{"id":2390,"date":"2015-12-18T08:10:45","date_gmt":"2015-12-18T15:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=2390"},"modified":"2019-03-16T14:01:35","modified_gmt":"2019-03-16T20:01:35","slug":"way-down-south-independence-pass-colorado-going-to-utah-8-25-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=2390","title":{"rendered":"Way Down South, Independence Pass, Colorado & Going to Utah (8-25-15)"},"content":{"rendered":"

After two huge climbs on the previous two days up to Mount Elbert<\/a><\/span><\/strong> and Mount Massive<\/a><\/span><\/strong>, the highest peaks in Colorado, it was time for Lupe to move on.\u00a0 It was 8-25-15, already Day 17 of Lupe’s great Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation.\u00a0\u00a0 SPHP gassed up the G6 before leaving Leadville, CO, and then\u00a0headed S on Highway 24.\u00a0 A short time later, Lupe achieved another personal first: Lupe reached the southernmost point she has ever been to at the junction of Highways 24 and 82.<\/p>\n

SPHP turned W on Highway 82.\u00a0 Soon Lupe was at Twin Lakes, which she and SPHP had seen for the first time from up on top of Mount\u00a0Elbert two days before.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe at Twin Lakes, Colorado, close to as far S as she has ever been. Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After a wonderful time in the mountains of N Central Colorado, Lupe was on her way out of the state.\u00a0 She would see quite a bit of scenic NW Colorado on the way.\u00a0 Highway 82 went over 12,095 ft. Independence Pass.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP\u00a0took the short walkway there to a viewpoint overlooking more beautiful mountains of the Colorado Rockies.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking SW from Independence Pass.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>Once over Independence Pass, Hwy 82 lost a great deal of elevation on its way to Aspen.\u00a0 From Aspen, Hwy 82 continued losing elevation, although at\u00a0a reduced rate, all the way to Glenwood Springs.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP stopped at a park next to the highway for a picnic.\u00a0 SPHP would have liked to have gone to the hot springs in Glenwood Springs<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, but it was near noon.\u00a0 It was hot, approaching 80\u00b0F\u00a0– too hot to leave Lupe unattended for any length of time in the G6.<\/p>\n

It got hotter as the day wore on.\u00a0 Until now, Lupe and SPHP had spent the vast majority of Lupe’s great Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation at 8,000 to 12,000 feet.\u00a0 At these lower elevations, the heat was oppressive.\u00a0\u00a0In the G6, however,\u00a0Lupe rode in air conditioned comfort as the miles clicked by.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP headed W from Glenwood Springs on I-70.\u00a0 It wasn’t too far to Rifle, where SPHP stopped at a McDonald’s to buy Lupe a hot fudge sundae.<\/p>\n

From Rifle, Lupe went N on Highway 13.\u00a0 SPHP soon turned W onto Piceance Creek Road.\u00a0 Piceance Creek Road was interesting.\u00a0 It went 40 miles down a valley that gradually turned to the N.\u00a0 It was 10 miles before Piceance Creek had any water in it.\u00a0 Piceance Creek\u00a0never became a very big stream.\u00a0 The valley grew wider as it lost elevation.\u00a0 It was\u00a0bordered by low juniper and sage-brush covered mountains.\u00a0 There were cows and horses near the creek in the valley, which kept Lupe entertained for miles.<\/p>\n

Lupe reached the White River again when Piceance Creek Road reached Highway 64.\u00a0 Lupe had seen the North Fork of the White River before.\u00a0 It\u00a0flows out of Trappers Lake in the Flat Top Mountains.\u00a0 The scenery heading W on Highway 64 was interesting, but not inviting.\u00a0 Lupe was heading into increasingly barren territory.\u00a0 By the time she reached Rangely, even the sagebrush was sparse and\u00a0struggling.\u00a0 It was 97\u00b0F in Rangely.<\/p>\n

Beyond Rangely everything was hot, thirsty, white and barren.\u00a0 Late August was no time to be visiting here.\u00a0 At Dinosaur, though, SPHP did stop to get a picture of Lupe with a cool, colorful Stegosaurus.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe at the cool Stegosaurus at Dinosaur, Colorado.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SPHP would have loved to take Lupe to Echo Park in Dinosaur National Monument<\/span><\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 Echo Park is located at the confluence of the Green and Yampa Rivers.\u00a0 It is a beautiful spot down in a big canyon with\u00a0vertical rock walls, and very worth seeing.\u00a0 However, SPHP knew the G6 might have trouble with the road there, which is best traversed with a high clearance vehicle.\u00a0 (SPHP once put a hole in\u00a0a Chevy Corsica’s\u00a0oil pan on that road – not an experience SPHP was eager to repeat.)<\/p>\n

