Mimi and Maumau, Martine and DD Return! Or the Denver-Denver Loop of the 4 Friends (page 12 of 17)

Dinosaur National Monument: Utah side Dinosaur Quarry Exhibit Hall We start with the exhibit hall where a 40-meter-long by 12-meter-high rock wall, protected from the elements, lets you see some of the 1,500 dinosaur fossils that were deposited there just as nature left them tens of millions of years ago.







The sight of this wall is absolutely fascinating!!! We’re so close yet so far from these giants!!! Just thinking about it makes our heads spin!!! We’re even allowed to touch it.

Tour of the Tilted Road After this little trip into the past, we’re off on a 16 km journey of discovery that takes us from one point of interest to another, leading to a cute cabin—not in the prairie, but in a clearing!! The best part of this road is that everything worth seeing is practically right by the side of the path. Swelter Shelter petroglyphs Green River OVL No photos??? Turtle Rocks

Elephant Toes Butte The Indian of Tilted Road (ha, ha, ha, that one, we added it ourselves!!) The road turns into a very drivable dirt track for the last two miles. Petroglyphs and pictograms from the Fremont people at Cub Creek



Josie Morris’ Cabin The track leads us into a small wooded clearing where there’s an adorable little log cabin. Independent and ahead of her time (5 marriages and 4 divorces), Josie built her own cabin here in 1913 and lived there for over 50 years, bending the rules (distilling moonshine during Prohibition, cattle rustling, and befriending the outlaw Butch Cassidy). Life must’ve been tough for her—alone, lost in the middle of nowhere with no electricity or neighbors!! But it must’ve suited her since she stayed until 1964, when she died at 89 after a simple fall that caused a hip fracture. Two supposedly easy hiking trails (we didn’t go) start from the cabin. Beyond these amazing rock formations, the road winds through stunning rocky landscapes.







Since the road is a dead end, we head back the way we came after setting Fantasy Canyon as our next GPS destination.

Hello

Hello 🙂

We just made a fantastic decision!!!! We're heading back to the United States in September!!!!! Yes!!!! Yes!!!! Yes!!!! I reminded DD about our Esta’s validity as an excuse to go back (thanks Guillaume!!!) and IT WORKED!!!!

That’s amazing! I’m so curious to hear about your itinerary. I’ve been trying to plan one for summer 2021 or April (or both?) and it’s not easy to include the places I want to revisit while adding a few new ones that aren’t too hard to access.

This time, though, we’re leaving without Mimi and Maumau because the road trip will be more focused on hiking, and they don’t walk much!!!! Back in 2017, we hikers were left wanting more at Arches National Park, and we swore we’d go back.

Are you experienced hikers?

Good grief!!!! I haven’t even finished writing the travel journal from our last trip, and now I have to plan the next one!! I’d better get moving!!! But one thing at a time!! I’m off!! Martine 🙂

That’s what happens when you catch the travel bug...😉. You’ll be fine...one step at a time...

Hello again with your gorgeous photos, and it’s such a pleasure to read you! We visited Arches National Park in 2008—we were camping, and it was nothing but great memories. We had a blast! With all the awesome prep you’re doing, you’re in for a real treat for the eyes and a workout for the legs, especially since you’ve been there before and know what to expect!

You have no idea how happy I am!!! Peggy: I’ll have less pressure since it’ll just be the two of us!! If there are any slip-ups, it won’t be a big deal—unlike the last two times when I had to deliver for our friends’ trust!!! Pascal: We’re gonna miss our Maumis!!! But DD and I really want to sweat it out in Arches National Park. But for sure, we’ll plan another road trip with all four of us!! Uh!! If I suggest to DD a place to stay without a shower, he’ll eat me alive!!! He already refuses shared showers!!! Françoise: We don’t walk too badly, but just the two of us at our own pace!! We hiked, among other things, 5 days in the Mafate Cirque in 2018. I think we’ll explore Colorado more since there seem to be amazing spots, especially scrambling around Arches National Park. That said, I hate driving, so since DD will be the only one behind the wheel, we’ll limit the miles and stay in the same place for several nights more often. As for the virus, I did catch it, and I’m thrilled!!! Martine 🙂

Fantasy Canyon Here are the coordinates for those using a GPS N 40°03’28’’ W 109°23’39’’ GPS 40.05778-109.394167

I also noted: After Dinosaur National Monument, take Hwy 149, then Hwy 45 S, then turn right onto Glen Bench Road and left onto the track, following the signs.

