Tag: Colorado

Towaoc, Colorado to Reno, Nevada

Duke and I are home. We drove from southwestern Colorado to Midway, Utah, where we spent two nights with Duke’s brother and his wife. From Midway we drove home.

Soon after leaving Ute Mountain Casino where we spent the night in Towaoc we stopped for coffee and bagels in nearby Cortez, Colorado.

Silver Bean Coffee

Then we spent an hour exploring a bit of Arches National Park.

Balancing Rock in Arches National Park
Arches National Park
We had probably the best meal of the trip with Bill and Berna, in Midway, at Midway Mercantile.

Monday we drove 570 miles west, along Interstate 80, home to Reno.

At the Bonneville Salt Flats Rest Area on Interstate 80.

We travelled a total of 6,458 miles, were in 13 states, saw some great sites and had wonderful visits with friends and family. It was a great four and a half week road trip. Now we only have three weeks to catch up at home, then it’s off to Argentina!

Santa Rosa, New Mexico to Towaoc, Colorado

This morning, before leaving Santa Rosa, we stopped to see The Blue Hole. It is a spring fed pool almost 80 feet deep. It is used for swimming and scuba diving.

The Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, New Mexico
The Blue Hole sign

Just before we left New Mexico we stopped at Aztec Ruins National Monument. We watched the movie and did the half mile trail through the Great House. The national monument a large group of big structures and houses built by the ancestors of the native Americans in this area. It was built about 1100 AD.

A circular kiva that originally had a domed wooden roof.
A reconstructed Great Kiva
Inside one of the buildings
Another view of the buildings. I don’t have a picture that really gives you scale.

When we crossed into Colorado the skies became threatening as we passed through some beautiful terrain. It rained hard for a few minutes just before we got to Our destination.

Near the Colorado / New Mexico Border
One of several “towers we saw”

Tonight we are spending the night at Ute Mountain Casino.

Loveland, Colorado day 2

Today we had a wonderful time exploring Loveland and the surrounding area.

We went for a walk across Pinewood dam. You can see in this fascinating video the dam they are buiding nearby. It has an asphalt core.

The new dam

We stopped to take a break and sit overlooking another beautiful reservoir.

Taking a break

We enjoyed talking and catching up.

Hattie enjoyed our conversation.

Rangely, Colorado to Loveland, Colorado

Sunday morning we spent exploring some of Dinosaur National Monument. Duke was here in the mid seventies and remembers taking the road to Echo Canyon on the Green River. So we drove the dirt road down to the same spot today. It was an amazing spot and he did a great job demonstrating the echo.

Echo canyon on the Green River
Duke demonstrating the echo

For lunch we had leftover pizza from dinner the night before. Then we drove the length of the park on more dirt roads. It is an absolutely beautiful park. And we didn’t see any other people on the road. It took us a few hours to get back to pavement. But we thoroughly enjoyed the drive.

Lunch
Dinosaur National Monument

From Dinosaur National Monument we drove to Loveland to see our friends Rick and Elaine. We went out to dinner at a great local restaurant, Henry’s. As we got there it started to rain. There was lots of thunder and lightning and it rained hard. The rain gauge back at the house said we got 1.6 inches of rain.

West Wendover, Nevada to Rangely, Colorado

Today we drove across Utah, with a few stretch stops, to Dinosaur National Monument. We parked the car and checked out the Quarry Visitor Center, then took the tram up to the Quarry Exhibit Hall. The Exhibit hall is built right over one of the rock faces with hundreds of fossils still in the rock.

Inside the quarry Exhibit Hall

Next we took the Fossil Discovery Trail back down to the visitor center.

On the Fossil Discovery Trail.

From Dinosaur National Monument we continue on about an hour to the small town of Rangely, Colorado where we are tonight.

Outside our room in Rangely