreation Area. Really nice orange on the ground here.


Chimney Rock


We wind up the mountains and stop at the apt named Bighorn Scenic Byway Pullout






Cedar Mountain


We've been following way above Shell Creek in the canyon below for quite some time. We finally meet at the Shell Falls Interpretive Site. Shell Falls is only 120 feet high, but what a site it is as it roars through the canyon.






The road continues to climb through several alpine regions and the hills are soon covered in trees.


Then we crest Granite Pass at just over 9,000 feet and descend into Burgess Junction for lunch at the Bear Lodge Resort. Highway US-14a merges in here from the west. Next time.


US-14 continues east and the forest become more dense. We start to descend and come up on the rocky outcrop of Steamboat Point. The clouds suck in.






We descend further to the edge of the forest and also the eastern edge of the range. All that lies below is grasslands, as far as the eye can see.


We soon hook up with I-90 and head south toward Sheridan. We went through here in 2021 and don't turn in. The weather is looking like rain.


Then all hell breaks loose as we approach a very dark storm


The mushy hailstorm hits with an unbelievable ferocity. We go from 85 mph to 10 mph - and then just pull over and get pounded. Other cars soldier on. I'm not getting rear-ended.


Then, in 5 minutes its all over. I don't think the car was damaged. We drop in on the quaint little town of Buffalo.




The wife finds a purse while I find a nice color photograph of the The Bighorns (Some people are just better than me). We split a NY cheesecake and go to find US-16 - the Cloud Peak Skyway - to take us back through the Bighorns again, going west.

The road is very scenic and we end up at the Loaf Mountain Overlook


We continue up to the Powder River Pass at 9,666' and then the road drops steeply through the very picturesque Ten Sleep River Canyon - alas, no spot for pictures. An hour and a half later we are back at the Best Western in Thermopolis. Snagged a better room this time.

Bighorns - not to be missed.

Day 6 (293 miles) Thermopolis to Laramie, WY
Today is another educational day. We start off and do a quick tour of Hot Springs State Park next door. There's lots of geothermal activity, with several hot springs and swimming pools. Really gotta get a wash after yesterday's festivities.


We hit up downtown and find a Saturday market and a nice mural


The Wyoming Dinosaur Center is just a few blocks away. A very large and nice exhibit of the old fellas.




Grab a quick car wash and then we backtrack south through the Wind River Canyon. This time with morning light.


Casper, WY is our first destination, two hours away down US-26. We wander through a nice downtown, grab lunch and then drive around town a bit before heading to the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center to learn about the westward migration. Man, those people were tough as nails.

Then it's over to the other side of town to see Fort Caspar and it's museum.


We hit the road about 2:30 and head down WY-487 to Medicine Bow. Not much going on there. Then half way to Laramie this milestone occurs. Jeez - 2 years, 2 months.


We are, literally, in the middle of nowhere.


Rock River, WY - Pop. 215. Didn't see anyone.


We pass by ranches for mile after mile on US-30 heading to Laramie.


We reach Laramie by 4:30 and drive through the University of Wyoming campus on the way to the hotel. The Cowboys and Cowgirls have some nice sports facilities. The campus is well maintained.


The rib joint for tonight is just across the parking lot.

Note: Two more posts to follow - and they have the absolute best photos. Stay tuned.

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Days 7-9 Laramie to Moab


Day 7 (327 miles) Laramie to Basalt, CO
Things get serious today. The landscape really changes, cuz it's Colorado, man!

But first, we explore Laramie, which turns out to be a delightful little college town.

Albany County Courthouse - I liked how crisp and clean it looks


Downtown


Then off to the Wyoming Territorial Prison - opened in 1872 and closed in 1903. Interesting place.




Butch Cassidy was even a resident here for awhile


Then we head down US-287 and soon enter Colorado. At Ted's Place we reach the furthest point east for the trip - and sadly start to head home.

We connect up with CO-14 and head east on a glorious little road we discovered in 2021. It follows the Poudre River for many miles as we snake up into the Rockies.








The canyon is craggy and curvy. The river is filled with people rafting the cold waters. We continue climbing and reach a turnout that was an explosion of color back in late September of 2021


Not so much in late June


We crest Cameron Pass at 10,276 feet and run into the Nokhu Crags as we descend


Rocky Mountain National Park in the background


A quick run into Walden brings lunch and then we head south through the mountains, eventually hooking into I-70 after about 100 miles. We approach Glenwood Canyon. The freeway is an absolute engineering marvel through here.


The canyon is breathtaking - with no turnouts. Jeez.


We zip through Glenwood Springs (as we will be back here tomorrow afternoon) and head the 20 miles to Basalt on CO-82. Capitol Peak looks nice in the evening light.


The NAV brings me into Basalt and we head for the hotel. We cross a little bit of gravel near some road construction and we soon hear a blood curdling rending of metal in distress. Sounds like a train. We roll the windows down - it's us. It's ear piercing.

We park at a gas station. I try rocking the car forward and backward, to no avail. I get out and feel around the right rear rotor. Then I try nudging the rotor shield. The metal makes the same noise, so I know what the culprit is. It happened once before, but resolved itself within a few feet. I can't feel anything. I'm glad we are close to the hotel, the NAV says its just around the corner and we can walk. Or can we? Wait.....the effing NAV is wrong. There is no hotel - we passed it back up the road 5 miles ago. What. The. Eff. My spidey sense was tingling as we went by earlier, something didn't seem right. Now I know why.

I try several more times to dislodge the rock. A hundred people look to see what the hell is making all that noise. A nice couple comes along. He says my car is too expensive to act like that. No shit. They offer to drive us to our hotel. I'm not ready to give up, but we exchange phone numbers. We decide to have dinner nearby - I'm quite filthy by now. Afterwards, I try again - no use. I say eff it and we take a back road to the hotel. I hope I'm not damaging anything - too much. After checking in I go back down and squirrel around in the nearly empty parking lot. Nothing works. Panic sets in.

