Friday, August 29, 2014 - Day 10 – Vernal, UT to Denver 391 miles today, 3045 total to date. It was beautiful sunny morning again today. Got on the road a little before 8:00. It was 60 degrees already. Warmed up to the mid 70’s before falling back to 42 (more on that later). The drive from Verna, UT to Rifle, CO was pretty boring. There is a lot of land with not much that you can do with. Scrub cedar and sage for miles. Went through an area that was full of oil field equipment. Looked ugly, but we need the oil and gas. We stopped in Rifle, CO for lunch at the Shooter’s Grill. Here, all the wait staff are wearing guns, real ones. Colorado is an “open carry” state (except for Denver and Boulder). Just a little odd seeing people walk around with guns on their hips. We then headed to Aspen and up over the Continental Divide at Independence Pass. At 12,095 feet (3687 meters), it odd to be driving above the tree line. Doesn’t take much to get out of breath at this altitude. Down the mountain and on to Leadville, at 10,152 (3094 meters), they claim to be the highest city in Colorado. We stopped at the Silver Dollar Bar that has been in business continuously since 1879. It was a beautiful day up till then. It rained a bit while we were in the bar. We put our wet gear on and headed to Denver. It rained off on on a bit till we got to I70, then the bottom dropped out and the temp dropped to 42 as we approached the Eisenhower Tunnel. Oh well, we got home safe. Tomorrow on to Santa Fe. It will be my last day of riding with my friends before heading back to Texas.