Grand Junction, CO to Vernal, UT
We started our day a little later than usual…10:15 AM. We needed to hang around the campground to use the Wi-Fi at 10 AM to purchase Concert Tickets for one of our favorite tribute groups….Boys of 63. As soon as I finalized the purchase of tickets, we were on our way.
Before leaving Grand Junction, we made a quick stop at the Travel America for fuel. The prices were still the same, but, today we were able to use our TSD Fuel Savings Card and saved 34 cents per gallon.
We headed West to Fruita, CO and began our drive on CO highway 139. This highway climbed to 8000’ through several switchbacks. At the top we were rewarded with a fantastic view including the roadway and switchbacks below. Straight is not a word to describe this highway, but, it was definitely full of adventure.
After all that curvy driving uphill, we still had to drive down the other side. Once we were down the mountain and on level ground we encountered a different kind of road. Bump, Bump, Bump, Bump, etc. It was the bumpiest road I can remember ever riding on. At least the scenery was pretty! We drove by golden fields, cattle ranches, and enjoyed the sweeping vistas.
We arrived in the small town of Dinosaur, UT and were greeted with several Dinosaur Statues. The town has a population of 339 but capitilzes on it’s proximity to the Dinosaur National Monuement. We were surprised to find out that Dinosaurs once roamed in this area.
We continued on towards our destination of Vernal, UT. In Vernal, the first thing I noticed were the town streets lined with colorful flowers in planters and hanging baskets. What a beautifully decorated town!
This is also aDinosaur Town! Dinosaurs statues were everywhere. They seemed to be on every street corner welcoming folks to town, Of course, there is a reason this is Dinosaur Town…Vernal is the gateway to Dinosaur National Monument where paleontologist Earl Douglas found a nearly perfect Apatosaurus skeleton in 1909. Since, we were only going to be in Vernal for 1 night, we did not do any of the Dinosaur tours or activities. Maybe another time?
We took a drive around town and out to the beautiful Steinaker Dam and Reservoir. We saw a few boats, but, not too many. We drove through the campground and every site had a camper or a reserved sign meaning that it was full for the weekend. We saw several pop-up trailers that brough back memories of our early camping days with our girls.
Our campground for the night is the Fossil Valley RV Park. There are lots of Tiffin RV’s in the park and I imagine we will see some of them on the road tomorrow going to the Tiffin Rally in Rock Springs, WY.
Tomorrow – Rock Springs, WY and the Tiffin Rally