We have a 9:00 am reservation for the Maroon Bells shuttle tomorrow morning - my reason for coming out here. You catch it down at Aspen Highlands, 23 miles away. All the reservations are spoken for tomorrow. It's insanely popular. You miss by 5 mins, tough luck, they say. As I'm jerking the car around the parking lot, a guy and his daughter come walking by - locals. He says my car is too expensive to sound like that. No shit. He looks around too, can't help me. He noticed my plate and said he's a Portland transplant from 20 years ago. We reminisce about Portland for awhile. Said I needed to see his buddy Paul at Basalt Quick Lube. Tell him Jim sent me. He'll get me fixed up in a jiffy. Ok, cool. I go back to the room to be nervous. The reviews for Paul and his Basalt Quick Lube are all pleasant, so there's that.

Day 8 (88 miles) Maroon Bells, Aspen & Glenwood Springs

We would have to get out of here early and drive 5 squealy miles down to get to Paul's shop when he opened at 8 am. Hopefully a quick fix gets us on the road and we make it in time for the 9:00 shuttle. Its' worth a try. We skip breakfast and we're out the door by 7:30 - we don't pack because this is a 2 night stay. We squeal like a banshee all that way to his shop. Just as we turn onto his street, the noise goes away. Just like that. We high five and scream down to Aspen Highlands. We even have time to enjoy a croissant at the Ritz Carlton before the shuttle comes. Holy shitballs, this is going to work.



The shuttle comes and we ride up the valley 8 miles to the drop off point at Maroon Lake. The hills are covered in evergreens and aspens. The color is unreal. It is a verdant wonderland.


We walk down a short pathway and then, there they are. What a site to behold. Most of the peaks in this picture are over 14,000'. The Bells are in the back: Maroon Peak at 14,163' and North Maroon Peak at 14,019'.


We stop at a bench and sit, just drinking it all in. We are at 9,600'.


We set out on a 2 mile hike toward the lake and walk to the end, up West Maroon Creek and loop back. The amphitheater is breathtaking and quickly moves way up on my All-Time Favorite Places list. You be the judge.

Maroon Lake


Sievers Mountain


Pyramid Peak, Elev. 14,025'


West Maroon Creek








The light and shadows played around all morning.




This was just unreal today.


After two hours of hiking around, we sadly head back toward the shuttle. My trip is complete. (Little did I know)

We have a nice lunch by the now green slopes at Aspen Highlands and then head down to Aspen proper. Aspen is a very pleasant town, though quite expensive, being a Hollywood and billionaire playground , and all. We wander about and then park it in some Adirondack chairs beneath the nearby ski slope and watch everyone and their dogs go by. There are a lot of dogs here. Some dark clouds roll in so we decamp back to the hotel for a couple hours

We head 20 miles to Glenwood Springs for dinner, but first there is a side trip to Doc Holliday's grave, he of OK Corral and Tombstone fame. They don't know for sure where he's at, but marked it anyway. The trail is long, rocky, steep and hot. But worth it.


I'm yer huckleberry


Downtown Glenwood Springs is bustling and crammed with people. We spot a nice steakhouse and managed to get seated. But no one has any interest in us. No water. No menus. No "I'll be right with you." We leave after 15 or 20 minutes and walk over the bridge to check out the Hotel Colorado. We pass by the massive 400' long Glenwood Hot Springs Pool, opened on July 4, 1888. Been around awhile. Gets very busy. The parking lot is packed.


Managed to get my steak on a pleasant little terrace under the awnings here at the Hotel Colorado - opened in 1893.


Then it's 20 miles back to the hotel. The end of a highly successful day that almost never was. Time to buy a lottery ticket.

Day 9 (364 miles) Basalt to Moab, UT
Long travel day today. Nearly all new roads. We head north the few miles to Carbondale and then take CO-133 west up into the mountains. Traffic is very light. We follow the Crystal River for a long time




We crest McClure Pass at 8,763'


As we head down the other side, we see a bear scurry over the road divider. Cool - more than we saw in Yellowstone last year. Further on we pass under the Arch Coal facility.


We come out of the mountains and everything dries out. I get the car washed in Delta. Then we head north on US-50 and turn down CO-141 just outside of Grand Junction. This is another great road through rocky canyons. After 43 miles we reach Gateway for lunch and the Gateway Automobile Museum. Yeah, out here in the middle of nowhere. Not much going on here. Or so we thought.


We turn in to the Gateway Canyons Resort and Spa and come upon a completely high falutin' oasis. Quite the fancy resort. In the middle of nowhere. (The aerial is not my picture)




The museum is closed today. So we search out the grounds for a restaurant. It's a maze of buildings and pathways and pools. Really nice. We find the restaurant and get behind an elderly couple shuffling along the path, also toward the restaurant. We fall in behind, so as not to appear to be the the young jackasses that we are in order to beat them to the door. We help them with the door, start chatting a bit.

The maitre' d asks if we'd like a table for 4? Sure, we're old friends now. We spent the next hour and a half chatting, eating and regaling each other with our lives to that point. They own a house down in Telluride (jerks - Telluride is the most Colorado place in Colorado....just stunning) that they visit in the summer from Florida. Been coming for 25 years. Used to ski in the winter. They were on their way to Grand Junction to do some shopping. They always stop here on the way. He was a Viet Nam vet and then became a banker. Our politics aligned perfectly. I enjoy talking to sane people.

We say our goodbyes after exchanging phone numbers and head down into Dolores Canyon. I knew this was going to be a treat when I scoped it out on google maps. A river in a narrow, winding canyon colored a rusty orange. Really something.


The road zig zags around for about 50 miles.








We arrive at the Hanging Flume Overlook. It's starting to get hot. Moab is supposed to be warm today.








We come out of the canyon near Naturita and do a 180, heading north on CO-90. It's arid now. It's dry. And it's also officially the hottest day of the trip.

The road is nearly straight for 20 miles. I think I come up on Kowalski in his white Challenger. You know - - Kowalski. From Vanishing Point. 1970. One of my favorite movies.




I follow behind a respectable distance for about 5 miles, but get tired of his speed, or lack there of. He doesn't seem to be driving quite like Kowalski. Besides, it's not even a '70 Challenger, so I take him at 80 and don't look back (probably just a six cylinder).

We reach Moab at 5:00 and check into the hotel. Then off to find the brisket dinner we so enjoyed 2 years ago. Found the dinner. Didn't enjoy it this time. Yup, it's hot outside.


Well, it's 6:00 and there is time to kill. We could drive up the Colorado Riverway a ways and then hit up Arches National Park at sunset, sez the wife. Not a bad idea. Why didn't I think of that???

