Day 57 : August 22 COLORADO (RVs)
After an early morning walk through the pristine forest, it was time to head off through the beautiful mountains again. The route through the Monarch Pass (11,312 feet) to Gunnison was again picturesque with a new vista around each bend. A very pretty spot at the Red Creek Campground was a perfect place for an overnight stop. A walk from the camp led us to a beaver pond which, while the beavers were a bit shy of the camera, was a perfect example of their clever dam building habits.
The three tractor drivers who left Loveland have now caught up with Cumber and Jeff in Salt Lake City after a good run across the Rockies, as described in their notes
Day 57 : August 22 UTAH (Tractors)
22TH August, 2009 saw us continue on Highway 40 towards Salt Lake City UTAH
The countryside yet again offered great sights across the lush farming lands. The Strawberry River lead us to Starvation Reservoir – a name that seems to contradict this land that has so much to offer. After enjoying the view and taking a few photos our travels continued.
The view then returned to pines and mountains. At 7000ft we came across another large reservoir providing all sorts of boating and water activities for the many folk there. We continued our climb up the mountain to 8020ft then enjoyed a very long down grade at 6%. Lunch was taken at Heber City then it was on to Highway 189 into Provo Canyon part of Deer Creek State Park.
During this section there was yet another sight to behold – Strawberry Reservoir where there were resorts and accommodation of all types, beaches and boating beyond belief with a backdrop of snow tipped mountains. There were so many folk enjoying the facilities that vehicles towing boats were lined up to access the various launching ramps. From here the 3 9g’s with trailers in tow began the ascent up Alpine Pass to the summit at 8060ft. We can only repeat ourselves at this point and say the sights were incredible and our 9g’s did us proud. A break was taken at the 16 mile level on the decent where we chatted with some campers before continuing on to the bottom of the mountain. We then rolled on into Salt Lake City where we were reunited with the other 2 9g’s, so now we are a group of 5 tractors once again.
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| More Rocky Mountain granduer |
Beaver Pond at Red Creek |
Day 58 : August 23 Colorado (RVs)
Word from the five tractors drivers is that they have decided to drive straight to Las Vegas and tour to the Grand Canyon from there, so the plan to meet up with them in a couple of days will not eventuate and we will continue at a leisurely pace, and catch up after we have visited the Grand Canyon. They were heading south from Salt Lake City this afternoon, en route to Cedar City and then Las Vegas.
Continuing the trip through the mountains saw the RVs travel to Montrose, then through flatter country to the hills of Ridgeway. As we headed west there was a magnificent range ahead of us – the Uncompahgne Plateau. The scenery undertook a subtle change when we encountered the red hills of Placerville and headed towards Telluride. This village was another recommendation from the lads Andrew and Scott and our visit there turned out to be a real bonus. Not only was the town very pretty, but there was a gondola service up and over the mountain to Mountain Village on the other side and return, and this service was, unbelievably, free!
The scenery was magnificent – Telluride is surrounded by mountains on almost every side and has ski slopes down many of these. The shops are touristy but quite delightful and the whole area has a wonderful European feel about it. To finish a really fantastic day, a decision to try out one of the local restaurants was a great success, the choice being Italian.
Day 58 : August 23 Utah (Tractors )
23rd August, 2009 – the day was under way for everyone around 7am. A number of our Ladies took the opportunity to go to Temple Square to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform. In the words of the Ladies – “what a beautiful experience to have been able to see this performance”. They also had the opportunity to visit the roof top gardens above the Conservatorium and view where the Church services are held in the winter months in the Temple Area.
After taking in the sights around the City and doing a bit of last minute provisioning, our ‘tractor train’ departed the area to begin the next leg of our journey toward the canyons and Las Vegas.
The route taken was highway 89 through fairly built up areas for approximately 60 miles. Fairview was our chosen destination where we were fortunate enough to be given the permission of the Bishop to set up our tractors and campers in the car park adjoining the church. The car park was large enough to be able to form a circle enabling us to set up our tables and chairs and all contribute to our evening meal. Quite a few local residents came to see us and topped up our shared meal with corn, rock melon and watermelon. As the evening went on the group enjoyed a visit from Geoff, Hannah and their two children with lots of chatter about their work – concrete flooring and foundations – and the trials and tribulations of carrying out this sort of work during the winter months.
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| Even more beautiful mountains |
Another hill to climb |
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| Allan & Carolyn in Telluride |
Humming bird in Petunias |
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| Indian Statue at Mountain Village |
Telluride from the Gondola |
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