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.

Old homestead at the bottom of the pass

Wow, there is little oxygen here!!!

Road heading up to Independence Pass

Shooters Grill in Rifle, CO

Days 8 and 9

Wednesday, August 27, 2014 - Day 8 – Cut through the west entrance to the south entrance of Yellowstone National Park. 172 miles today, 2261 total to date. It was beautiful sunny 30 degrees when we walked to breakfast at 7:45 this morning. However, it had warmed up to 48 by 8:45 when we pulled out of the parking lot. We headed back into Yellowstone via the west entrance and exited through the south entrance. It was 80 miles between those entrances. Yellowstone is a huge park. Once you exit the south entrance of Yellowstone, you are immediately in Grand Teton National Park. The Tetons are absolutely gorgeous. We stopped by Jenny Lake and the Moulton Barn. It is from and old Mormon settlement and is supposedly the most photographed spot in Wyoming. They have started putting up the “snow plow” poles so that the plows know where the road edges are. Won’t be long!! We stopped in Jackson, WY at the “Cowboy Bar: for a few beers before heading up to Driggs for the night. Tomorrow is a “just get there” day, so I may not have many photos to share. Thursday, August 28, 2014 - Day 9 – Driggs, ID to Vernal UT 393 miles today, 2654 total to date. It was beautiful sunny morning again today. We slept in a bit today and didn’t get on the road until 9:00. It was 50 degrees when headed out and got up to 80 today. You can tell that we are heading south!!! There was not much to see (compared to Yellowstone and the Tetons), but there were a lot of farms and ranches. I like going through the small towns and we saw plenty today. I always wonder what these people do. Many are just a memory of what they once were before the interstates were built. Still cool to see. Towards the end of the day, we went though the Flaming Gorge Recreational Area and there were some picture taking opportunities!!! Tomorrow, back to Colorado and through some of the ski areas before staying at Rod and Books place for the night.

Lewis Falls near the south entrance to Yellowstone