The light is fantastic as we turn east up UT-128 along the Colorado River. Another rusty orange canyon.










Then we come around a corner to this. What awesome light.




A little further up the road, the sun is just lightin' it up.








We go as far as 14 miles and turn around at Porcupine Rim - a spine that goes on for about 25 miles


Heading back


Stopped back here for another go


It's about 7:30 now and the sun is getting low. Time to hustle over to Arches NP - luckily only 2 miles away to the entrance. The lines can be an hour long to get in - and that's with a timed entry. There was no one. Yay.


You climb straight up the side of a cliff and finally gain a plateau where all the action is. This is our third time since 2019. It's a special place. The arches are nice (there's 2,000 of them), but we really like the massive rock formations.




The first stop is Park Avenue. Just wow. No people, well, maybe a couple.






Courthouse Towers on the left


The Three Gossips, the Tower of Babel and the Courthouse Towers (This is just beyond the camera's useful shutter speed in this light. It's actually quite dark now.)


We head towards the Windows area and race the sun. The rocks are on fire. It's quite something.




The North Window Arch


And with that, we bid the sun adieu. And it's still over 90 degrees. What a spectacular finish for the day. And, to think, we really weren't planning to come in. What a coupla dopes. Well, me, anyway.

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Days 10-13 Moab to Portland


Day 10 (364 miles) Moab to West Valley, UT
One of our favorite places we've ever been to isn't even a national park. It is Dead Horse Point State Park and it is spectacular. It's on the road going in to Canyonlands National Park. We're here. Let's do it.


We head up US-191 north for 11 miles out of Moab and turn west on UT-313 toward Canyonlands National Park. It's cooler today. And somewhat cloudy. We reach the Dead Horse Visitor Center after another 21 miles.


This place is absolutely unreal. The colors. The magnitude. The unforgiving landscape. Truly special. A lot of pictures were taken here. Here's but a few.




Dead Horse Point at the end of the road. It is 2,000 feet straight down to the Colorado River. You wouldn't hit a thing.


















I didn't particularly want to leave, but we still had 320 miles left today. I'll be back again, for sure.


A shot along the mesa heading back to the highway.


We reach I-70 and head west. This is a section I hadn't been on in decades. And that was at night during a bodacious ski trip. So, technically, new territory.

I thought it was just going to be dry and rocky, but the landscape was stunning. We approach San Rafael Reef, a big north/south spine of rock.


The road through


The road travels over varied geology - most of it extremely colorful - we are not bored at all.


Salina provides a nice hamburger and shake, but the wait is 45 minutes at the only drive up. It's 1 PM and we are just 2 hours from the hotel. What to do.......

Well, you could go to Snowbird Resort on the east side of Salt Lake City. Last time I was here was during that bodacious ski trip. Always thought I'd be back. Never made it. Today's the day. Sans skis, however.

We fly through all the Salt Lake City suburbs - and there are many. Traffic flows amazingly well. We get to the edge of the Wasatch Mountains and turn up Little Cottonwood Canyon Road. In only seven miles we are there. Literally in the back yard of Salt Lake City.


The weather is fabulous, so we hop the tram. The ride travels 1.6 miles and takes 13 minutes to climb 2,900' - reaching 11,000' at the summit.

The Cliff Lodge


Sun Deck


Summit


Lower runs




Dromedary Peak


We wander about and and watch the weather coming in from the west. Just as we decide to head down, the tram is shut down. The guy said something about not wanting to be in that thing when the lightning strikes. Fair point.

Luckily there's a restaurant and we grab a pizza. Thunder and lightning hits. 40 minutes later it's over and we are on our way back down.


We check out the resort and then head to Alta, Snowbird's little brother, just 2 more miles up the road. It's way smaller and looks a lot less gnarly.




Now we can head to the hotel. Another awesome day - basically with two freebies we hadn't really planned on doing originally.

Day 11 (363 miles) West Valley to Winnemucca, NV
Not the best day for sightseeing. But we have other fish to fry. Interstate 80 out of Salt Lake is truly forgettable once you are past the southern edge of the lake. You can, however, look at the Bonneville Salt flats after about 120 miles of flat, dry and flat dry desert. Did I mention it's flat & dry?




Then its a short hop in to Wendover. Today's educational stop is Historic Wendover Airfield. Since it's our 3rd time through here in 5 years it is time to go see it. The airfield was a training center established in the early 1940's to train B-17, B-24 and B-29 air crews. At it's peak there were about 18,000 military personnel and 2,000 civilians - all working and housed in 668 buildings. Most are not here anymore - people or buildings.












They are fighting to save and restore many of the buildings. Hundreds have either burned down or been taken down.


Hangers


There were hundreds of barracks built. Pre-fab sections were brought in and they could be slapped together in about a day or two. There are still quite a few left.




1,600 square feet would house 24 to 40 airmen. Yeesh.


Lunchtime, so we cross the state line and go to the Montego Bay Casino. Not many cars in the lot and the place seems like a ghost town inside. Most tables aren't operating.




We split a mediocre lunch in a nice restaurant for $29.90, with tip. To get even, we go to the slots and win 25 bucks back in about 5 minutes. So, the cost of lunch was our tip. We're outta here.


Except for a snack stop in Elko, NV, the remaining 243 miles across the Nevada desert on I-80 is uneventful. Our hotel has been nicely refurbished since we stayed here in 2019.

Day 12 (313 miles) Winnemucca to Klamath Falls, OR
Today is a whole lotta of lonely. A partial repeat of our time through here in 2022. We blast north on US-95 to the junction of NV-140, 30 miles away. This is where it gets real.




I go down about 6 miles and turn around and look back to the junction, up there on the slight rise.


We reach Denio Jct at the aforementioned 65 miles and head west, while climbing into dry mountains. The countryside is interesting - and dry. At 45 miles we cross back into Oregon. It's dry.

A few miles further brings us to the Doherty Slide - the road is carved out of a thousand foot high cliff, the rim of a former volcano, that takes us down to the valley below. There's nothing out here.


We finally reach Lakeview for a welcome burger.


We continue east on OR-140 (new road) and travel through forested mountains - a welcome sight after 600 miles of desert. We get to Klamath Falls and check in to the hotel.

