25 June 2011
John graciously offered to escort me a ways out of Ouray; we stopped for gas in Ridgway, and he then led me off up SR62. I was confused, thinking we should continue on 550, and I swear that's what my GPS said, although looking at the map it doesn't make any sense at all. After a dozen miles, John pulled over, we said our goodbyes, and went our separate ways.
Mine was to continue on up through some little towns and road name changes, along the Dolores River to Gateway, where it was already hot. I wandered through 'town' looking for a gas station; it was disguised as a resort shoppe, and access was somewhat tortuous. And the gas was $4.75/gallon--eep! But I didn't need much.
This was not the most direct route to Moab from Ouray; a number of people had suggested I take a dirt road from here across the intervening landscape, although none of them had any idea as to the condition of said road, or how extensive the dirt portion was. It started out innocuously enough, and by the time it got more challenging, I was loathe to retrace my route. So I bumped and slid along over varying terrain, from pink gravel on the Colorado side to gray mud at the Utah border; pea gravel and bigger stuff, switchbacks and steep downhills, ruts where the mud from Monday's storm had dried. After 23 miles I came around a corner to a breathtaking view; I had to stop and take a couple of pictures.
A hundred yards later, another corner and - ta dah! - pavement!
(I hadn't followed the GPS route all the way; at about the 16 mile point it said 'left' but the more traveled route went right--as did I, even though a signpost indicated it was five miles longer. According to Joe, the other route was dirt pretty much all the way down into Moab, so I'm happy I did.)
Finally I got down to SR128, which hugs the Colorado River and the south edge of Arches National Park; then onto US191 through Moab to Joe's house, where I was greeted with ice water and a tour through some awesome scenery, including a really hairy 'Jeep road' down Long Canyon Road. More of that today.