Grand Junction, CO

I’m exploring the grand Junction, Colorado area. There is a lot to see and do here. If you go to one of the two nearby visitors centers, you’ll come out armed with all kinds of material.

I took a drive to the Colorado National Monument. It is a system of carved rock canyons overlooking Grand Junction. The Colorado River system is loaded with this type of geology.

For a guy sometimes vertically challenged, I sure picked a daredevil rout to the North this year.

On my way out to the Monument, I passed by an old dinosaur quarry. According to an interpretive sign, in 1901, a brontosaurus like creature was removed from here.

The scientists ended up tunneling into the hillside to get at the bones. The tunnel is still there. A concrete set of fossil vertebrae were made and placed at the location, and appearance of the originals.

On my way home, I passed a dinosaur museum. That’ll be my next stop.

Back on the Road

I left Panguitch, heading to lower elevations. It was in the 20’s the morning I left. Unexpected, bone chilling cold. I was anxious to flex my new tires. I checked the inflations with my Pressure Pro system, per usual routine. The system went goofy. Some tires wouldn’t register, some tires alarmed as too low. It was the cold, I figured.

I unplugged the system and checked each tire pressure manually. They were all good. The tires performed as expected the whole trip. I was worried about them ‘kissing’, because the distance between a tandem set is an inch closer than before. I was also worried about the rim the blowout was on. I drove over two miles with rags for a tire on that rim. I thought I may have damaged it.

No, and no, to both concerns!

I pulled over for the day, and the next, in Green River, Utah. I stopped here once before when I, and a friend, used it as a base to visit Horseshoe Canyon.

I took an extra day to do laundry, and visit the only touristy thing in town, the John Wesley Powell Museum.

He was the explorer to first navigate the Green and Colorado Rivers. I was impressed with this museum. A great introductory HD video. Lots of info about the guy, his crew, and the adventure. …Did you know he had only one arm?

I’m now in dinosaur country. Be prepared.

Cedar Breaks

A cold front moved through the area. It’s still here. It was a high of 53 degrees yesterday. Last night it was in the 30’s. The winds came with the front. It blew all day yesterday at 25 – 35 mph, with gusts to 50. A light rain was tinkling on the roof as I got up.

I haven’t experienced rain since, I think January. I’m spoiled.

One of the points I want to visit while here is the Cedar Breaks National Monument. It is only 35 miles from Panguitch. I braved the weather to drive the scenic rout to the park.

I didn’t know what the attraction was for this park. I only saw it on the map. I’ve never heard of it before. The info I did get was the CCC developed it in the 1930’s.

It is still vintage 1930’s. The buildings built back then are still in use today. The visitor’s center is a log building with the classic stone fireplace perched on a ledge overlooking a 2,000 foot deep amphitheater of similar formations as Bryce.

When I got out of the truck to show my parks pass to the ranger, the wind and cold took my breath away. The elevation reads over 10,000 feet here. There are still patches of snow on the ground. It is barely above 40 degrees on my truck’s thermometer.

I did a quick tour. I planned on a good day’s visit here. The weather changed all that. I wanted to get out and hike. I just wasn’t prepared. I couldn’t even stay out on a view point long enough to take it in. It does look to be a beautiful place.

I saw many deer along the road on my drive. Some strange looking squirrels crossed the road many times. A huge red looking thing with a scrawny tail. Then I fond out they are marmots. The area is full of them.

I have one more day remaining in Panguitch. My travel day is Memorial Day Monday. I still haven’t figured a direction to go from here.

New Rubber

My trailer tires are retired. Hopefully this will end my incredible run with bad luck and tires. I switched from ST235/80/16 to LT235/85/16. ST designates trailer; LT designates light truck. The other difference is the side wall height; 80 vs 85. The new tires are .46 inches larger at the radius.

I knew I had enough clearance for the larger tires. Now when I look at them, I wonder if the space between them is too close. They are now 1 inch closer together. The suspension flexes over uneven terrain, which makes them get closer and farther apart. It’s the way it works.

I’ll have to watch it.