Then we venture out to see what we can see and stumble onto the delightful Baldwin Hotel Museum. Each of the 40 rooms is a vignette filled with antiques and artifacts of what life was like in the early 20th century. Very nice.
















Then it's Chinese food for dinner. One day to go.

Day 13 (350 miles) Klamath Falls to Portland
Going home. But not before stopping at two of our favorite sites: Crater Lake and Toketee Falls.

It's late June, but still pretty early for getting around in the high mountains. We leave Klamath Falls heading north on US-97, the main central Oregon north/south artery. We pass Klamath Lake and head off on OR-62, into a dense forest.


The road climbs and we reach the park headquarters and take the Rim Drive to the east, to see how far we get. At about 5 miles we are stopped by snow that hasn't been cleared yet. We retreat and stop at Vidae Falls.


Back at the headquarters, we turn right and take Rim Drive up to the southwest side of the lake. The Rim Village and Crater Lake Lodge are here - sitting at an elevation of 7,100'. The weather is spectacular. It's only 10:30 but we grab some quick sandwiches before hiking around.

We were here 6 years ago during September and the wild fires had been going for some time. This was our disappointing view. You couldn't see the far rim. I remember talking to a sad fellow in the empty parking lot with Georgia plates on his car. He was really bummed. I showed him a picture from a previous trip. It didn't seem to help his mood.


Today is, shall we say, MARVELOUS. That's Wizard Island.


It is hard to describe the utter beauty of this place. Mt. Mazama was a 12,000 foot volcano that blew itself up 7,700 years ago - much like Mt. St. Helens in 1980. The caldera that was created filled with rain and snow over the centuries, creating the deepest and clearest lake in America. The deep blue water is pure, as no streams flow into or out of the lake. The depth has been measured at nearly 1,950'.

We slowly wander along the rim trail. The camera is busy. It's 6 miles across to the East Rim.




We walk over to the lodge, originally built in 1915 and nicely renovated in 1994 after nearly collapsing. Fun place to stay.


Yes, they expect a lot of snow here in the winter.


We head back along the rim trail and get a few more shots. Mt Thielsen in the background.


Yes, it really is THAT blue.






We get back in the car and head for a new vantage point, driving north. We stop for a picture of Mt. McLaughlin (Snowy, El. 9,493') and Union Peak (Rocky, El. 7,7099') Man, it's clear today.


A couple of overlooks offer some great views.










Looking north to Mt. Bailey, Mt. Bachelor and Mt. Thielsen


Mt. Thielsen is especially gnarly, at 9,184'




A little further around the rim




The road is closed again a little further on. Some day Ima gonna drive around this whole thing again. It's been a couple of decades.

We put Crater Lake in our rear view mirror, drive out the North Entrance and head over for a quick look at Diamond Lake and Mt. Bailey. And, Mt. Thielsen again.




We head west down OR-138, the N. Umpqua Highway. Before long we reach Toketee Falls. Parking is at a premium, but we cram in. The hike follows the Umpqua River
for about a mile to a great viewpoint. Lotta people on the trail today.




Then this happens. It's only 113 feet, but the setting is fabulous. Our pictures were kind of washed out last time, so this is great. We get some great video.




Currently, this trail and the North Entrance to Crater Lake are closed because of fires in the area now.

We return to the car and head back down the road. We stop at a bridge to view the fire damage from 2021. We seem to lose about a million acres a year to fires now.




We hit I-5 at Roseburg and we are about 180 miles from home. We pull into the driveway 3 hours later.

What a trip. Little did we realize what was in store for us when we left 2 weeks ago. We knew it would be good, but Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Crater Lake did an outstanding job of reminding us what a great part of the country we live in. The M850 was flawless - again. The odometer now reads 42,212 miles and we averaged 24.9 mpg over the 4,000 miles. Not bad for a fire breathing V8.

All washed and ready to go again. Thanks for tagging along. See you next time.


(The end of September will take us to 6 National Parks: Bryce, Zion, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Yosemite and Mt. Lassen. 13 days, but only 3,000 miles)

[DrVenture]

Pretty cool way to enjoy your ride. And the country. I am assuming that you stay at motels, hotels and lodges, due to limited ability to bring camping gear?

How has the M850 been for reliability? Any issues?

[snowbimmer]

Originally Posted by DrVenture

Pretty cool way to enjoy your ride. And the country. I am assuming that you stay at motels, hotels and lodges, due to limited ability to bring camping gear?

How has the M850 been for reliability? Any issues?

We stay in hotels. Don't really care to camp anymore, besides, no room for the gear (without a roof box) and it takes too long to set up and take down.

The M850 reliability has been fabulous. It's been on 6 trips averaging 3,600 miles. Never put air in the tires, never added coolant or oil. Never had a problem (except for a small rock caught in the rotor shield for awhile on this trip). Just passed 44,000 miles last week.


The 2nd and 3rd posts to the trip have been populated now.

[UtahBimmerBoy]

That Carbon Black looks fabulous with that Moab sandstone in the background! What an amazing car to do a cross country road-trip in!

PS. I was born and raised there, I might be a little biased lol

[spuntyb]

was born and raised (for a bit anyways, dad was Navy) in Idaho Falls, and have been east coast since I was about 10yo. Been years since I’ve been able to get back out west, and these pics remind me of our snowmobile, camping, and ski trips to Yellowstone, sun valley, and the Tetons.

Always a pleasure to read these posts, and ogle the M850!

[adhrp]

Damn that's such a detailed thread that I couldn't reach the end of it.. I'll enjoy it slowly! You are so lucky to be able to drive that part of the country.. Some of the best lands in America!

I saw some handwritten labels that looked like they were written using a fountain pen, am I right?

[kingofpena]

Amazing journey and pictures!

[cjeansonne]

I’ve read all of your road trip pieces and I can’t thank you enough for your time and effort to put these together and sharing it all with us. It reminds me of when I was a kid road tripping with my family thru the American West. It also makes me want to start doing the same types of trips in my car. Can’t wait for your next post about your trip in September.

[BruinMan]

Enjoyed - thanks

[T0RM3NT]

As always, great pics and commentary to accompany them. Thanks for sharing!

[JoeAyalaM]

Great write up, sweet ride and amazing pictures, thanks for sharing.

Makes me want to go places...

