Dick was up early and we found that the Earthroamer had a light dusting of snow. After a hot shower we got going at 8.40 am. A sunny day, 38°F outside – that’s about 2°C.
Sprinkling of snow on the vehicle when we woke up
Pip drove along the dirt road, beside the railway line.
Pip driving along the narrow dirt road beside the railway line
At some places, we were against a cliff with the railway tracks right beside. Quite exciting! We were then on the Highway 70 West and onto the bitumen road with huge trucks travelling in either direction.
Below the road, beside the Colorado River, was a bicycle-way which runs into Glenwood Springs. It must have cost millions of dollars to build. It’s all downhill and it would be great for a family. In fact, we could see a number of families going on a tour with bikes they had hired at Glenwood Springs.
Snow on the ground at a farm in Glenwood Canyon
It’s called Glenwood Canyon and Pip did really well driving our 7 tonne vehicle on quite a narrow, two lane (in one direction) road as it wound down through the canyon.
After stopping to refuel at $2.85 per US gallon, we had a quick lunch and were on our way again. There were high cliffs beside the road and vineyards.
Cliffs near Palisade
The cliffs were huge and eroded – quite spectacular. We noticed that the valley coming into Grand Junction, for five or six miles, went from narrow in the Glenwood Canyon to very wide.
We were experimenting with our Garmin GPS. What an incredible unit! It just sat on the dashboard in a little sandbag. Every now and then, when we went over a rough bit, or accelerated too quickly, it would tend to slide away and we would both grab to put it back into position. We must mount it properly – possibly we will do this by the time we get to Vladivostok!
Of course we took the required photo as we left Colorado and headed into Utah.
We stopped beside the road, turned on the computer with the broadband adaptor and got the emails.
Dick sitting in the vehicle for a cup of tea break
In Price we bought some meat and groceries at Wal-Mart.
As the sun was setting straight into our eyes, the GPS took us around Price and back to the 191 Highway. By now, we were climbing up into the mountains to a town called Helper. Dick had noticed Helper on the journey in the California Zephyr. Helper is where steam engines were connected to the big trains to help them over the mountain pass. It was obviously a railway town.
Earthroamer parked in a vacant lot in Helper
We found Pam’s RV Park but decided it was too crowded, so we simply parked opposite some houses beside the Price River and the railway line. We were 5,900 ft in altitude. Dick wandered over to a house opposite and asked the lady if she minded if we parked there. She was delighted. Obviously there are no security problems here. She didn’t look through a crack in the door but opened the door widely – she was very friendly.
During the night the trains rumbled past. Dick loved it.
