Grand Junction, Colorado
March 23, 2020
Today’s Drive was like a lag putt in golf - it put me in position for the next putt - or drive as the case may be. I am on Interstate 70 now and that is my route eastward.
Sensory overload from the drive. Headed east on I40 out of Winslow for 100 miles - was it Sunday morning or the virus? There was little passenger vehicle traffic. In Gallup, Arizona I turned north on US 491 and drove for a couple of hours through the Navajo Nation. Vast (I need to find a synonym) empty high desert. An overcast day so there were not many photo ops. Took a detour when I saw a sign for the Four Corners Monument - headed 18 miles west on US 160 to find out the monument was closed. Bummer. But it still was a thrill to be so close to where four states touch. I continued on US 491 into the Ute Mountains and into Colorado. I love Colorado's welcoming sign - "Colorful Colorado" in brown. Come on, Buffaloes - you can do better than that!
At some point I go on State Route 145 through the mountains. Oh my. Spectacular. Dolores, San Juan National Forest, Rico, Ridgway, Montrose, Uncompahgre National Forest. I will definitely go back there to enjoy some camping. I hope you enjoy the photos from there - I would have taken more but there was a lot of snow on the shoulders.
Finally it was State Route 62, US 550 and US 50 into Grand Junction.
Now my day on Interstate 70 begins. I am struck by how big Colorado is. I thought Grand Junction was 50 miles from Denver - not. It is 200 miles. And I think I am 500 miles from the Colorado-Kansas border? Will I ever get to Charlottesville?
Started my day at a truck stop.
Ended my day with a beautiful sunset.
