Let's see Utah

Dougnuts

Well-known member
First, let me give an enthusiastic THANK YOU! to everyone who posted in this thread, were I asked for trip advice. Even if I didn't work it into this trip, trust that all advice was listened to and noted for future trips.

As for this trip, it was a plan of mine for over 4 years. When I was going through a tough time, back in 2018, I felt an intense urge to 'head out west'. Each fall since, I've felt the same pull. I think there something about being a man and preparing for winter that drives this feeling.

As luck would have it, I recently accepted a new job and was leaving the place that I had worked for almost 15 years.
I needed a reset.
I needed a break.
I needed to experience the draw of the desert that I read about on Expedition Portal every night.
I.....would need to do a lot of driving. :)

I started planning in late October, before the job offer and time between jobs was finalized, but I had faith that if it was meant to be, it would happen. My wife was jealous, but she had important work to do so I reached out to my friend of 35 years. He lives in north Alabama and I live in central Kentucky. He left all of the planning to me, so here's how it went.

Day 1) I leave Kentucky at 5 am EST and Jeremy leaves Alabama at 3am CST. The stretch goal for the day is to get to Denver, give or take a few hundred miles. As the night began to give way, I was rolling on I-64, through the gentle hills of Hoosier National Forest. Everything out my front window was grey and frozen, including the foggy air. But as Bob Seger's Traveling Man came on the radio, my mirrors lit up with oranges, pinks, purples and yellows. I hoped, out loud, that this was a good omen for the week come.

But first, we have to meet up in Evansville, IN., transfer his stuff to my truck and continue on our aggressive mileage day.
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Many hours later, we passed through KC, MO., continuing on I-70 across Kansas, which would be a first for both of us. Typically, we would have turned north from KC to get to where my extended family lives.

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Around the middle of Kansas, the sun began to set. After stopping for a good meal, we hit the road and I started scouring the internet for good car camping spots. I ended up using iOverlander to find a well reviewed gravel lot off I-70, well past Denver. That became our goal for the night. We filled up with gas at one of the last exits before hitting the climb into the Rockies, and after getting back on I-70, it was snowing within a minute. We began to climb and climb, eventually using 4WD as the road became super slick. We passed a couple vehicles having trouble, including an 18-wheeler with chains, but the Subaru's flying by gave us hope that our snow rated tires and 4wd would get us to the destination, which it did.

Day one clocked in with 1200+ miles of driving and ended with us sleeping in the truck as the snow fell all night long. We left the truck running and, while only sleeping a few hours, it was relatively comfortable.

Day 2) We woke up before the sun rose and begin the 305 mile drive to Moab, stopping in Frisco, Co. for a fantastic breakfast at Breakfast Deli. If you find yourself in the area, it's worth a stop. Their croissont wrapped sausages were $0.75 each and worth twice as much. After getting gas, I went back to supply some praise and buy six more for the road. She said that they often sell out fast, sometimes in bulk.

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After finishing our drive up to the divide, we began the decent through Vail, Aspen, etc., eventually dropping down into Grand Junction (where we filled the fridge for the first time).
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Dougnuts

Well-known member
Next, we drove another 50 miles and exited I-70 in order to take the scenic 128 into Moab. This has to one of the best ways into Moab!

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Upon arriving in Moab, we were buzzing with excitement at what we just saw. On the recommendation of others, we went straight to lunch at Milt’s Stop and Eat, where the burgers really hit the spot.

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After picking up a map, we drove out Kane Creek Rd to birthing rock, and towards Hurrah Pass, looking for a place to camp for free. What we found, first, was an epic sunset over the Colorado River valley.

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My best friend since 2nd grade.
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Dougnuts

Well-known member
We quickly began to head down into the Colorado River valley looking for a place to camp. We knew camping was at least 3 miles away, as camping on the way up or down the hill wasn't allowed. As the darkness was closing in, we came across a flat, open campsite and thought about stopping. I said that it didn't speak to me, let's keep looking. After checking the map, we chose to follow the trail to a place named Catacomb Rocks. Upon arrival, we knew it was a great decision, as we had the whole area to ourselves and it turned out to be the perfect place to spend the night.

Jeremy Frost cooked us a great hot dinner and fired up his homemade ammo box fire pits for a little warmth. Like our cheap Amazon refrigerator, these 'fire pits' were an EP find while planning for the trip. After a few beers, and numerous (futile) attempts to photograph the Milky Way, we turned in for our second night in the truck. What an epic first 2 days!!!

