At the 31 mile mark before the Colorado border Joe Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way" came on the radio. Western Kansas gave way to eastern Colorado and the landscape remained mostly the same. The only telling feature were the large white clouds building on the horizon signalling mountains are soon to come.
About 60 miles outside of Denver I started getting the worst altitude headache. The rest stop where we ate lunch said we were at over 5000 feet in elevation. No wonder - this flat lander isn't used to it. Luckily it was short lived and went away shortly after it came.
We drove through Chicago like traffic and construction as we navigated through Denver. Once past the city we started the slow climb through the mountains. My little four cylinder car struggled mightily with a full car load, the air on and the thermometer showing 100 degrees. We made it though, twisting and turning through the mountians. It was quite the workout!
I have never been on the western side of the Rockies and they are quite different than the eastern side. The rock formations, vegetation and landscape all point to the arid desert we were about to encounter on the western side of Colorado.
This is a stop we made at the visitor center in Georgetown, CO about 40 minutes from Vail.
After a few gas stops and a few stretches of the legs we entered Utah. Wow! This is an amazing looking landscape. We hit a few thunderstorms as night fell making the last few miles "interesting" to drive in. Mostly due to the roads easily filling with standing water, sheets of rain, rainbows, wind, and beautiful horizon lit mountian formations.
We are resting in Moab after a 786 mile journey today. Glad to get a shower and soon some sleep. We need to prepare for some hiking on Sunday in the National Parks!
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