Day 20 (July 8th) – Cheyenne, Wyoming to Moab, Utah

Hurrah! When we woke up today, everything was dry. This was a welcomed change over that last week. Every morning in the past week, the trailers and ground have been wet from either rain or dew. This made things miserable as we hooked up the trailers, but not today, everything was dry.

We started down the road and quickly crossed over into Colorado, and before we knew it we were going through Fort Collins. This is when one of the funniest moments of the day occurred. We have seen lots of road kill on this trip. We have seen plenty of deer on the side and in the middle of the road. Some looked like they just exploded on impact. We have also seen many badgers, raccoons, possums, birds and armadillos. We have seen what looked to be foxes and non household cats. We have even seen a couple of turtles, but the one animal that was plentiful along the highway was skunks. There have been an immeasurable number of skunks. As we passed one this morning, Miles says, “Mmmmm. Wyoming’s air freshener.” Lisa and I just started busting up, and then Lisa informed him that we were already in Colorado. Samantha then asks why no one told her that we were in Colorado. We simply explained to her that she just wasn’t paying attention.

The main event for this day was the Rockies. We made into Denver and took a right turn to go up into the Rockies. The drive up the Rockies wasn’t all that bad. Getting up over Vail Pass, which is about 10,800 feet above sea level, put a strain on the cars as they hauled the trailers behind them. It is here that we crossed the continental divide, and started down the west side of the mountain range. We did try to stop in Vail to look around, maybe do some shopping and ride the gondola up the mountain to get the panoramic view. There was only one problem, and we didn’t know about it ahead of time. Vail hates RVs in their town. They probably would outlaw them on the interstate if they could. The real problem is that there is only about five or six parking spots for RVs. I would call these spots, just so we don’t get sued spots. And all of the spots were already taken. This made my mom upset, as she wanted to really stop and pickup gifts for the grandkids. You can only give so many Vegas roulette wheels and slot machines. Our stay in Vail lasted as long as it takes to drive from the east end of the town to the west end of the town, which isn’t very long at all.

While we were in the Rockies, we came across the best name for a town. Over the many days, we have seen some real funny town names, such as Chugwater, Mechanicsville, Whipup and Crazy Woman. But the one that tops them all is No Name. I would really like to tell you the name of the town but I can’t. Even the town’s folk can’t tell you the name. So No Name wins the best town name for not actually having one. You think the town’s folk would care to name their town. This must be the most apathetic town in America.

After eating lunch along the Eagle river, we started our way down the mountain range. We soon met up with the Colorado River as we followed it down Glenwood Canyon. This canyon has some really great views and scenery. You can also raft the canyon, as we saw many rafts on the river. We stop at a rest stop to take in the scenery and shot some photos of the canyon and Colorado River. You really have to give it to the Colorado River. It has made some really beautiful places in the southwest.

Speaking of southwest, as we came out of the Rockies and into western Colorado, the scenery turned to the dry southwestern desert with its many bluffs, mesas and colors. Lisa immediately perks up and really starts enjoying the ride. Lisa really enjoys the dry heat of the desert and its beauty with the multitude of colorful rock formations that are offset by the desert vegetation. As she starts to really enjoy the beauty of the desert, I simple state that she is a Southwestern Girl.

Our plan called for us to stop in Grand Junction, Colorado, but we got there so early in the day that we decided to continue on to Moab, Utah. This development was caused by Vail’s anti RV stance. It may be our view, but they really need to add more RV parking somewhere near or in their town, instead of the token few spots. Okay, I’m done ranting.

Lisa didn’t get a good picture of the Utah sign due to a major bump in the road at the border. Shortly after this came the next funny moment, and it once again stars the family comedian, Miles. Miles asked us to pull over so he could use the bathroom. As luck would have it, we were coming up to a rest area as he makes the request. Now, he usually is very slow at getting out of the car. Lisa usually has to remind him to start getting ready way before we stop, but not this time. As soon as the car stops, he is out of the car and making his way to the restroom. He spots the sign that says women on it and figures that the men’s restroom is just on the other side and starts to make a run for it. He soon discovers that his assumption was incorrect. So he doubles back and heads to the other side of the building, where he finds the men’s bathroom. At this discovery, he raises his outstretched arms and hands above his head as in “Thank you, God” or “Eureka! I found it.” I guess that he really had to go this time.

We continued on to Moab without any other incidents or stops. As we were driving into town, the temperature was approaching 100 degrees and not a single cloud in the afternoon sky.

We drove a total of 463 miles to day. We have dri46ven a total of 6291 miles for the entire trip. We spent $56 on the purchase of gas today.