OCT 20, Wednesday, Jackson, Wyoming
We had a lazy morning and didn’t get going until noon. The sun is shining and the temperature is around 60*F (15C) so we drove into town and walked into the original part. We went for lunch at the “Million Dollar Cowboy” but it was closed so we went to the Wort Hotel, another old hotel and had lunch in the saloon. We walked around the Town Square and took some pictures then drove to the Elk Art Centre and took a tour of it. Very nice and well laid out!
We went back to town and noticed the “Million Dollar Saloon” was open so we went in for a drink. What a cool place! It was a huge place with two bars and saddles for seat at the bars. Really cool! We had one beer, tried to sit at the bar but ended up at a table. After paying, we went to Albertson and got some groceries then came home. Val had made a spaghetti sauce so dinner was early. Tomorrow, we head south to Rock Spring and points beyond.
OCT 21, Thursday, to Verna, Utah
We got up -28*F but it soon went up to 65*F (16*C) as the day went on. We left Jackson at 9:15, drove on 390, 22 then 191 south and left Jackson behind. The drive to Rock Spring was quite monotonous. We went from 6200 feet to 8000 feet again then back down to 6100 feet in Rock Springs. We stopped for lunch at Farson where the Oregon Trail crossed heading west. There was also a memorial for the Pony Express riders.
We stop in Rock Springs long enough to fuel at 3.09 then went on I-90 West back to Hwy 191 South again. The scenery from here really changed drastically. We slowly climbed back up to 8300 feet and follow this ridge most of the way. At times, we could see both sides’ valley. We eventually started going down to the Flaming Gorge basin. The views were absolutely incredible. The rock faces were different colors of red and orange, there was also a Phosphate mine nearby.
We drove over the dam at 660 feet and went back up to 8000. The climb wasn’t too steep and all went well. Now the landscape went from pines to white birch trees. Quite something to see! Eventually we began our downhill descend to Verna. The road was quite steep and I went into second gear at certain spot. The hill was well marked indicating how many switch back we had to go to the bottom. We eventually made it and went on to Verna at 5402 feet. It’s been a long day and glad to find a park to stay at. We are at Fossil Valley RV Park.
An interesting addendum: As we were driving down and towards Verna, we could see signs indicating fossils spot where they were found...very well done.
N 40* 27.112
W 109* 32.824
Alt: 5402 Feet
We drove 290 miles (466 KM) in 6 hrs and 45 minutes at an average 49 MPH
OCT 22, Friday, to Moab, Utah
Well, I guess it was bound to happen eventually...it is cloudy and we got rained on the way down to Moab. We left at 9:30 am after getting a McDonald breakfast and fuelling @ 3.09/gal. We headed west on Hwy 40 out of Verna and crossed in Colorado about a half hour later. A few miles down the road, we turned south on 64 which turned into 139. From here, we slowly climbed to 6000 feet from 4800 then it became steep, 6 to 8 % grade for 3 miles. The truck did well and we had no choice but to gear down to 2nd gear as the switch back were tight and the road narrow. Once at the top, we began almost immediately going down on the other side. We had switch backs and grades of 8 to 10%. Pretty steep I’ll tell you! We went down in 2nd and first gear with the Jake working full-time. We made down and headed to I-70 where we turned west for Utah. I had chosen Hwy 128, a by-pass hwy, because it showed interesting landscape on Google Earth and we were not disappointed! We followed the Colorado River most of the way and saw some of the most fantastic scenery. If this is things to come, I can’t wait!
We are camped at OK Corral RV Park, a Passport member so cheaper rates; we are here for 7 nights at least!
CHECK OUT THE PICTURES IN MY LINK TO PICASA, FOLDER #61
N 38* 31.256
W 109* 29.342
Alt: 4587 feet
We drove 217 miles (349 Km) in 6 hrs @ an average 44 MPH
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