The Utah Canoeing Trip – Days 10-11, KS to CO and the Rockies

Heading west out of Kansas City I got the screen below, confirming what I already knew: cruise control at 80mph:

I stopped at a couple of towns and did a quick drive though. There is an attractive nostalgic aspect for sure. This town seemed to be waiting for me, already having a business with my name on it:

 

Oh for the days where a family had a store and provided service to things called customers	This family market served me well for lunch, the people were as friendly as you’d expect
The name says it all – this is “The Bank” in town	Hey, that’s trademark infringement!

 

Small town USA is still cool in a lot of ways. Denise and I still struggle with where we want to ultimately live: small town with a strong community or where we live now, near a larger city with a lot to do.

The Denver and nearby Rockies were in a multi-week long bout of rain that made sightseeing less than interesting but I got to stay with a friend from swing dance that I haven’t seen in 3 years, and meet her fiance. Thanks for the place to crash, Kealy, and thanks for the recommendations on what to do in Colorado. I blew through the rain for the most part, but it turned to a nice snow at high elevation as seen at Loveland Pass:

 

The downhill skiers and snowboarders were out in force. They park at the top of the pass, do a run down, then hitch hike back up. Here are a couple that piled into this Subaru, they also got rides in semis and tow trucks while I was there:

 

The rain was off and on, but not heavy, by the time I arrived at Hanging Lake, a stiff hike with over 1000 ft of elevation gain in 1.2miles. It did rain off and on, nothing my rain top couldn’t take care of. It was well worth the hike. The lake is “suspended” in sheer cliffs that are maybe a couple of hundred feet tall. Above the lake is Sprouting Rock, a hole in the side of a cliff where water shoots out, eventually flowing over the next cliff creating the falls.

 

 

On down the road I came to Grand Junction, CO and passed these interesting hills:

 

I decided to head to Black Canyon of the Gunnison the following day so I searched for a spot to set up on BLM land. All of the entrances I was finding made if questionable whether I’d be able to get back out the next day, not good when you’re in the middle of nowhere with no phone service. I ended getting a spot at the Cimmaron National Forest Campground and was the only person there. I arrived well after dark and was surprised to find a great view when I woke up the next morning. You’ll get to see that in the next blog post so stay tuned!