I mentioned last night that we needed to change our itinerary due to our glitch in Aurora, Colorado. We were planning to go to Mt. Rushmore after Denver and then head home on a southern route after Colorado. We could not get to Mt. Rushmore on the front leg of our trip but we really want to see it, so we are going to head north after visiting southern Utah and visit Mt. Rushmore. We will probably continue home through the northern parts of the country and visit Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, and northern Ohio before heading home.
Now on to the rest of our story. We stayed the night in Dillon, Colorado. It is situated at an elevation of 9000 feet above sea level. We never thought about how living in a high elevation would affect you. Neither of us slept at all. I was having trouble catching my breath as was Ronnie. We could wait to get going in the morning but to add insult to injury, we woke up to snow and a temperature of 28 degrees. We left Aurora, CO yesterday when it was 70+ degrees. What a crazy change.
We decided to change our itinerary and head towards Moab, Utah where we had one of the two reservations that we made for our trip. There is going to be a solar eclipse that will be 90% viewable from Mohab on Saturday morning. I have been practicing for this event for some time. I am so thankful that we will be there for the show. We even bought viewing glasses for the event.
As we drove west on I-70, the snow continued. It looked beautiful in the mountains but at 28 degrees, it was problematic for us human (or Tesla) drivers.
The view while driving was still amazing. If you have never experienced the Rocky Mountains, you are missing an incredible experience. Even though I had my Tesla doing the driving, I reduced the driving speed to keep ourselves as safe as possible. The rain changed to snow, but the inclement weather continued. I was not happy as I wanted to record our journey for ourselves and for our grandchildren.
The rain slowed down on occasion, and I took advantage of the situation by stopping at overlook areas (called Rest Stops in Colorado) to photograph the beauty of this state. We stopped along the banks of the Colorado River, and I photographed the changes of colors and the beauty of the mountains. The temperature finally started rising to the thirties and I felt more comfortable traveling at speed (our Tesla agreed).
One of our planned stops was at Rifle Falls State Park in Rifle, Colorado. They have a waterfall that I wanted to photograph. The rain was intermittent and the hike to the falls was extremely short, so I forged ahead. It was a beautiful view. I show the falls as I would normally and then I took my photograph using “live composite” in my camera to blur the movement of the water. You can decide which method you like the best.
Our last stop for the day was the Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction, Colorado. We drove into the park, and I was expecting an actual monument. I was so wrong. The monument isn’t a single monument, but it is multiple views of a landscape that might draw a parallel to the Grand Canyon (although I have never been there). As I was driving (my Tesla was taking a nap), I couldn’t enjoy the panoramas as much as Ronnie did. I got to view and photograph them from rest areas. I do have to admit that the hike down and up from the scenic overlooks leaves this 76-year-old panting for my last breath. It was worth every step but I don’t know how much longer I can do this.
We finished out tour of the Colorado National Monument, charged our Tesla in Grand Junction, Colorado, checked into a room in Fruita, Colorado and plan on heading to Moab, Utah tomorrow. As we left for dinner, we were treated to a beautiful Colorado sunset.
We hope to visit Arches National Park before checking into our hotel for three nights in Moab. I can’t tell you how great it will be to stay in one place for three nights.
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