Sing it with me! Somewhere Over The Rockies...

NOTE: The following was written on Wednesday, June 18th, but not posted until the following day due to the lack of an Internet connection. So sad...

After our exceeded-our-expectations stay in Salt Lake City, we headed for a favorite spot - Dinosaur National Monument, east of Vernal, Utah. Unfortunately, the Quarry Visitor Center (with its 1,500+ dinosaur bones embedded into the side of a mountain) was closed in 2006 because of structural problems (current plans are to reopen in 2011).

But the scenery alone is worth the trip. And then there's the rock art...the famous McKee Springs petroglyph is a must see for any rock art aficionado. Do we know any of those? ;-D

Then it was on to Aspen, Colorado, where gas was $4.89 per gallon! Luckily, we only needed to put a little bit in the Jeep.

While in Aspen, we stayed two nights at Difficult Campground (named for nearby Difficult Creek). It’s an older campground, but we did see a good number of pull-thrus long enough for the rig and the Jeep. We enjoyed camping among the forest of aspen trees, and the campground made a convenient home base for exploring the Aspen area. Speaking of which...

The Maroon Bells. Even the name sounds enchanting. And the scenery was literally breathtaking...the elevation at Maroon Lake is over 10,000 feet and a few of the “bells” soar to over 14,000. Even a photo, which usually conveys the beauty of a place so much better than mere words, does not do this beautiful area justice. But one can always try.

It is such a popular destination that the Forest Service instituted a shuttle system between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. There are three campgrounds along Maroon Canyon Road, but with a grand total of just 15 sites for all three campgrounds!

Aspen had twice its normal amount of snowfall this past winter (we were told it snowed every single day) and they actually received some snow last week. But now the temps are in the 80s, so there’s water everywhere. Thundering cascades at the Maroon Bells, full-to-the-brim creeks flowing through town, and even snow melt overflowing its normal channel in our campground.

We also took a reconnaissance drive in the Jeep over Independence Pass, east of Aspen. There’s a 35-foot vehicle limit on the pass, so we knew we couldn’t drive it with the motorhome towing the Jeep, but we wanted to see how it would be if we drove the rig and Jeep separately. What a road! Winding and narrow with occasional sections of only one lane. Add in the hair pin turns and it’s just about what you might expect from a mountain pass road that climbs to over 12,000 feet. But what incredible vistas! In the end, we decided to go another route, but we are so glad we took that drive.

(Photo courtesy of www.independence-pass.com)

We have decided that, when we can, we will completely avoid the interstates. That meant that we spent yesterday on a lovely stretch of Highway 24 that featured beaver pond after beaver pond after beaver pond. Then we picked up the Arkansas River which is currently running very high and we drove parallel to it for miles and miles. It’s a popular rafting river and we were impressed with how many BLM recreation sites and RV parks we saw right along the river.

Now, to address a rumor that's circulating. Yes, it’s true. I cut my hair. For me (and my hair), 5 months in an RV + the Midwest during the summer = hair cut. Once I made the decision to have it cut, it took me another three weeks to build up the courage to actually have it done. Now I wonder why I didn’t do it years ago!

Some friends might need proof, so here you are. The folks in the photo with me are our very dear friends Gene and Sally and their very special pup Gypsy.

Tonight, as I write this, we are in Garden City, Kansas. It’s raining and it’s rumbling. Welcome to the Midwest! And you can bet we asked where to go when the going gets rough. To the showers, campers, the cinderblock showers!

--- Barbara
Day 9: 237 miles
Total miles: 1,765