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October 22, 1999
Traveling from
Green River to Moab (10-22) was a day of contrasting highways. First, I had a 20-mile
stretch of I-70 that was pretty flat with gentle grades. Interstate Highways generally
have very wide shoulders and smooth surfaces, and I made good time. Then I had another
20-mile stretch on US Highway 191 that was again pretty flat, but with narrow shoulders in
most places and lots of truck traffic. That’s the kind of road that is the least fun
to ride on. Lastly, I had a 20-mile stretch that was mostly uphill to my campground at Dead
Horse Point State Park. I had selected the State Park (versus the Canyonlands National
Park campground) this time not because it had showers, but because it had water. The State
Park has nice restrooms with running water; the National Park has vault toilets with no
water available at all. There is no available ground water in this area – it all has
to be trucked from Moab some 35 miles away.
I decided this morning that
the easiest job in the world must be weather forecaster for Southern Utah. Even I can do
it without any meteorological training: "Highs today in the mid-70s; lows tonight in
the mid-30s; lots of sunshine." I would have had it right just about every day
I’ve been in Utah. Heck, I can even predict which way the wind will blow – all I
have to do is look at my route map.
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I took a photo today of a
rest stop that wasn’t – at least not for a bicyclist. I don’t know that the
photo will show it all that well, but it was on top of a hill, and I would have needed a
rest after climbing up there. Fortunately, I didn’t need a rest before climbing up
there. |
I spent some
time dodging alligators on I-70. Uncle Ed told me that truck drivers refer to those big
chunks of re-tread tires that litter the highways as alligators. That being the case, it
seemed more like I was approaching Everglades National Park than Canyonlands National Park. |
 
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Dead Horse Point is a really
nice State Park. I saw one statement that said it was rated in the top 50 of all US State
Parks by National Geographic Traveler magazine. It got its name from…well,
it’s not a pretty story, so just take a guess, you’ll be close enough. The state
purchased the land from the Bureau of Land Management in 1959 and created the park. This
was a few years before Canyonlands National Park was created. The highlight of the park is
the view of the Colorado River (about 2000’ below) from Dead Horse Point. I think the
state got away with the best viewpoint in the area. I walked out to the point (about a
mile) after setting up camp, and stayed until after sunset. The moon was just one day away
from being full, and the sensations of moonlight in the canyons and absolute silence
(everyone else had left) were just incredible. |
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(Great
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