Versatile Colorado
Quite fast we drive through northern Utah on the way to Colorado. We picked out some points we want to visit in this state. In Salt Lake City we make only a short stop, but despite the chessboard-like road network we do not find the targeted Landcruiser Museum. Too bad!
Unfortunately we have to accept another disappointment after the long driving day in the evening in the "King Tut Café" in Vernal. Although we checked all common portals before our visit and informed ourselves thoroughly about this restaurant (as we always do), we could not share the many positive reviews of other visitors. The food was horrible. It was pretty much from the day before and was warmed up with the microwave. Even the best cook in the world can't prepare burgers that fast. Everything tasteless. The consistency of the fries might have been appropriate in a retirement home. On the other hand, I now know that you have to be careful with unripe avocados if you don't want to grit your teeth from them.
New day, new luck ...
... Before we actually cross the border to Colorado we follow two tips from Angelika Czepan's travel guide "Faszination USA". We visit the Moonshine Arch and dive for the first time into the world of arches and red earth, from which we will get to see much more later. In Fantasy Canyon we find ourselves in a surreal environment. It seems as if we have landed in a huge bubbling mudpot and someone has pressed the pause button.
In a country before our time
Arrived in Colorado, we drive to Dinosaur and the National Monument of the same name. An incomparable variety of dinosaur skeletons has been found in this area. Due to a drought, the dinosaurs that once lived here have died. A short time later there was a flood that covered the carcasses with mud and preserved the bones in this way. In the Quarry you can admire about 1500 bones on a 80 feet long wall. What is special about this site is that many bones of large dinosaurs such as T-Rex, Allosaurus or Stegosaurus have been found, and that many skeletons have been excavated practically completely and in one piece because of the good conservation by the mud. Many of the dinosaur skeletons that have been excavated here are now on display in the most renowned natural history museums in the world.
Along the Blue Mountain Road not far from the national park border on BLM-Land we find a nice sleeping place for the night. As we have very good LTE reception here, we watch the first episode of the series "Breaking Bad" on Netflix. If anyone has wondered why we are currently behind schedule with our blog posts ... this is one of the reasons! If someone hasn't seen the series about Walter White yet and is thinking about doing so yet: Attention, acute danger of addiction!
The Dinosaur National Monument has other highlights to offer besides the bone finds. From the Harpers Corner lookout point, which is at 2300 meters, we have a magnificent view into the canyon and onto the Green River. Later we turn into the Yampa Bench Road, an unpaved road through the park's backcountry. At the entrance, the Dugway brings us down almost 1000 meters into the valley. From there we drive sometimes on clayey, sometimes on sandy ground through the dry landscape, which is characterized by sagebrush and juniper. In between we can catch beautiful views of the Green River, which is not so far away anymore. Again and again we read the warning "impassable when wet". When it rains, the clay soil turns into thick mud, in which one can get stuck even with a vehicle like ours and get into an awkward situation. But since we can enjoy nice weather since we've left Portland, we are on the safe side and can fully enjoy the route. Even without 4x4.
Living on the edge
From one National Monument to another. This time it bears the appropriate name Colorado NM. The main attraction is a canyon, which can be admired from various angles from the road (Rim Rock Drive), which leads along the abort edge. Rain is in the air. We drive early into lower regions to Grand Junction, where we spend the night on the KOA campground. We are here in Colorado on a plateau, where we quickly cross the 2000 meter elevation mark. Although it is still pleasantly warm in the sun during the day, it can get very cold at such altitudes at night. Therefore we always try to stay as low as possible.
Black instead of red
To the next canyon. To the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Here you will find the steepest cliffs, the oldest rocks and the craggiest spires in North America. The Gunnison River has formed this giant over the last two million years. Unfortunately it is foggy during our visit and we can only guess the size of the canyon.
Sand instead of stone
Colorado not only has canyons to offer, but also houses the highest sand dunes in North America in the Great Sand Dunes National Park. After a long drive we arrive at the park in the afternoon, but can already take a first look at the sandy mountains. We spend the night only a few kilometres outside the national park and now have no possibility to go lower than 2300 metres. Once more we wake up the next morning with a frozen windshield. The morning ritual looks the same since a few days. Mathias turns on the heater half an hour before getting up, then puts on coffee and afterwards we can have breakfast in the heated interior.
Before sunrise we start our hike to the highest dune in the park and thus also to the highest in North America - the Star Dune. It's very cold and I feel like I've been taken back to Sossusvlei when we climbed the "Dune 45" in Namibia at -5°C. The weather was very cold and we had a lot of fun.
Two steps forward, one step back. Already after a few meters we start to sweat and my pump goes like crazy. The height of 2500 meters does not exactly provide remedy. After all the sand is still somewhat compact at these temperatures and so we arrive after approx. one hour at the summit (is that what they say about the highest point of a dune?!).
After our hard work it's Baloo's turn. We also want to have a look behind the scenes in this park and drive the Medano Pass Road. The special thing about this offroad track is that the terrain is very varied. At the beginning you drive through more or less deep sand before you climb up the mountain on a bumpy road. In total you have to cross the Medano Creek 9 times to reach the goal, the pass summit. Since the river doesn't carry so much water at this time of year and the sand passages are easier to drive due to the cold temperatures, the route is relatively easy for us to pass, but we can still practice offroading a bit. In spring the trail would be more challenging than in our case, as the river crossings are much deeper and the sand softer.