Luckily for us, our GPS recognized the spot right away, and we just had to follow its directions. After leaving the paved roads, we continued on a dirt track through the dust, oil wells, and gas operations. The landscapes looked a bit like the Badlands.

Suddenly, there they were!! Grazing among the pipes!!! Mustangs again!! A foal and its mother.

And two others, one of which seemed to be the leader, staring us down. Cameras were clicking. They didn’t seem afraid of us and kept eating calmly. 10 minutes later, we were at the site. No one!! We were alone again!! And once more, we were amazed. Two different rocks—erosion left the sandstone while the shale disappeared, creating delicate sculptures. We spent quite a while wandering among these oddly shaped natural formations. Even though the ground and rocks were gray, they stood out beautifully against the blue sky!! Animals, faces, evil beings, scooters, stacked vertebrae—the rocks sparked our imaginations!!! Everyone tried to find something familiar in this desert of a thousand fantastical shapes!!



















All around, the rolling, striped red hills marked the boundaries of the place. DD and Maumau played an imaginary game of pétanque.

We hit the road again—the mustangs were still there. As we got closer, the one we thought was the leader stepped between us and the foal, and everyone went back to grazing.

We took the same way back, our heads full of what we’d just seen!! We checked into our hotel before heading to Plazza Mexicana on Main Street for a great Mexican meal. What a day!!! It was so full of amazing moments!! Thanks to our trusty GPS for finding the way to this incredible spot, lost in the desert!! And thanks to everyone who mentioned it in their travel journals—it’s how we added it to our route!!!

and especially scrambling around Arches National Park

Not far away, Canyonlands NP has some gorgeous hikes, which we did in 2018, whether in the Island in the Sky area or The Needles, and it's less crowded ;) By the way, why September and not April or May for these places? Yves

Good evening Martine,

Oh, I see the travel bug has really bitten you—how lucky! The arches look amazing, just incredible... You’re going to have a blast. Your photos are always top-notch; I’m loving them.

Have a great evening. 😉

Hello

This time, I’m so jealous—first Josie Cabin Morris, then Fantasy Canyon, and finally the mustangs. Two places we just couldn’t see: one time the road was closed, the other it was impassable… Ugh, ugh, ugh.

I’ll feel less pressure since it’ll just be the two of us!! If we miss something, it won’t be a big deal, unlike the last two times when I had to deliver because our friends were counting on me!!!

We’ve experienced it, and it *is* totally different as a couple.

On the other hand, I hate driving, so since DD will be the only one behind the wheel, we’ll cut down on the miles and stay in the same place for several nights more often.

Same situation for us, so we limited our daily distances to an average of 300 km.

Hi Martine,

Your travel journal is great. It’s so varied, and you all had a lot of fun 😉

I recognize the Parisian tabernacle we visited during our summer 1992 trip. That was a while ago—back then, we were young 😏

When we were at Dinosaur NM, we arrived too late at the "Quarry Exhibit Hall"—it was closing 😕

In that park, we did the "Harpers Corner trail" hike.

We came from the southeast. The previous stop was Steamboat Springs (Colorado).

Have a great afternoon!

See you soon!

Christine

Good evening! 🙂 We did it!!! We booked our flight tickets (we had a real struggle with the Lufthansa website 😕). In the end, the Frankfurt-Denver leg will be operated by United Airlines, and the other segments by Lufthansa!! We paid 1131 € for both of us, including seats!!! If we had booked everything with Lufthansa, it would have cost over 1600 €. We hesitated because some of the return options weren’t great, but the difference is huge!!! We’ll see how it goes.

