Driving through the Ages

My destination for today is Ouray Colorado one of my favorite places in the U.S. I'm a sucker for natural history, so I'm taking Rt. 191 from Rock Springs, Wyoming ( just to the east of Green River ) down through the Flaming Gorge to Vernal, Utah and then to Ouray.  The reason I mentioned natural history is because the entire route is marked by road signs pointing out the age and name of the rock formations.  The signs in Utah don't give the ages, but you can get the idea from this picture.

If you can't read the sign, it says: "Mississippian Madison Formation, Remnants of an Ancient Sea". The Wyoming sign would have added that this is occurred  ~340 MYA. Wiki has a page on the Madison Group. See this web time machine for ages.

As I drove I saw signs pointing out petrified forests, sites where archaic crocodile teeth were found and petrified sand dunes.

I'll drive 60 miles before I see a gas station. I saw one building. This is an open range area so I have to watch for cattle. So far on this trip, I've seen Bison, Elk, Deer, Antelope, a Grizzly bear, and prairie dogs.

The fence in the right side of the picture is about ten feet tall and is a snow drift fence. These line much of the road.

Looking back at the Flaming Gorge Dam.

I just leave Ridgway, Colorado on my way to Ouray. I'm ten miles out and the San Juan mountains rise up in front of me. I back-packed these mountains for six weeks in August, 1973 with Colorado Outward Bound. I fell in love with the Rockies as a kid. In the '60's I spent a few summers in Denver with my parents and they took me into the mountains quite often. I still remember playing in the snow in July. As an East Coaster, this was simply amazing. Perhaps it's a bit of nostalgia, but I feel at home here.

Ouray sits just at their base.

The streets in Ouray are all gravel except for main street. Many of the homes are small Victorians.

I pull into the Best Western where I made a reservation earlier today at a welcome center in Dinosaur, Colorado.

 I update my blog while I do my laundry. Before leaving, I bought a roll of quarters and some single laundry detergent packets at Target. So far, there is nothing I haven't used. So I packed just right for this trip. I haven't camped out yet, but I plan to do that tomorrow. About a fourth of my space is taken by the camping equipment which consists of a sleeping bag and tent.

The sign above my motorcycle says "Welcome to the Switzerland of America."

I am going to tour the Rockies the next few days before I head back home.