The Drive

I head north and pass through Salt River Canyon, a beautiful place.  Gaining elevation the....

...scenery changes.  I like to take different routes to see parts of AZ and CO through which I previously have not traveled so while headed to Durango, CA I visit....

….at the urging of friends, the Petrified Forest.  The story behind it is interesting but as for the views....

…..hmmmm, I'd not recommend a visit.  I did not understand why people thought this would be a good destination.  Maybe if you are from the east coast or Midwest and never visited the southwest, well maybe.....

OK, now this was interesting in the visitor center.  I worry about running into mountain lions but had this still been alive, I'd never hike again.  Yikes!

Kind of funky looking, multicolored mounds was neat.

Back on the road and headed toward CO.  Nice rock formations.....

….along the way.  Should have brought hiking shoes and checked to see if there was a way up one of these.  Nearing Durango......

...the snow capped peaks of the Rockies creep above the horizon.  I spent the night in Durango and got a very early start the following morning so did not see anything around that city.

Had to be very careful driving as there were 6 separate encounters with deer or elk that forced me to slow and once stop as a herd of about 40 elk were crossing the road.

Beautiful as I head to Wolf Pass and once there....

….snow is still abundant.  Looking west.....

….another beautiful view with a sign that warns drivers of what is ahead during the descent.

I was following a front that hit Ohio on Thursday and each day of driving, I'd catch it and drive in the rain, discouraging my progress.  It took me 4 days to make it to Ohio and along the way, I snacked frequently.  When I weighed myself Friday morning, I was 4 pounds heavier than on Monday.  Way to go Mark you dumb ass!!!

The clouds are low as I cross the last of the Rocky passes.

Somewhere in eastern CO, I pass a lone cyclist.  I slow to talk and discover she is riding to Washington DC.  For what reason I did not think to ask.  The prior day I passed a group of 10 cyclists in AZ headed to Chicago.

Ugh, the drive across eastern CO, all of KS, all of the other states, just ugh.  No better word to describe that part of the trip.