| Date: 11 Aug 2002 |
Day #: 19 |
Miles Today: 350 |
| Start: Salt Lake City, UT |
End: Denver, CO |
| States Today: Utah, Colorado |
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| Total Mileage: 5,960 |
Total # States Visited: 20 |
| Points of Interest: Arches National Park |
I woke up in the driver’s seat at 6:30 am, and was on the road by 6:36. It’s 64F outside, and I have the heat on. In August. I gassed up before leaving the greater metro area to prevent extortion in the back-country. My breakfast consisted of a McDonald’s sausage biscuit, one hash brown, and a Red Bull energy beverage. Not the best combo. I saw a real live antelope at 8:27 on my way to Arches National Park. Now if only it had been an Impala...
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| Classic Americana |
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| Welcome to Arches National Park |
When I was planning this trip, I was trying to figure out how to see Monument Valley but it proved too difficult, but Arches was a close second. It was also the featured park on my National Parks pass:
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| Map of Arches National Park |
I arrived at Arches National park around 10 am, and left around 1:15pm.
I crossed the Colorado river at 1:20 and got lunch at Bandito’s Grill on the outskirts of Moab. Burritos the size of your head! Tasty too. My thermometer is fried after sitting in the car in Arches…apparently it got up to 135F.
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| Last known picture of my thermometer working: 129F! |
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| On the road after Arches |
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| Best driving day of the trip! |
I crossed into Colorado at 3:19pm, and gassed up in Grand Junction. At the gas station, two girls in a VW Rabbit drove by and I could smell the cocoa butter they had on. There was an accident that even had news crew out to film it around 4:15. After I cleared the Vail summit pass (10,600ft), it was all downhill from there.
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| Here come the mountains! |
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| Extreme Fire - Danger - No Open Burning |
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| It's all downhill from here |
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| A good example of a treeline |
I arrived at Lisa’s at 8pm, said some quick hellos to her folks (her mom was my English teacher for two years in High School) then took a shower before eating a great meal of bratwurst, potato salad, and cantaloupe.
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| Official Sponsor: Lisa (with her family) |
Read more about my Great American Road Trip adventure.
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