MM: We loved Arches National Park and DD and I swore we’d go back to hike there. Yves: We’re also planning to explore Canyonlands. We really liked September, and we’ll be hiking in Guadeloupe at the beginning of March. Sylvie: We’re taking the opportunity to hike while we’re still in shape, and we hadn’t planned anything for the end of the year. Gilles: I read in your travel journal that the bad weather bothered you. Fantasy Canyon is really unique. We’ll have a lot more stops with two-night stays since we’re focusing on discovering Colorado and the Arches area. Christine: Thanks for your kind words!!! I can tell you that wall of fossils really impressed us!!! We weren’t tempted to visit the Mormon churches.

Anyway, thanks to all of you for your messages, and have a great evening! Martine 🙂

Good evening! :) We did it!!! We booked our flight tickets (we had a real struggle with the Lufthansa website 😕). In the end, the Frankfurt-Denver leg will be operated by United Airlines and the other segments by Lufthansa!! We paid 1131 € for both of us, including seats!!! If we had booked everything with Lufthansa, it would have cost over 1600 €. We hesitated because some of the return options were so-so, but the difference is huge!!! We’ll see how it goes. MM: We loved Arches National Park and DD and I swore we’d go back to hike there. Yves: We’re also planning to explore Canyonlands. We really liked September and we’ll be hiking in Guadeloupe at the beginning of March. Sylvie: We’re taking the opportunity to hike while we’re still in shape, and we hadn’t planned anything for the end of the year. Gilles: I read in your travel journal that bad weather bothered you. Fantasy Canyon is really unique. We’ll have more stops this time, with two nights at each place, as we’re focusing on discovering Colorado and the Arches area. Christine: Thanks for your kind words!!! I can tell you that wall of fossils really impressed us!!! We weren’t tempted to visit the Mormon churches. Anyway, thanks to all of you for your little messages, and have a great evening! Martine :)

Hi Martine! I followed your travel journal to the letter: IMPRESSIVE and so well planned in every detail—BRAVO! I saw that you booked your flights to Denver. When are you going??? For us, it’ll be from May 16 to July 6. We’re doing New Mexico-Arizona-Colorado-Utah. Maybe we’ll cross paths… we’ll have to look into that!!!!! See you soon, Sonia

PS: We’re skipping Lufthansa this time (too expensive!!!). We booked with Condor from Frankfurt.

Hello Martine,

It’s done!!! We’ve booked our flight tickets (we struggled so much with the Lufthansa site 😕). In the end, the Frankfurt-Denver leg will be operated by United Airlines and the other segments by Lufthansa!! We paid 1131 € for both of us, including seats!!! If we’d booked everything with Lufthansa, it would’ve cost over 1600 €. We hesitated because some of the return options were meh, but the price difference is huge!!! We’ll see how it goes. Martine 🙂

Amazing! You didn’t waste any time. And that’s a great price! Do you already have an idea of your itinerary? Anyway, you’ve still got time. Happy preparations and keep up the good work on your travel journal.

Here we go!!! We finally booked our flight tickets (we had a real struggle with Lufthansa’s website 😕). In the end, the Frankfurt-Denver leg will be operated by United Airlines, and the other segments by Lufthansa!! We paid 1131 € for both of us, including seats!!! If we’d booked everything with Lufthansa, it would’ve cost over 1600 €. We hesitated because some of the return options were so-so, but the price difference is huge!!! We’ll see how it goes.

Hi Martine,

We booked with the same airlines last summer. We did it this way with the couple of friends who came with us: outbound: Paris > Chicago > Las Vegas with United Airlines return: Denver > Frankfurt > Paris (Lyon for our friends) with Lufthansa Our daughters and my youngest’s boyfriend joined us for the second part of the road trip starting in Denver and left with us from Denver.

The flights went really smoothly. But in Frankfurt, we had to go through all the security checks again.

I can tell you, that wall of fossils really impressed us!!!

We saw it too, but we could only stay for about two minutes because the ranger wanted to close up.

We loved Arches National Park and DD and I swore we’d go back to hike there.

I love Arches NP too. We’ve visited it: - in 1992 (that year, we were camping), - in 2007 with our daughters, - and we went back in 2019 with our friends 😏

See you soon!

