Day 7 & 8

On Wednesday, I left Rocky Mountain National Park by way of a one way dirt road that went over a pass of 10,759 feet. Those are the last two pictures I posted for RMNP. I then drove down US Highway 34 to Granby, CO. As soon as I dropped down into this valley, I noticed a lot of the trees were dead - the result lack of rain and the dreaded bark beetle. It was actually quite obvious. All around I saw signs of high fire danger. I then took US Highway 40 to Steamboat Springs.

I was not able to have a campfire due to the dryness of the area. The one and only night I spent there -- in the middle of the night, I could hear something munching on foliage behind the tent. It sounded like Big Foot but was probably a squirrel or some such little critter, but I'm sticking to my story of Big Foot.

FYI - Steamboat Springs is internationally know for its ski jumping. There is an recreational area with a ski jump and Olympic-size ice skating ring called Howelsen Hill - named after Norwegian Carl Howelsen (I had a few goose bumps because of the Norwegian-ness of it all!!!) My homie, Howelsen, organiezed the first Winter Carnival in Steamboat in 1914. There are 69 winter Olympians who have called Steamboat home. This will only be interesting (maybe) to those skiers and/or Norwegians out there.

The next morning, Belle and I took an hour long hike and then broke camp (she's quite the little helper), drove to Steamboat Lakes and then headed west on US Highway 40 toward Dinosaur National Monument. I turned down the first turn off for the monument and drove and drove only to find this little oasis in the middle of nowhere - no monument to be found. I continued west on US Highway 40 to the visitor's station for the monument - however, it was closed. I wanted to see the Dinosaur Quarry Visitor Center, but a posting a this visitor center said the quarry was closed due to "health and safety reasons" - whatever that means. The Quarry is the only place to see fossils. Oh well!!! I then went into downtown Dinosaur to inquire about this closure. I went into the Bedrock Depot and asked the young lady who was scooping my chocolate chip ice cream cone what the deal was. To my surprise, she had no idea what I was talking about. I then traveled on.

Next stop (rather drive thru) - Vernal, Utah. Immediately upon arrival in Vernal, there was an LDS Church, one of many in this small town. This is the gateway to Flaming Gorge, which is very beautiful. I did not take any pictures as it was getting late and the light was not that great. I was on a mission to sleep in a hotel so I could take a shower and sleep in a real bed. However, was I surprised when there were not hotels to be had in Flaming Gorge, Rock Springs, Wyoming, Pinedale, Wyoming, or Jackson, Wyoming. Apparently, Dick "Haliburton" Cheney has take over this part of the world and has all his worker bees doing his bidding and they live in the hotels in this area. As a result, I did not get my shower (much needed after 4 days) nor did I get to sleep in a bed. Instead, I slept in my car because by the time I figured this all out, it was 11 pm and I didn't want to pull into a campground at that time and try to put up a tent. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep.

I then drove into Jackson. See next blog with pictures