It’s downhill all the way home after crossing the continental divide today. I had hoped to get to Denver via Rocky Mountain National Park or using the Top of the Rockies Scenic Byway but I am too late in the year and both of those scenic passes over the divide are closed due to snow. … Continue reading Day 48 – The Continental Divide
Today was another beautiful day packed with wonderful sights. I left Green River and traveled east along interstate 70 before turning south to go to Arches National Park. This is one of my favorite National Parks but I had not visited since 2007. When visiting these parks I have to remember that they are just … Continue reading Day 47 – Arches, Canyons and the Colorado
The rim of Bryce Canyon is at an altitude of about 8,000 feet and the overnight temperature at the hotel fell to 17°F (-8°C) so there was a heavy frost to scrape off the car this morning. After breakfast I drove into the park and stopped at Sunset Point to take a hike into the … Continue reading Day 46 – More Desert Wonders
Today I did something so spectacularly stupid I am ashamed to document it – but it is the things that go wrong that make trips memorable so I will. Before I get to that, however, let me describe the day’s itinerary. My alarm failed to go off (or maybe I slept through it) but I … Continue reading Day 45 – A Day of Splendor and Stupidity
The weather in Barstow was much better when I woke up this morning and so I traveled just a few miles east to visit Calico Ghost Town. This was a silver mining boom town in 1870s that went bust 20 years later but, being in the desert, some buildings are well preserved. The rest of … Continue reading Day 44 – The Desert Starts to Become Scenic
It was with regret, and some doubt about whether I am being too cautious, that I abandoned the border and headed east this morning. I had spent some time yesterday considering what I wanted to do and see on the way back and came to the conclusion that my favorite National Parks were the obvious … Continue reading Day 43 – Goodbye Pacific, Hello Desert
I knew that it was worth an extra day to travel down California route 1 as far as Morro Bay because I had done the trip, in the opposite direction, in the summer of 2014. The weather was mainly sunny but there was a stiff wind so the surf was quite rough in places. The … Continue reading Day 42 – The Last Day on the Perimeter is a Good One