Christine

Day 17: September 18: Vernal-Fruita H Motel Fruita: 2 people with breakfast 71 €. Microwave, refrigerator. No freezer. Quiet and clean little motel very close to the entrance of Colorado National Monument. No table for the included breakfast, but a large table under the trees with a BBQ available for guests. Very friendly welcome from the owner. We left this pretty town a bit late (8:25 AM) for everything that was on the agenda today.

A few snapshots before leaving of the large planters and hanging baskets filled with petunias that decorate both sides of the 5 km of Main Street. The person in charge of watering must spend all day with the hose in hand!! Impressive!!

Dinosaur National Monument (Colorado side) Harper’s Corner Road At 9:20 AM, we pass the Canyon Visitor Center and start the 20 km road that will take us to the beginning of the trail with the same name. The road climbs and climbs, very monotonous through desert and arid landscapes. We stop at the few viewpoints along the way. Escalante OVL Canyon OVL Island Park OVL

Echo Park Road We had planned to take the track on the way back that was supposed to take us close to Steamboat Rock, but it was too late, and we didn’t take it. Iron Springs Bench OVL We can easily imagine the bison and the Native American camps with their tipis and horses on these high grassy plateaus.

Echo Park OVL We start to see the rugged rocks of the canyon in the distance. Harper's Corner Trail We finally arrive at the end of the road and the parking lot where the hike starts. Not a soul in sight—we’re alone!!! After a short descent in the shade, the trail becomes almost flat but winds along a ridge that gets narrower and narrower. I love these bare trunks.

The trees around it are covered with hundreds of cicada molts. Since we live with them every summer, we can barely imagine the racket they must make when they start their aerial life and begin cymbalizing!!!

We stay right in the middle of the path because it gets narrower and narrower, and even though it’s totally safe, we think about the chasms on both sides. As we go along, the details of the canyon change. At the end of the trail, a safety barrier blocks the path for any reckless hikers. Here, everywhere you look, it’s endless!!! Mesas, cliffs, rivers, folded rocks!!! It almost feels like the Grand Canyon, but with silence and serenity on top. On one side, we have a breathtaking view of the rocky chaos of the canyon carved 700 m below us by the Green River and the Yampa River, which joins it. Steamboat Rock rises 200 m high, forcing the rivers to make a 2 km detour to go around it. On the other side, we can admire the tranquility of Whirlpool Canyon with its high light-colored cliffs dotted with green and streaked with pink around the gentle meanders of the Green River, which seems to flow peacefully.

Mitten Park Fault We feel tiny, and it’s easy to imagine, seeing the folds in the rock, the forces that came into play to create such a landscape. This photo is the only one where you can see, on the left, a small section of the Green River before its confluence with the Yampa River, and where both rivers go around Steamboat before continuing their journey together. Just before leaving, DD does a *Titanic* remake, saying, “I’m the king of the world!” The important thing is that he believes it... We could’ve stayed longer, but we had to keep going... We return the same way. It took us 1.5 hours to do the round trip. The hike isn’t very difficult and is accessible to most people, and once again, the landscapes are worth the effort. We find a table to have a picnic at one of the viewpoints. A sign explains that in 1952, conservation groups worked to stop a project for an artificial lake that would’ve flooded everything!! In 1956, President Eisenhower put an end to it for good, much to our delight. In the car, we talk about the hike and the never-ending road that leads to it. We think that this long road is really time-consuming if you’re not doing the hike, and its main interest is the Harper’s Corner Trail!!! Just before leaving the park, Maumau, our driver for the day, sees in his rearview mirror a police car following us with flashing lights and a tricolor stripe!!! STOP!!! STOP!! Pull over and no sudden moves!!! We park right away!! A ranger gets out, hands on his bulletproof vest straps!!! Too fast!!!!! Passport!!! We were going almost 50 mph on a road limited to 25!! Sorry, sir!!! Maumau hands it to him, and he goes back to his car to make a call!!! Oh no!!! We’re gonna get a big fine. We see him writing and coming back with a paper in hand!!! Warning!!! What luck—we only got a warning!!! Thanks a lot, officer!!!!! But now Maumau must be on file!!! We’d better be careful!!! Dinosaur, Rangely... Very tall grass, pine trees, cows roaming free, hills, then flat land as far as the eye can see!!! We arrive in Fruita, drop off our bags, and head to the west entrance of Colorado National Monument to try to see as much as possible before the sun sets.