[NickyC]

Nice, thank you!!

[hookson]

Great write up! Used to do a road trip in my M5. Prefect car for such a cruise

[snowbimmer]

Originally Posted by UtahBimmerBoy

That Carbon Black looks fabulous with that Moab sandstone in the background! What an amazing car to do a cross country road-trip in!

PS. I was born and raised there, I might be a little biased lol

Blue and orange - complimentary colors. There ya go.

I can see how you might be biased. Utah has some amazing stuff. I just keep going back there.

[kaizzer]

That was an epic trip, and I appreciate your attention to detail. Thank you for sharing!

[snowbimmer]

Originally Posted by spuntyb

Always a pleasure to read these posts, and ogle the M850!

Thanks, man. But, dude - you have a San Remo M5. I could do some ogling too, ya know. I want the same color combination on a 2025 M850 And then just take one trip a year for ten years in the last BMW ICE with a normal cockpit.

[Ev0lutionx]

Originally Posted by snowbimmer

Days 10-13 Moab to Portland
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Day 10 (364 miles) Moab to West Valley, UT
One of our favorite places we've ever been to isn't even a national park. It is Dead Horse Point State Park and it is spectacular. It's on the road going in to Canyonlands National Park. We're here. Let's do it.
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We head up US-191 north for 11 miles out of Moab and turn west on UT-313 toward Canyonlands National Park. It's cooler today. And somewhat cloudy. We reach the Dead Horse Visitor Center after another 21 miles.
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This place is absolutely unreal. The colors. The magnitude. The unforgiving landscape. Truly special. A lot of pictures were taken here. Here's but a few.
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Dead Horse Point at the end of the road
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I didn't particularly want to leave, but we still had 320 miles left today. I'll be back again, for sure.
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A shot along the mesa heading back to the highway.
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We reach I-70 and head west. This is a section I hadn't been on in decades. And that was at night during a bodacious ski trip. So, technically, new territory.

I thought it was just going to be dry and rocky, but the landscape was stunning. [...]

Thanks for sharing! What an amazing trip and pictures. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking. Hate the fact that I’m stuck in Illinois.

[dutchm2]

Originally Posted by snowbimmer

Fabulous scenery across 6 states spread over 13 days: Grand Tetons NP, Bighorn Mountains WY, Maroon Bells CO, Colorado Riverway UT, Arches NP, Dead Horse Point UT, Crater Lake NP & More

Day 9 -Arches National Park
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Day 3 - Grand Teton National Park
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Day 5 - Big Horn National Forest
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Day 7 - Near Rocky Mountain National Park
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Day 9 - Colorado Riverway Recreational Area
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Day 13 - Crater Lake National Park
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Winter was long and winter was cold. Snow and ice. Windy - with downed trees on the property, trees threatening to come down, 9 degrees F and then..... no power. Twice. A scramble to decamp to lower elevations ( we only need 500' less) and get to a warm hotel. The M850 performed flawlessly during each escape. I'm still snowbimmer, dammit.

A pinched nerve a year ago gave me all kinds of driving pain on our Glacier Park Trip last fall. A steroid shot in February finally helped. Cabin fever was beginning to set in. By April I wanted another shot, but they said I had to wait until June. So we put off the spring trip to very early summer.

My western US map is getting filled in. But there was a large hole in Wyoming that needed attention and, since you're out there, why not fix a missing problem in Colorado, too? OK, Maroon Bells near Aspen was the actual target for the trip, Wyoming was just an excuse to get there. Maybe you can see why. Just sayin'.

Day 8 - Maroon Bells, CO
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The benefit of early summer is slightly fewer crowds and everything is really, really green. The color green adds to my well being. I was OK delaying by 2 months. Plus, there won't be a snow problem getting out of the state. And the wild fires haven't started yet. It's all good.

This is travel thread #11, since first diving in with a marvelous trip through Utah in 2019 in a Donington M5. I've had great inspiration from many of the other travel posters here.

The route to the promised land this time goes through places we have been many times. But, even at 4,032 miles, I was still able to get in 1,856 miles of new roads. I'll take it.

The Route: 2 clockwise loops.
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The absolute best pictures start on Day 7, (Post #2) as we get in to Colorado. From then on we hit up all those areas mentioned at the top of the thread. Those places are something else.

Days 1 to 6: Portland to Laramie, WY
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Day 1 (427 miles) Portland to Ontario, OR
Day 1 is usually long and we always try to get to Ontario, OR. Shooting east out I-84, we stop at The Dalles Dam Visitor Center (for the first time). Nice little history lesson, but not much to see. The dam is the longest on the Columbia. The entire structure is 7,365 feet long.
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Back on I-84. OK, it's not ALL green.
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Grabbed lunch in Pendleton and then headed south down US-395 for the first time. This road will take you out of Oregon, thru Reno then down past the eastern flank of the Sierras and end up in San Bernardino, CA - if you want. We're soon stuck in a 50 mile long re-paving section. It just seems like they used oil and gravel. It's slow. There's crap flying off the tires for over an hour. It eventually ends and we follow the highway through some nice mountains for 40 miles.

We turn on to a county road that will take us down the hypotenuse of a triangle to US-26, but the track is narrow, windy and poorly paved. Not making up any time here. But, it's new territory. We reach a welcome rest area at Bates State Park. It's starting to rain.
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US-26 is much nicer, and through more mountains and forests. We reach Ontario by 6 o'clock, grab dinner and get the car washed. Day 1 in the books.

Day 2 (345 miles) Ontario to Rexburg, ID
After getting through the monotony of the Boise area on I-84, the speed limit goes to 80 mph. We get off on US-20 at Mountain Home and head up out of the brown to a fabulous high plateau full of green farms and ranches. We are also skirting the southern flank of the still snowy Sawtooth Mountains. Much better than I-84. A stop for lunch in Fairfield is welcomed (there's nowhere to eat on this road) and we pass Craters of the Moon National Park. Saw it last year - didn't go in this time
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A little further on and the road opens up to the snow-capped Lost River Range.
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A quick stop in Arco, ID - the first town in the world lit by nuclear power on Dec. 21, 1951.
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Just down the road we stop at EBR-1, the experimental breeder reactor that actually produced the nuclear power for Arco. Probably been through here a dozen times, never turned in. Very nice museum.
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Then it's off to Idaho falls and a nice hike around the falls area.
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Our Rexburg stop is just up the road and the restaurant is right next door. Pretty nice.

