Day Four

Let’s get into it – Golden, CO Hampton Inn rating:

Cleanliness: 9/10

Hospitality: 10/10 – the man at the front desk was AMAZING

Bed comfort: 10/10 – same beds + blackout curtains

Shower: 7/10 – the pressure was great but I was standing in a puddle the entire time.

Breakfast: 5/10 – they only had to-go bags, which is fine but it was just an apple, Nature Valley bar, and a Honey Bun. So not the best options but it’s all good.

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First exciting adventure on our way from Denver (Golden) to Moab was deciding to skip the Eisenhower Tunnel and opt for the Loveland Pass that takes us up and over the mountains instead of through them.

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The real reason we wanted to do this was to see the marker for the Great Continental Divide – the dividing line that separates rivers flowing into the Atlantic and into the Pacific.

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After we got through the pass, we got back to I-70 in a town named Dillon, which had beautiful views of its lake and mountains cascading in the distance.

After Dillon, I-70 took another scenic turn for the better and went twisting and turning through Glenwood Canyon. It was incredible to be driving straight through a canyon. The pictures don’t do it justice. This is a recurring theme throughout the rest of the day.

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As we filled up with gas in Grand Junction, we decided to visit the Colorado National Monument, and we are so glad we did. We only hit the main overlooks and points, but it was so worth it. I think I will let the pictures speak for themselves (with my captions obviously) on the 23 mile scenic Rim Rock Drive through the park.

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After this, enough was enough. We finally made it to Utah! Aaaaand instead of going straight to Moab on I-70, we took another scenic route – SR-128. I HIGHLY suggest this drive over I-70 any day. First, we passed through the ghost town of Cisco – which apparently made appearances in both the movies Vanishing Point and (aptly) Thelma and Louise.

At first glance of SR-128, we got a little nervous that we were making a mistake. There was nothing as far as we could see.

Then we hit the historic Dewey Bridge. This used to be the bridge that took people over the Colorado River on 128, but in 1984, it was decommissioned to become an official “historic place”. And then in 2008, it unfortunately burned down from a little boy playing with matches at a nearby campground. So don’t play with matches or you might burn down a historic landmark.

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Once we crossed the Colorado River, we began the journey through the Colorado River Gorge. I felt like I was a toy in Toy Story or a bug in Bug’s Life or [insert another Pixar movie reference]. Walls of red rock shot up around us and revealed valleys upon valleys as we made our way further into the gorge.

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The drive was incredible. So much better than Kansas. There was something to view in every direction. And this was only the tip of the iceberg for us as we head out to start Arches tomorrow morning.