Colorado National Monument This little park, full of colors and far from the crowds, is really cute. Even though we're in the state of Colorado, you can tell Utah isn't far because as soon as you enter, you see the red rocks, cliffs cut like a knife, suspended boulders, and pinnacles that we loved so much in Arches National Park.

A little further on, the buttes and mesas remind us of Monument Valley.



Rim Rock Drive This scenic road winds along the cliffs, and we drive from viewpoint to viewpoint to discover incredible views below of canyons with steep walls and plateaus with their amazing geological formations eroded by time, ice, wind, and water. The viewpoints sometimes overlook the same rocks, and I had a hard time naming them. Hopefully, I didn’t write too many silly things!!! The road starts to climb in switchbacks, and the Fruita Valley unfolds before us. Redlands View Historic Trail View

It was along this cliff that columns of mules used to walk when John Otto, the man thanks to whom the authorities discovered this place in 1911, fell in love with it. This little doe is the only animal we saw, though.

Balanced Rock and its 600-ton boulder defying gravity. Arches are forming here.



Distant View Fruita Canyon View We skip the Visitor Center, where we’ll hike tomorrow. Independence Monument View Signs explain with photos how this 137-meter-high spire, topped with a small platform, ended up alone in the middle of the canyon.

Grand View OVL





This park is so beautiful!!! And how we love these red rocks!!! Thanks to Fred for telling me to stop here when I hadn’t planned it in our road trip!!! The viewpoints are all as stunning as each other. It’s still 29°C, but the colors shimmering in this late afternoon are softening as a few clouds appear and the sun starts playing with the shadows. We decide not to continue, especially since some rock faces are starting to fall into twilight.

We’ve been gone for a while now!! The fatigue is starting to set in. A little rest won’t be a luxury. We head back to the motel to relax a bit before enjoying some excellent grilled ribs at Rib City Grill (3 ribs, 1 steak, 3 beers for $74). What a day again!!! How can we not want to go back to this country over and over!!!

Hi Martine, Colorado NM was even more beautiful in the evening when we slept there in an RV. We were on the edge of the cliff and could see the city lights. Noëlle

Hello

Colorado National Monument

Gorgeous and relatively uncrowded.

For us—and especially my wife—it’s a painful memory: she tore the ligaments in her knee. We only found out after we got home, but she bravely kept up with the planned hikes for another 17 days. The name of the trail alone should’ve been a warning: Devils Kitchen. But the fall happened on a completely flat and wide path! !

I think it’s a doe and a young goat! Desert bighorn sheep? We’re planning to go to this park next time—it looks great and peaceful... Christelle

Hi Martine: I wasn’t expecting so many discoveries after Yellowstone! But wow, it’s so beautiful! These last two canyons also remind us of some great hikes—Moab isn’t far, after all! So many sites to explore! Thanks for your travel journal, it’s so rich in explanations and photos! See you soon

Good evening! 🙂

Sonia: We're leaving for three weeks starting September 9th!!! Too bad we won't cross paths!!! I'll have fresh news from Utah and Colorado from you! We're going to celebrate our wedding anniversary twice with the time difference!!! On the plane and upon arrival!!!

Françoise: I absolutely want to finish this darn travel journal before moving on to the next one!! I have a few ideas but nothing concrete yet!!!

Christine: Thanks for your feedback on the flight. We won't linger in Frankfurt if we have to go through security again.

Noëlle: It must be an amazing experience to sleep right in the middle of the parks with no light pollution!!! Unfortunately, DD loves his comfort too much!! Sniff!!!

Gilles: I hope she didn't keep any after-effects from her fall!! Even when being careful, hikes can be accident-prone!!! I know what I'm talking about!! Broken wrist and a dislocated incisor after a fall at the end of a hike in the Alps.

Christelle: There we go!!! I messed up again with the horned critters!!!

MM: This road trip led us from one pleasant surprise to another for 21 days!!! Pure happiness!!!

Have a good evening everyone