Day 3 (392 miles) Rexburg to Thermopolis, WY
Going to be a long day with lots of new roads. We head east out of Rexburg on ID-33 for a look at the back side of the Grand Tetons. Here, they are about 50 miles away.
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The entire region is a verdant patchwork of massive green farms. Lots of wheat. We reach Tetonia, which sits in a very flat and wide valley on the west side of the Tetons.
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Our target is the Teton Canyon Observation Site up in the foothills on the road to the Grand Targhee Ski Resort. It seems like we pass thousands of new houses on the way. I can see why

The day is a bit hazy, but there they are - the "back side" of the Grand Tetons.
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A little further south, at Victor, the road turns east to head over Teton Pass. Unfortunately, this happened the week before. We had to detour an extra 60 miles down to US-26 to reach Jackson.
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We pass through the insanely busy touristical town of Jackson and head for our first major objective of the trip: Grand Teton National Park.
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The day is gloriously clear. The mountains were hard to see when we visited in 2017. It was August then and there was a lot of forest fire haze. Not today.
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Grand Teton on the left. Elev. 13,775'
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The Tetons can get crowded because of their close proximity to Yellowstone, but it's not too bad today. We drive along Teton Park Road and have lunch at Signal Mountain Lodge overlooking Jackson Lake. Nice.
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We end up at Grand Teton Lodge in the north end of the park and wished we'd eaten here. What a grand lodge it is. With a view over Willow Flats. It's almost 3 o'clock and we still have 210 miles to go.
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We head east on US-191 and stop at Oxbow bend on the Buffalo Fork of the Snake River.
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And the Snake River Overlook.
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We hop on US-26 at Moran and head east through the mountains. What a great road. Always wanted to see where this road leads. The scenery is tremendous.
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We pass through Shoshoni after 150 miles and head north toward the Wind River Gorge on Hwy 20 as the light is beginning to fade.
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Then we're in the gorge and the granite walls are literally glowing. There aren't really any places to stop.
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And just like that, you're out of the gorge and we roll in to Thermopolis, WY at about 7:30. Not many places to stay, but we're in the Best Western - 100 years old....how 'bout that? We will also be back here in 2 days on night 5.
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We find a nice pizza joint not too far away. Quite the successful day.

Days 4 to 6: Thermopolis to Laramie, WY
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Day 4 (103 miles) Thermopolis to Cody, WY
Today is completely jammed. A dam, 5 museums, an all-you-can-eat-barbecue, a country western show and a rodeo. Giddy the eff up, cowboy.........

Cody is only 84 miles away. We were in Cody last fall. We arrived too late in the day to see the dam and didn't have time for the museums the next day. Was going to spend 2 nights here this time, but the mileage didn't work out, so Thermopolis gets all the attention.

We get to Buffalo Bill Dam about 9:30, just west of Cody. It was built between 1905 and 1910 - mostly in the winter months because of the lower flows. It was bitterly cold. Crazy stuff. It sits in a very narrow gorge on the Shoshone River and is 350' high. Very impressive.
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Then it's back to Cody to see the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. William Cody was quite a colorful character. He rode for the Pony Express, was a soldier, hunter, trapper, business owner and showman. The five museums are the Whitney Western Art Museum, the Buffalo Bill Museum, the Plains Indian Museum, the Cody Firearms Museum and the Draper Natural History Museum. One reasonable admission ($23), all under one roof. We spend almost 4 hours there and hit them all. Very nicely done.
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The man himself
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Whitney Museum
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Over 7,000 firearms spanning many centuries
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We explore a little more of Cody and check in to the hotel to freshen up. Dinner is at the Cody Cattle Company just up the street. They have a package of an all-you-can-eat buffet (brisket), a fabulous country music show and then over to the Cody Rodeo - our first. Now when someone asks me about something I'm doing, I can honestly say "It's not my first rodeo."
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Like the guy in City Slickers said, "You came out here city slickers. You're gonna go home cowboys." Man, what a day.
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Day 5 (305 miles) Cody to Thermopolis - again
Lots of new territory today. Heading back to Thermopolis, but going east through the Bighorn National Forest to return. There are three Scenic Byways through the Big Horns - we will take two of them today: US-14a (the northernmost route, called the Medicine Wheel Passage); US-14 (the middle route, called the Bighorn Scenic Byway) and US-16 (the southernmost route, called the Cloud Peak Skyway). I had planned on taking 14a, but our dinner mates at the buffet last night recommended 14, and showed me a picture of Shell Falls. Yup, going there, for sure.

We head down US-14 out of Cody and quickly end up in ranch country.
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Just before Greybull, we stop at a rest area and look through the fence at a few of the planes at the Museum of Flight and Aerial Firefighting. Next time.
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Greybull is a bit of a crossroads
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Then it's off to the mountains, stopping at a colorful turnout at the Shell Creek Recreation Area. Really nice orange on the ground here.
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Chimney Rock
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We wind up the mountains and stop at the apt named Big Horn Scenic Highway Pullout
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Cedar Mountain
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We've been following way above Shell Creek in the canyon below for quite some time. We finally meet at the Shell Falls Interpretive Site. Shell Falls is only 120 feet high, but what a site it is as it roars through the canyon.
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The road continues to climb through several alpine regions and the hills are soon covered in trees.
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Then we crest Granite Pass at just over 9,000 feet and descend into Burgess Junction for lunch at the Bear Lodge Resort. Highway US-14a merges in here from the west. Next time.
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US-14 continues east and the forest become more dense. We start to descend and come up on the rocky outcrop of Steamboat Point. The clouds suck in.
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We descend further to the edge of the forest and also the eastern edge of the range. All that lies below is grasslands.
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We soon hook up with I-90 and head south toward Sheridan. We went through here in 2021 and don't turn in. The weather is looking like rain.
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Then all hell breaks loose as we approach a very dark storm
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The mushy hailstorm hits with an unbelievable ferocity. We go from 85 mph to 10 mph - and then just pull over and get pounded. Other cars soldier on. I'm not getting rear-ended.
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Then, in 5 minutes its all over. I don't think the car was damaged. We drop in on the quaint little town of Buffalo.
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The wife finds a purse while I find a nice color photograph of the The Bighorns (Some people are just better than me). We split a NY cheesecake and go to find US-16 - the Cloud Peak Skyway - to take us back through the Bighorns again, going west.

