Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway

 

As I write this blog entry, it is Wednesday evening, we are in Alma, Arkansas, just outside of Fort Smith, and plan to meet up with Marcia's cousin Jim tomorrow for breakfast...he lives in Fort Smith.  After that, we are headed to Pine Bluff to visit one of my fellow Library workers, and then on to Florida.

This entry, however, deals with the Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway, a route we took earlier in the week while still in Moab.   The Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway is a 44.5 mile route which follows the Colorado River along a canyon.  We entered the Byway just north of Moab as it starts where Highway 191 crosses the Colorado River.  Most people don't take the time to travel the Byway...what a mistake that is.  It ends at the Ghost Town of Cisco, close to I-70.  We made the mistake to follow our GPS to the east at Cisco, which takes you on a very rough 8 miles until it reaches I-70.  Taking a left headed west takes you 2 miles on a smooth road, and easy access to I-70.  Either way, once on I-70 it is only an hours ride to Grand Junction, or 20 minute ride back to Highway 191.

There's about a dozen BLM Campgrounds along the Byway, most of them along the first five miles.  There's no water, no electricity, some have outhouses, and there is little to no Cell Service along the entire route.

      

 

 

The hardest thing about the drive is keeping your eye on the roadway...it is truly a stunning view.

 

 There are many areas along the river that rafters/boaters float west along the current.

 

      

 

The canyon widens and narrows back up.  At its widest point, I did get a little cell phone service, but it was spotty (both Verizon and T-Mobile)  The only way I would camp in the area is if I had a Starlink connection!

 

Eventually you cross the Colorado, and a few miles down the road the colorado turns to the southeast, and the road turns to the northeast.  The last couple of miles is just Utah desert, and then you come to the Ghost Town of Cisco...where there is one "store" (if you can call it that) which is open that sells beer and soft drinks...not sure what else, we did not stop.

 

We turned to the east and found a nice Rest Area/Welcome Center in Fruita.  Marcia had a prescription which needed filling, and although we ordered it Thursday morning, it was not ready until Monday.  So we found another scenic route to take while in Fruita...one that I had my eye one since the 1980's....  That will be our next posting.

 

 

Motorhome Makes it Over 11,000 Foot Pass

At Flagler Reservoir and State Wildlife Area, Flagler, CO

Colorado has some high passes…some very high passes.  We had three choices before us…go through the National Park, which has an elevation of 12,183 feet, go through Berthoud Pass on US-40, which has an elevation of 11,307 feet, or head west on US-40, south on highway 9, and then travel east on I-70 with an elevation of 11,158 feet, and is 40+ miles longer than the Berthoud Pass route along US-40.  Going through the National Park was out immediately…going up 12,000 feet on a two lane road, and then going through Estes Park, Boulder, etc…just was not going to happen.  Going over Berthoud Pass, on a two lane road…well, it was doable, but just not the wise thing to do in my opinion.  So we took the longer route through Silverthorne, which is located where highway 9 and I-70 meet.  Once on I-70, we had 10 miles of incline…going as slow as 30 mph at times, but no real curves to negotiate, and three lanes of Interstate roadway.  Just put it in 2nd gear, and slowly made the climb up and up and up…and then into the Eisenhower Tunnel, where a slight decline starts, and then a near constant decline all the way into Denver.

   

   

Fall was definitely arriving fast at Lake Granby.  On Monday we went into town to do a bit of grocery shopping to hold us over until we reach the Kansas City area, and we both noted the colors on the trees which we had not noticed when we arrived two weeks ago.  We had a few nights down in the 30s while we were there, and a month from now the highs will be in the 50’s, lows in the 20’s.  It was time to move on regardless…and Sunset Point will shut down before the end of the month, although a few of the parks do have a few camping spots available during the winter, mainly for the hard core hunters and fishing fanatics. 

A small portion of today’s travel was along US-40, going over the same ground that we took to get to Lake Granby.  Just west of Hot Sulphur Springs, is Byers Canyon, a short gorge cut out by the Colorado River.  Told Marcia that when we left Lake Granby, she would be in a better position to take some pics…and she got some good ones. 

    

The rock formations along the walls of the canyon are wonderful, now if only we could have had a train going along the tracks which run on the other side of the Colorado River from the roadway….

Goodbye US-40, and the great Colorado River.

Between US-40 and I-70 along highway 9 is the Green Mountain Reservoir.  In previous posts about Lake Granby I mentioned the tunnel that takes water from the western slopes and moves it to the eastern slopes where 80% of Coloradans live.  Well, Green Mountain Reservoir was completed before all of the other reservoirs that help divert the water from the west to the east because environmentally minded folks wanted to be sure that the water was replaced that was taken away.  This time of year, the water level in the lake is very low due to this diversion.  It has a capacity of 153,000 acre feet.

 

  

Going the route we did, we entered highway 9 at Kremmling Colorado, elevation of 7,300 feet…and exited onto I-70 at Silverthorne Colorado, elevation 9,000 feet.  In between, besides the Green Mountain Reservoir, is some fine ranch lands, and the highway department has provided large fences with crossovers above and below the highway for any wildlife that needs to cross.

Soon we were in Denver…

And once through Denver, and the lighter than expected traffic, and a quick stop for the dogs to use the plush green grass, something they had not seen for awhile, we were headed east along a fairly straight, fairly level I-70, and I finally was able to use cruise control.

