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[GregKhougaz]

        Twisties.

[GregKhougaz]

        Looking south to Abrams Mountain, 12,081' from US 550.

[GregKhougaz]

       By the time we hit Ouray, it was getting late and we had miles to go to our stop in Grand Junction.  So Ouray will have to wait for another time.  We could see it was absolutely beautiful but we had to move on.  We continued north on the 550 to the 50 through Montrose, Delta and Whitewater and on into Grand Junction for the night.  Bryan will have to remind me our mileage for today. 

      The next day it was west on US I 70 back to Utah and across the Colorado Plateau / desert.  We parted with Terry and Debbie who headed for Denver.  (They were driving an SUV.) For a short time, we missed the beauty of Colorado.  Still, the desert was beautiful.

[GregKhougaz]

        After breakfast in Green River, we headed west on 70 to the 24 south.  Don't run out of gas out here!  Dan had only a five gallon tank and Bryan carefully planned our gas stops.

[GregKhougaz]

       One such stop was in Hanksville, UT.  Pulling in I saw this sign and well, you know I had to investigate.  Unfortunately, I found no blonds.   

[GregKhougaz]

       Next to Blondie's is the Hollow Mountain Store.  Crazy!

       At the junction of Route 24 and Route 95, is the "Hollow Mountain Gas & Grocery." This small store is literally carved out of the mountain (although "mountain" may be a somewhat generous term for a 40-foot high hunk of rock). Apparently, they were blasting away rock so they could build a gas station on the site, and someone decided that it would be easier to carve a hole in the rock than to keep blasting. The engineers determined that it could be done safely, and presto! Hollow Mountain was born. There's a dearth of souvenirs, though. The best I was able to procure was a "Hollow Mountain" cigarette lighter. [Mark Newlon, 09/26/1998]

[GregKhougaz]

        From Hanksville (Not Hank Williams), we took the 24 West.  Soon we again were stunned by the scenery as we reached Capitol Reef National Park, a hidden treasure filled with cliffs, canyons, domes and bridges in the Waterpocket Fold, a geologic monocline (a wrinkle on the earth) extending almost 100 miles. 

[GregKhougaz]

        We stopped next to the Fremont River and thought we'd take in a hike to Hickman Bridge.  We really were not dressed for a hike and it was HOT! 

[GregKhougaz]

       Starting out on the trail.

[GregKhougaz]

        When we got to the climb in the heat, we thought better of it.  Don't worry, there are great hikes later. 

[GregKhougaz]

        Bryan wanted to press on but Leann prevailed.   

[GregKhougaz]

        Fremont River.  Nice cool water for my new hydration vest.  (You'll laugh in a minute.) 

[kiwihog]

Great pics Greg wish I was there Looks like a great time... we did a lot of that ride in 2011 you got better pics than me

[GregKhougaz]

        Here is Capitol Dome.  

        "Called "Wayne Wonderland" in the 1920s by local boosters Ephraim P. Pectol and Joseph S. Hickman, Capitol Reef National Park protects colorful canyons, ridges, buttes, and monoliths. About 75 miles (120 km) of the long up-thrust called the Waterpocket Fold, a rugged spine extending from Thousand Lake Mountain to Lake Powell, is preserved within the park. "Capitol Reef" is the name of an especially rugged and spectacular segment of the Waterpocket Fold near the Fremont River. The area was named for a line of white domes and cliffs of Navajo Sandstone, each of which looks somewhat like the United States Capitol building, that run from the Fremont River to Pleasant Creek on the Waterpocket Fold. The local word reef referred to any rocky barrier to travel."

[GregKhougaz]

        Thanks Daryle!   From Capitol Reef (HOT), we went west on 24 then south on 12 to Boulder Mountain, 11,317' on the Utah Scenic Highway. It is the highest timbered plateau in North America and part of the Dixie National Forest.  It was cool.  Still wearing the hydration vest, I was COLD!   Nothing like planning ahead.