Colorado to Utah

We left Centennial (Denver area) Monday morning (Nov 10th) after a quick visit with Kim, and a lengthy internet search of weather between Denver and Calgary.  We decided we needed to get out of Dodge/Denver before the snow storm hit later in the afternoon.  Unfortunately, the weather forecasters were a bit out on their timing and the cold front blew in about 10:30 am vs 4 pm.  We nevertheless pulled out and took the cats for a walk at Bear Creek Lake park just west of Denver.  By the time we got up to the 2 mile Eisenhower Tunnel, however, I-70 was closed due to multiple accidents and just all-round nasty driving conditions.  We sat on the highway for over 3 hours, turning the truck on periodically to clear the windshield, and also, running the furnace in the trailer to keep the water lines from freezing.  John put a small litter box in the truck for the cats, but we also put them in the trailer every so often to see if they needed food or their large litter box.  Sammy pawed at the door to the bedroom... he just wanted to go to bed on his cat tree!!!  Poor fella...

Brutal driving weather on I-70 west of Denver

Sitting still on I-70; with a LOT of company doing likewise...

Tawny & Sam, hanging out with John

We finally started moving about 5 pm, and it was a slow go up the Eisenhower pass and back down then up to the Vail pass and back down.  There were a lot of trucks and vehicles that were having issues with the grade.  Our truck did wonderfully, however, and we got to Grand Junction, CO just before 10 pm.  A long day, but we were out of the snow before we went to bed!  I was very bummed that we passed thru Vail in the dark.  I would have LOVED to have seen that scenery... next time.

Tuesday (Nov 11th) we further planned our route, based on the latest weather forecasting, and we decided to stay west of the mountains for the next several days.  We took I-70 west towards Salt Lake City, then headed north on Hwy 191 and stopped for the night at Wellington, Utah.

We made a stop at the Utah visitor centre about 40 miles west of the Colorado-Utah state line, and the cats had a good hike up the hills (and back down the other side) for over an hour before we picked them up and put them back into the truck.  We were worried they would still be there when it got dark!  They like Utah!!

This part of Utah is very "desert-y"; lots
of scrub brush and sandy soil

The landscape is vast... and the kitties loved it!
See them out there on the trail??

Kind of reminds me of  the Drumheller area in Alberta

The scenery along I-70 and 191 is absolutely beautiful. Quite different than what we've experienced so far on our trip.  The setting sun gave me lots of opportunities for exquisite shots....

Our truck & trailer, silhouetted on the rock
by the setting sun.

Hwy 191, south of Wellington, UT

Tomorrow we head to Salt Lake City.