So Lupe missed out on Echo Park.\u00a0 Instead she turned W on Highway 40 at Dinosaur.\u00a0 A big event was only a short distance away.\u00a0 Lupe was going to enter the state of Utah for the very first time.\u00a0 It had been nearly 2 years since Lupe last visited a new state, so it was an event worthy of note.\u00a0 Soon Utah\u00a0became Lupe’s 11th state!<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe reaches Utah, her 11th state. She did indeed plan to live “Life Elevated” there!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Near Jensen, Utah, Lupe stopped by the sign for the Dinosaur National Monument Fossil <\/span>Bone<\/span> Quarry<\/span><\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 The quarry\u00a0features quite an amazing exhibit of dinosaur bones.\u00a0 The partially exposed bones are on display in their original locations\u00a0on a hillside which has been enclosed\u00a0with a building.\u00a0 The Quarry Exhibit Hall serves both to protect the fossils\u00a0and as a visitor center.\"Lupe<\/a>Of course, Lupe could not go into the Quarry Exhibit Hall, so there was no point in even going all the way to it.\u00a0 Instead, Lupe got to go see the Green River just below the Highway 40 bridge.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe at the Green River where Highway 40 crosses it just E of Jensen, Utah.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was almost 5:00 PM by the time Lupe reached Vernal, Utah.\u00a0 SPHP had hoped to get some pictures of Lupe with\u00a0some dinosaurs\u00a0outside the Dinosaur Museum<\/span><\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0 It had been years since SPHP had been to Vernal, though.\u00a0 The Dinosaur Museum (officially the Utah Field House of Natural History Museum)\u00a0had moved.\u00a0 It is now housed in much fancier quarters.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the museum\u00a0closed at 5:00 PM.\u00a0 Although there were dinosaurs outside the building, they were all behind walls and fences.<\/p>\n

SPHP had to settle for taking a picture of Lupe\u00a0and the profusion of petunias along the street.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
This happy pink dino welcomed Lupe to Vernal, UT as she came into town from the E along Hwy 40.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Lupe outside the Dinosaur Museum in Vernal, UT. It was closed by the time Lupe and SPHP got there, or SPHP would have bought Lupe a ticket just for some photo ops with the dinosaurs outside the building.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Pretty<\/a>
Pretty puppy poses with a profusion of petunias in Vernal, Utah.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP toured Vernal, Utah.\u00a0 It looked like a thriving place with lots of new stores and development.\u00a0 It was\u00a0like an oven there\u00a0though, at 98\u00b0F when Lupe arrived.\u00a0 It was still 91\u00b0F at sunset when Lupe left town heading N on Highway 191.\u00a0 Up in the Uinta Mountains, it was 59\u00b0F when SPHP parked the G6 for the night.\u00a0 So much better!<\/p>\n

Links:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Next Adventure<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Prior Adventure<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0\u00a0Choose\u00a0from\u00a0Lupe’s 2015 Wyoming, Colorado & Utah Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span>,\u00a0Dingo Vacations Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span> or Master Adventure Index<\/strong><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe adventures<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After two huge climbs on the previous two days up to Mount Elbert and Mount Massive, the highest peaks in Colorado, it was time for Lupe to move on.\u00a0 It was 8-25-15, already Day 17 of Lupe’s great Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation.\u00a0\u00a0 SPHP gassed up the G6 before leaving Leadville, CO, and then\u00a0headed S … Continue reading Way Down South, Independence Pass, Colorado & Going to Utah (8-25-15)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2356,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[274],"tags":[105,106,26,362,361,104,365,363,364],"class_list":["post-2390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2015-wyoming-colorado-utah","tag-american-dingo","tag-carolina-dog","tag-dingo-vacations","tag-dinosaur-national-monument","tag-independence-pass","tag-lupe","tag-utah","tag-utah-field-house-of-natural-history-museum","tag-vernal"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/P1060913.jpg?fit=1651%2C1238&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2390"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20746,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2390\/revisions\/20746"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}