August 1 to 8, 2010

Greetings from the Austin residence, La Grande, Oregon!
After having to cut off the stem of our bulldog jack, we left Cheyenne heading south on the I-25. Having a little brake difficulty, we stopped for the night in Walmart's lot in Denver.
The next day (Mon) we headed west on the "feared" stretch of I-70, toward Grand Junction..nice trip through the Rockies--lots of high elevations, beautiful mountain scenery & great view of Dillon Reservoir and mountains, alongside Frisco, CO..many ski towns on this route. We passed thru Glenwood Canyon then stopped at Glenwood Springs, where we bussed up (waayyy up) a mountain to see Glenwood Caverns & the village--decent cavern/tour and a nice view way up there. The village is actually a tourist Mecca with Alpine sled, tramway, arcade, thrill ride & gift shops. We decided not to do the Springs-too many people, not 100% authentic & too much $$$. Side note: our fuel gauge worked today (1st time). Next morning we hit the road headed toward Utah-not much to look at once you clear the mountains & hills. However along the way we did find Rifle Falls State Park, 80 ft waterfalls with many trails and scenic vantage points. From there we drove on into Utah, stopping for the night at the Welcome center.
Wed. morning took us to Moab, UT via the US 191. We rented a RV space for 2 days then took off on the Honda to Arches Nat'l Park. Bought the year pass for $80 then drove thru the magnificent arches, spires, red rock mesas, canyons & valleys of many colors. Despite the nearby threat of rain we hung on to see all of this spectacular natural wonder. The next day despite the threat of rain/thunder we set out toward the Canyonlands Nat'l Park. Was a decent ride to the entrance, however most of the features are "hidden" until you get really close..the canyons, buttes & other formations are nearly as good as the Grand Canyon! There are many viewing points and some trails to take. After leaving the park we refueled, shed our jackets then headed south of Moab to the Needles Overlook and the Anticline Overlook. Was 22 miles up & down a narrow paved road with many cattle bridges. This vantage point of the canyonlands shows the N, S & W sides of the canyons. Saw the Needles, the north & south Pistol Spires, many buttes, mesas, the Green & Colorado Rivers. On the way home we got very close to a thunderstorm which displayed a nice rainbow. Along the way we viewed the Wilson Arch, which is right alongside the highway.
Friday we prepared to leave the Moab Rim RV Park, then set out northward on US 191, then I-70, then US 6 toward Salt Lake City. Stopped in Price, UT & visited the Prehistoric Museum (College of Eastern UT). Thay have alot of dinosaur bones, fossils & skeletons, also fossils of plants, trees and various crustaceans. Also ancient indian artifacts. We left that facility and traveled to the I-15, where we stopped for the night at (not again!) Walmart near Orem. Saturday we got back on the interstate then quickly exited onto Hwy 92 toward the Timpanogos Cave. We found the park, but had trouble finding parking for our 49 ft train..tried to get on the tour for the cave but would've had to wait many hours, so we settled for a virtual tour on their computer (I know, I know!). We then left the park, headed to Kennicot Copper Mine. After some poor directions and a steep climb we arrived at the mine. The mine and all the facilities are HUGE! The open pit--the world's largest--is 2 1/2 miles across & 3/4 mile deep. They use earth-moving vehicles as large as a house. Inside the visitor center we watched an impressive video about the company and the entire operation, then toured the info kiosks. Leaving the mine, we got back on I-15 to Loop 215 to I-80 to Hwy 65, which turned out to be a long route thru the mountains..we were hoping to get to I-84 to find the Devil's Slide but wound up pulling over on the side of the highway for the night, due to overheated brakes.
After testing the brakes we set out to find the Devils Slide--no problem, it's right on the interstate. Cool rock formation; almost looks manmade. Next we got back on the I-15 via the US 89 to try to see the Great Salt Lake & Salt Lake City. No luck on the lake but the Interstates 215/80/15 go right thru downtown. Next we drove north to the Hwy 13 near Brigham City & followed the signs to the Golden Spike Monument near Promontory, UT. Nice exhibits, monument, steam engine locomotive demonstration and narrative. From "the spike" we headed north into Idaho. After stopping for fuel in Pocatello we made it to Idaho Falls, parked at Camp Walmart and walked over to Famous Dave's BBQ for supper--BTW, we did catch some glimpses of the Great Salt Lake from various points along the I-15...