From the Flatlands Over the Continental Divide

Travel Day

Today was a traveling day, meaning there was nothing on my agenda but getting from Point A (Bill, Wyoming) to Point B (Grand Junction, Colorado). Thinking back on the day, I can’t remember if this was something I welcomed or resented when I woke-up, because my original plan for the trip didn’t include many stops along the way. Regardless, despite my intention of sleeping-in, I was anxious to get on my way and get out of this motel as soon as possible.

After getting my things organized in the room, I spend some time putting together a few video clips to share online. While the clips are uploading to my Vimeo account, I make the four or five treks needed to get my things back into my car, setting my watch for a workout which ended-up amounting to a 3/4 mile walk. The motel was as smelly and dirty as I’d remembered it through my exhaustive move in.

Where Am I?

During my trips to pack my car, I finally got a better idea of where I had ended-up. The “parking lot” was more along the lines of a dirt lot, which I wouldn’t have gotten out of had it recently rained. Every other vehicle around me was a pickup truck or something with four-wheel drive. There were also a couple of RVs. The actual area was a lot of nothing and included the flattest horizon I’d ever seen in my life. It made South Dakota look like West Virginia in comparison. This was truly the “middle of nowhere”… I’d found it!

There were also signs throughout the building directing railroad workers toward tornado shelters in the building. As I checked-out, I asked the receptionist/hostess who the primary tenants are of the motel. She confirmed my suspicions, informing me that the place was built for the Union Pacific railroad workers in the area, which explained a lot of things about the place.

Oh, Sweet Nothin’!

The first leg of today’s journey entailed a four hour drive from Bill, Wyoming, to Boulder, Colorado. This drive included a whole lot of nothing. While I might have imagined this being a horribly boring thing to do before this trip, I discovered that driving for hours on end with no traffic in the middle of nowhere made me exceptionally happy. Just listening to music with the windows down, watching the sun rise along with the subtle changes in the landscape, turned-out to be fun for me. I did in face love to drive!

About half way through this part of the day, near Douglas, Wyoming, I noticed a sign for “Pioneer Cemetery” and decided to take a look. Mountains had started to become visible far-off in the western horizon and inspired me to stop. The path to the entrance wound through a field full of antelope that freaked-out as I drove around them. The cemetery itself was nothing special to look at. Most of the headstones were simple crosses made from white stone. There were a few special markers, though, one of which was for a three year old boy. It was hard to imagine making a living out there at the turn of the 20th century.

Colorado and The Rocky Mountains

By the time I arrived in Boulder, Colorado, the mountains off the west had become a thing. Upon seeing the first real range, I wondered to myself, “Are those  the Rocky Mountains?” but looking back I realize they were merely foothills and not much bigger than the mountains I’d visited in Virginia, just a different style. Upon making it onto Route 70, I began the four hour drive to Grand Junction, Colorado, which would take me over the Continental Divide into western Colorado. Along the way, the road took me through some canyons which were nerve wracking. The sides of the canyons were cracked layers and sloped toward the road. All I could think about was a chunk sliding-off as I approached or passed underneath.

The drive over the Continental Divide was equal parts exhilarating and terrifying. While I hadn’t known what to expect, I had no idea that a snow storm was a possibility, but that’s what I got. The snow was so heavy during most of the drive over the mountains that I never got a good view of what they looked like. Even if they were visible, I probably wouldn’t have had much of a glimpse because the wet roads, tight corners and hills had me focused on the road most of the time. Add to this all of the traffic, due to the fact I was passing through around 4 o’clock on a Friday when the masses were apparently headed for a weekend of skiing in the resorts around the area, and it amounted to one of the more miserable stretches of driving on the trip.

Descending Into Another World

Once I finished the quick descent into western Colorado, the skies cleared-up and the sun came-out, revealing a much different landscape than I’d experienced in my life. The path opened-up around me and the hills became red. Then I entered valleys surrounded by steep slopes which lead up to flat plateaus. It felt like the world had been holding its breath as I drove over the Continental Divide and how it was exhaling slowly.

The sun was beginning to set at I got close to Grand Junction, Colorado. Nearby there were roads through canyons, dark and cool because the sun couldn’t reach the road, but with edges above me that were on fire from the setting sun. As I made the final winding turns and passed Palisade, everything opened-up as I drove into the sunset. It was a beautiful moment.

Decompress

When I checked-in to my motel, the receptionist put me on the second floor and I made an audible moan. She must have sensed my sincerity and did me a favor by switching me to a first level floor with an external door. This was a major upgrade over the previous room that required a hike to unpack.

For the second time on the trip, I attempted to visit a fast food restaurant I had a craving for, but had to settle for another. It was horribly unsatisfying, but I had beer, among other things, so the night turned-out alright. After downloading and organizing the day’s footage, I passed-out from exhaustion.