The road is very scenic and we end up at the Loaf Mountain Overlook
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We continue up to the Powder River Pass at 9,666' and then the road drops steeply through the very picturesque Ten Sleep River Canyon - alas, no spot for pictures. An hour and a half later we are back at the Best Western in Thermopolis. Snagged a better room this time.

Bighorns - not to be missed.

Day 6 (293 miles) Thermopolis to Laramie, WY
Today is another educational day. We start off and do a quick tour of Hot Springs State Park next door. There's lots of geothermal activity, with several hot springs and swimming pools. Really gotta get a wash after yesterday's festivities.
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We hit up downtown and find a Saturday market and a nice mural
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The Wyoming Dinosaur Center is just a few blocks away. A very large and nice exhibit of the old fellas.
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Grab a quick car wash and then we backtrack south through the Wind River Canyon. This time with morning light.
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Casper, WY is our first destination, two hours away down US-26. We wander through a nice downtown, grab lunch and then drive around town a bit before heading to the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center to learn about the westward migration. Man, those people were tough as nails.

Then it's over to the other side of town to see Fort Caspar and it's museum.
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We hit the road about 2:30 and head down WY-487 to Medicine Bow. Not much going on there. Then half way to Laramie this milestone occurs. Jeez - 2 years, 2 months.
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We are, literally, in the middle of nowhere.
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Rock River, WY - Pop. 215. Didn't see anyone.
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We pass by ranches for mile after mile on US-30 heading to Laramie.
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We reach Laramie by 4:30 and drive through the University of Wyoming campus on the way to the hotel. The Cowboys and Cowgirls have some nice sports facilities. The campus is well maintained.
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The rib joint for tonight is just across the parking lot.

Note: Two more posts to follow - and they have the absolute best photos. Stay tuned.

Thank you for sharing another stunning journey! Every time I read your posts it feels like I was there and that is super rewarding, not to mention how interesting it is to get to know America in all its grandeur. Thank you very much for all these shares.

[mjn77]

Fantastic!! And that is some serious mileage every day!!!

[dutchm2]

Originally Posted by snowbimmer

Days 7-9 Laramie to Moab
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Day 7 (327 miles) Laramie to Basalt, CO
Things get serious today. The landscape really changes, cuz it's Colorado, man!

But first, we explore Laramie, which turns out to be a delightful little college town.

Albany County Courthouse - I liked how crisp and clean it looks
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Downtown
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Then off to the Wyoming Territorial Prison - opened in 1872 and closed in 1903. Interesting place.
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Butch Cassidy was even a resident here for awhile
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Then we head down US-287 and soon enter Colorado. At Ted's Place we reach the furthest point east for the trip - and sadly start to head home.

We connect up with CO-14 and head east on a glorious little road we discovered in 2021. It follows the Poudre River for many miles as we snake up into the Rockies.
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The canyon is craggy and curvy. It is filled with people rafting the cold waters. We continue climbing and reach a turnout that was an explosion of color back in late September of 2021
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Not so much in late June
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We crest Cameron Pass at 10,276 feet and run into the Nokhu Crags as we descend
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Rocky Mountain National Park in the background
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A quick run into Walden brings lunch and then we head south through the mountains, eventually hooking into I-70 after 100 miles. We approach Glenwood Canyon. The freeway is an absolute engineering marvel through here.
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The canyon is breathtaking - with no turnouts. Jeez.
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We zip through Glenwood Springs (as we will be back here tomorrow afternoon) and head the 20 miles to Basalt on CO-82. Capitol Peak looks nice in the evening light.
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The NAV brings me into Basalt and we head for the hotel. We cross a little bit of gravel near some road construction and we soon hear a blood curdling rending of metal in distress. Sounds like a train. We roll the windows down - it's us. It's ear piercing.

We park at a gas station. I try rocking the car forward and backward, to no avail. I get out and feel around the right rear rotor. Then I try nudging the rotor shield. The metal makes the same noise, so I know what the culprit is. It happened once before, but resolved itself within a few feet. I can't feel anything. I'm glad we are close to the hotel, the NAV says its just around the corner and we can walk. The effing NAV is wrong. There is no hotel - we passed it back up the road 5 miles ago. What. The. Eff?

I try several more times to dislodge the rock. A hundred people look to see what the hell is making all that noise. A nice couple comes along. He says my car is too expensive to act like that. No shit. They offer to drive us to our hotel. I'm not ready to give up, but we exchange phone numbers. We decide to have dinner nearby - I'm quite filthy by now. Afterwards, I try again - no use. I say eff it and we take a back road to the hotel. After checking in I go back down and squirrel around in the nearly empty parking lot. Nothing works. Panic sets in.

We have a 9:00 am reservation for the Maroon Bells shuttle tomorrow morning - my reason for coming out here. You catch it down at Aspen Highlands, 23 miles away. All the reservations are spoken for tomorrow. It's insanely popular. You miss by 5 mins, tough luck, they say. As I'm jerking the car around the parking lot, a guy and his daughter come walking by - locals. He says my car is too expensive to sound like that. No shit. He looks around too, can't help me. He noticed my plate and said he's a Portland transplant from 20 years ago. We reminisce about Portland for awhile. Said I needed to see his buddy Paul at Basalt Quick Lube. Tell him Jim sent me. He'll get me fixed up in a jiffy. Ok, cool. I go back to the room to be nervous.

Day 8 (88 miles) Maroon Bells, Aspen & Glenwood Springs

We would have to get out of here early and drive 5 squealy miles down to get to Paul's shop when he opened at 8 am. Hopefully a quick fix gets us on the road and we make it in time for the 9:00 shuttle. Its' worth a try. We skip breakfast and we're out the door by 7:30 - we don't pack because this is a 2 night stay. We squeal like a banshee all that way to his shop. Just as we turn onto his street, the noise goes away. Just like that. We high five and scream down to Aspen Highlands. We even have time to enjoy a croissant at the Ritz Carlton before the shuttle comes. Holy shitballs, this is going to work.