After another stop in Limon for gas and propane (those 30-40 degree nights tend to eat up the propane even when you have the thermometer set to 63 degrees), we got closer to our destination…Flagler Colorado.  Just a dozen miles away, and low and behold…a storm.  Thank goodness there was a rest area just down the road from when this picture was taken, where we sat out the storm for about an hour.

  

Weren’t we surprised to see a Pink Caddy up in the air at our exit…right in front of I-70 Diner, an old Kroll's Diner out of North Dakota.  The owner bought it, shipped it down on 6 semis, and after they acquired the land, had it open within two months.  600 people came to eat on opening day, July 4, 2007.

   

I was looking for a place to stay near the border of Colorado and Kansas.  Came across Flagler State Recreation Area on Google Maps, and found that it’s real name is “Flagler Reservoir State Wildlife Area “, and one can camp here for free.  We took a chance, and no one else was around other than a car or two checking it out.  The lake is fairly dry this time of year, and we have seen nor heard from any animals (outside of Skruffy and Bubba).

As dusk neared, this little trailer pulled by a car went around to the other side of the lake, then came back and parked way down from us.  Other than a farmer or two driving by, and a natural gas truck making a delivery, we have not seen anyone else.

A panoramic view of the sun going down behind another thunder storm.  We have not had rain as of 8:00 pm, although there was a storm warning about 20 east of us, but that expired.

This is what it looked like to the east…warning said there was hail, and the storm was not moving…I guess it played itself out.  We have seen some flashes of thunder, but I think everything is settling down now.  Tomorrow we have our eyes set on a Cracker Barrel.  Sisters Sandy and Patti tried to take Mom and Dad out to the brand new Cracker Barrel in Sacramento for Sandy’s birthday last week…the wait was going to be at least 90 minutes so they went somewhere else.  I don’t think we will be having that problem…I am just hoping we get to stay the night.

Lake Granby Weekend

At Sunset Point Campground, Lake Granby, CO

  

Having driven through Rocky Mountain National Park, I knew that we did not want to stay over in the Estes Park area…’WAY’ too many people.  Thought about trying to get into the Timber Creek Campground, which is inside the National Park…but when I saw all the various camping options between the cities of Granby and Grand Lakes, with three large lakes, Lake Granby, Shadow Mountain and Grand Lake…well, I decided to look into this area a bit closer. 

The Stillwater Campground, as seen Saturday late afternoon above from across the lake from us, is the biggest campground, mostly through reservations, but with a handful of first come-first camp situations.  I am sure this campground was much more appealing when it had more trees…which were removed years ago due to the Pine Beatle infestation.  I am sure most campsites have a view of the lake now…but they also have a view of just about every other campsite in the campground. 

When I saw that Sunset Point Campground was all first come-first camp type of park, that appealed to me.  When I saw that the campground still had trees, that appealed to me.  When I saw that it is laid out along the lake, all on one road (no loops) along the lakeside, that appealed to me.  Now, as a first come-first camp park, you have to have a plan…our plan was to arrive on Tuesday around 11 am…that worked real good.  We immediately met camp host Suzzie and her friend Elaine who were riding a golf cart up and down the road.  Suzzie, who works along with her husband Rick, rattled of a list of campsites which were available…and suggested campsite #12.  We got down to 12, and yep, did not need to go further.  As we were setting up, she comes by and hands us a pay slip, says she will be back through later to pick it up…cool.  Later, when talking to Rick, I found out they have worked here for 8 years straight now…come up from Fort Worth each year.  The picture above is what we see right outside our entry door…and the park is full.

Yesterday late afternoon, soaking up the 78 degree weather, I sat at the rear of the motorhome in the shade and took this picture above of a gal walking her dog.  Look at how hard it is to see her and the dog, yet they are right in the middle of the picture.  The picture to the right is a close up of them.  There are lots of dogs here this weekend, and keeping them all on leashes has been a slight issue until Rick catches them and says, “only one more warning, after that you and the dog are out of here!”  But the point I want to make is that with all the trees, yes, our view of the lake is impaired a bit…so is the view and noise of the neighbors…especially distant neighbors.  And the nights have been so quiet, especially after 10 pm when generators have to be off.  Honestly, I have heard a few generators, but nothing that caused us any grief. 

    

With no campers behind us, it is where I normally walk the dogs…away from the street and away from the view of other dogs.  Had a Long Haired Dachshund, who was being walked on a leash, get away from its owner as it was being put into their motorhome…and it rushed over to say hello to Skruffy and Bubba.  Bubba just stares and wags his tail, Skruffy and the other Dachshund have to bark at each other to let each other know that they are related…honestly, their barks was like listening to a stereo of Dachshunds barking.

    

Have not seen any wildlife on this end of the lake, but I did find two Osprey nest nearby.  The one on the left is further away from us, but right alongside the road…the one on the right is closer to our location, but much further away from the road, but down an embankment so you can see more of the nest.  I have seen these birds flying through the park, but with the trees, they suddenly appear, and then they are gone, headed to or from the lake.

As I drove over the dam yesterday, I got this shot of the Colorado River.  They won’t let you stop on the dam at all…safety issue they say from 9-11 attacks.  The Colorado looks so small…

…but this picture above was taken of the Colorado up in the National Park.  The headwaters of the Colorado are up in the park, and to see those headwaters, one has to hike about 10 miles along the river.  This picture was taken just a mile from the Visitor’s Center.  Now that the weekend is over, we plan to head back up into the park…probably Tuesday since Monday is going to be laundry day.  Today we will just sit back and enjoy the departure of about 1/3 of the parks occupants, and the rush of newcomers looking for a spot for a day or two.