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Here's an image from a paper that we picked up while out there:
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Dougnuts

Well-known member
Day 3: This day started before sunrise, in the Colorado River valley, at Catacomb Rocks. In the map below, we were in the bottom left, by the red pin.

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After a quick, and cold, kettle bell workout, we made some coffee and drove back up Hurrah Pass. The view was the same, but everything looked different in the morning light.

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Looking back south, as we were leaving Catacomb Rocks. There it is, just jutting out of the valley floor.
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Two hours after starting off, we were back in Moab for breakfast at Moab Diner.

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From there, we decided to skip our next trail and visit Arches NP, which was a great decision. The red walls and arches were an impressive sight. The hike to Delicate Arch was comfortable, until we got to the arch, where it was very windy and a bit cold.

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This is the trail right before you will see the arch.
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Here is a time lapse video of our hike to Delicate Arch: YouTube Link

 
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Dougnuts

Well-known member
Still Day 3: After Arches we were on the way back into Moab and started discussing options. At this point, we agreed that the 5pm sunsets were kind of a drag on our plans. We wanted to see Shafer Trail, but that would require another night in the truck and I was beginning to long for a shower.

I ran some numbers......We had three hours until sunset and Monument Valley was around 2 hrs and 45 minutes away. "Let's make the drive to MV and then come back up to Moab and get a hotel!" (Morgan Freeman voice - "They would not see Moab again on this trip")

We made it in plenty of time. After watching entire families block traffic to get their Forrest Gump picture, we took a minute to consider what our next move should be.

Do we go back to Moab and run Shafer Trail tomorrow, or consider Moab checked off our list and take the southern route through Colorado? The 24" of snow forecast along I-70, from Aspen to Vail made our decision for us. We had already seen I-70 at 45mph, so let's go see the San Juan Mountains! We pulled out of the MV parking lot just after sunset, with a goal of reaching Durango, but we only made it to Cortez, Co. There we got dinner at Main Street Brewery and Restaurant, followed by our first hotel room....and first showers.

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Dougnuts

Well-known member
Cortez, CO - Day 4 found us waking to about 5-6 inches of snow. We went this way to avoid 24" of snow, so we didn't complain too much. It had also been our first night in a hotel, which provided us opportunities for some overdue showers. The snow did, however, slow our trip to and over the San Juan Mountains. I've heard the San Juan's were beautiful and I can confirm that they very much are. I can only imagine the family fun available at all of the resorts and campgrounds in the summer and fall.

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After crossing the prairie between the San Juan Mountains and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, we arrived at Great Sand Dunes National Park. The visitor center was closed, but they had a temporary store, so I bought a book about the Colorado Plateau for the boys, and we drove as far around the dunes as we were allowed. This stop should have been saved for the summer time, as it was just too cold for us to get out and walk to the dunes.

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From there, we went south around Mt. Blanca, east through La Veta Pass, and past the Spanish Sisters. Once we reached I-25, we turned north to go through Denver, up to Wyoming, and over into Nebraska. With over 650 miles to cover and slick roads, it made for a very long day. It was around 2am and 3° when we reached our destination.

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Peneumbra2

Badger Wrangler
You guys should come back in spring (as soon as it stops snowing) and spend the summer out here. It gets a bit toasty in Moab but you merely have to drive up to Telluride or Ouray, and the weather's perfect (if it doesn't snow).

There's a nifty back way to get over to Capitol Reef and Bryce/Zion, unpaved, very pretty, and an easy drive (if it doesn't -- you know).
 

Dougnuts

Well-known member
Day 5 saw us waking up in Nebraska. It was bitter cold outside, so our typical activities were hampered. We soon realized that we should have stayed near Moab another day or two, but we were still having a great time. We will call it a lesson, not a regret.

We drove around the field to snap a few pictures and then headed out to visit my Grandad. Seeing him was the main reason for this road trip, as he's getting up there in age.

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Fort Robinson St. Park

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We spent some much needed time with my Grandad and his girlfriend, before heading across the state to Lincoln, NE, where I had another project that I was helping my Aunt and Uncle with.

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Day 6, we woke up to a full spread of home cooked breakfast and spent some time chatting over coffee. We only got to see my Aunt and Uncle, as the remainder of the family was down with the flu. We hit the road late morning and made good time to Evansville, IN, where I dropped Jeremy off. He went south to Alabama and I went east to Kentucky, arriving home around 11pm.

It was such a great trip and we are both making plans to go back to Utah with our families. I think a return trip for me would be planned for early October, when it's still a bit warmer, the days aren't so short, and it's not super busy. I'd love a summer trip to the San Juans as well!

Thanks for following along!

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