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The shuttle comes and we ride up the valley 8 miles to the drop off point at Maroon Lake. The hills are covered in evergreens and aspens. The color is unreal. It is a verdant wonderland.
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We walk down a short pathway and then, there they are. What a site to behold. Most of the peaks in this picture are over 14,000'. The Bells are in the back: Maroon Peak at 14,163' and North Maroon Peak at !4,019'.
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We stop at a bench and sit, just drinking it all in.
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We set out toward the lake and walk to the end, up a creek and loop back. The amphitheater is breathtaking and quickly moves way up on my All-Time Favorite Places list. You be the judge.
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Maroon Lake
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West Maroon Creek
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The light and shadows played around all morning.
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After two hours of hiking around, we sadly head back toward the shuttle. My trip is complete. (Little did I know)

We have a nice lunch by the slopes at Aspen Highlands and then head down to Aspen proper. Aspen is a very pleasant town, though quite expensive, being a Hollywood and billionaire playground , and all. We wander about and then park it in some Adirondack chairs beneath the nearby ski slope and watch everyone and their dogs go by. There are a lot of dogs here. Some dark clouds roll in so we decamp back to the hotel for a couple hours

We head 20 miles to Glenwood Springs for dinner, but first there is a side trip to Doc Holliday's grave. They don't know for sure where he's at, but marked it anyway. The trail is long, rocky, steep and hot. But worth it.
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Downtown Glenwood Springs is bustling and crammed with people. We spot a nice steakhouse and managed to get seated. But no one has any interest in us. No water. No menus. No "I'll be right with you." We leave after 15 or 20 minutes and walk over the bridge to check out the Hotel Colorado. We pass by the massive 400' long Glenwood Hot Springs Pool, opened on July 4, 1888. Been around awhile. Gets very busy. The parking lot is packed.
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Managed to get my steak on a pleasant little terrace under the awnings here at the Hotel Colorado - opened in 1893.
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Then it's 20 miles back to the hotel. The end of a highly successful day that almost never was. Time to buy a lottery ticket.

Day 9 (364 miles) Basalt to Moab, UT
Long travel day today. Nearly all new roads. We head north the few miles to Carbondale and then take CO-133 west up into the mountains. Traffic is very light. We follow the Crystal River for a long time
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We crest McClure Pass at 8,763'
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As we head down the other side, we see a bear scurry over the road divider. Cool - more than we saw in Yellowstone last year. Further on we pass under the Arch Coal facility.
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We come out of the mountains and everything dries out. I get the car washed in Delta. Then we head north on US-50 and turn down CO-141 just outside of Grand Junction. This is another great road through rocky canyons. After 43 miles we reach Gateway for lunch and the Gateway Automobile Museum. Yeah, out here in the middle of nowhere. Not much going on here. Or so we thought.
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We turn in to the Gateway Canyons Resort and Spa and come upon a completely high falutin' oasis. Quite the fancy resort. In the middle of nowhere. (The aerial is not my picture)
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The museum is closed today. So we search out the grounds for a restaurant. It's a maze of buildings and pathways and pools. Really nice. We find the restaurant and get behind an elderly couple shuffling along the path, also toward the restaurant. We fall in behind, so as not to appear to be the the young jackasses that we are in order to beat them to the door. We help them with the door, start chatting a bit.

The maitre' d asks if we'd like a table for 4? Sure, we're old friends now. We spent the next hour and a half chatting, eating and regaling each other with our lives to that point. They own a house down in Telluride (jerks) that they visit in the summer from Florida. Been coming for 25 years. Used to ski in the winter. They were on their way to Grand Junction to do some shopping. They always stop here on the way. He was a Viet Nam vet and then became a banker. Our politics aligned perfectly. I enjoy talking to sane people.

We say our goodbyes after exchanging phone numbers and head down into Dolores Canyon. I knew this was going to be a treat when I scoped it out on google maps. A river in a narrow, winding canyon colored a rusty orange. Really something.
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The road zig zags around for about 50 miles.
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We arrive at the Hanging Flume Overlook It's starting to get hot. Moab is supposed to be warm today.
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We come out of the canyon near Naturita and do a 180, heading north on CO-90. It's arid now. It's dry. And it's also officially the hottest day of the trip.

The road is nearly straight for 20 miles. I think I come up on Kowalski in his white Challenger. You know - - Kowalski. From Vanishing Point. 1970. One of my favorite movies.
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I follow behind a respectable distance for about 5 miles, but get tired of his speed, or lack there of. He doesn't seem to be driving quite like Kowalski. Besides, it's not even a '70 Challenger, so I take him at 80 and don't look back.

We reach Moab at 5:00 and check in the the hotel. Then off to find the brisket dinner we so enjoyed 2 years ago. Found the dinner. Didn't enjoy it this time. Yup, it's hot outside.
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Well, it's 6:00 and there is time to kill. We could drive up the Colorado Riverway a ways and then hit up Arches National Park at sunset, sez the wife. Not a bad idea. Why didn't I think of that???

The light is fantastic as we turn east up UT-128 along the Colorado River. Another rusty orange canyon.
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Then we come around a corner to this. Just awesome.
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A little further up the road, the sun is just lightin' it up.
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We go as far as 14 miles and turn around at Porcupine Rim - a spine that goes on for about 25 miles
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Heading back
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Stopped back here for another go
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It's about 7:30 now and the sun is getting low. Time to hustle over to Arches NP - luckily only 2 miles away to the entrance. The lines can be an hour long to get in - and that's with a timed entry. There was no one.
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You climb straight up the side of a cliff and finally gain a plateau where all the action is. This is our third time since 2019. It's a special place. The arches are nice, but we really like the massive rock formations.
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The first stop is Park Avenue. Just wow. No people, well, maybe a couple.
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Courthouse Towers on the left
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The Three Gossips, the Tower of Babel and the Courthouse Towers (This is just beyond the camera's useful shutter speed)
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We head towards the Windows area and race the sun. The rocks are on fire. It's quite something.
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The North Window Arch
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And with that, we bid the sun adieu. And it's still over 90 degrees. What a spectacular finish for the day. And, to think, we really weren't planning to come in. What a coupla dopes. Well, me, anyway.
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Phenomenal! And also these last few days are somehow intense. I'm glad to know and read that everything ended well and there were only slight scares