Day 12 of the 2010 trip
Posted 08-31-2010 at 09:00 PM by HiHoAgRV
We pulled out of the Vernal KOA at the bright and early hour of 9:30, headed for Dinosaur Monument – 20 miles to the east. I guessed I missed the press release in 2006 where they closed the visitor center due to structural issues. We both were very disappointed with the “Temporary” facilities (where else in the world does “Temp” equal 4 years?)
Backtracking, we decided to stop at the Utah Visitor center and verify that our selected route of 191 was the lesser of evils…in retrospect, its probably not proper to ask the nice person at the visitor center desk “How do we get out of Utah?”
Graciously, the representative confirmed that 191 was ‘less dramatic’ than the shorter Colorado route to Moab…
And it was. In fact it was a great drive, beautiful route up a slice in the Utah landscape with only a few miles of +8% grades as we topped the summit at 9,100 ft and wound back down the other side. I will add that if this route is selected; make sure your equipment is up to par. That was the longest, hardest I have ever worked the Cummins, 20 minutes at one time in low gear, tapping the brakes when it hit 3000 rpm on the descent, 15 minutes with the turbo howling climbing the assent.
Once down in the desert floor, we were rolling along hwy 191/6 at 65 mph, Mesa on the left horizon with Zac Brown singing “Free” on the radio…probably the most perfect part of the last week’s worth of riding.
Pulling into Moab with no plans, we selected a campground based on the fact that we saw a new Safari LS in one of the spots…
Backtracking, we decided to stop at the Utah Visitor center and verify that our selected route of 191 was the lesser of evils…in retrospect, its probably not proper to ask the nice person at the visitor center desk “How do we get out of Utah?”
Graciously, the representative confirmed that 191 was ‘less dramatic’ than the shorter Colorado route to Moab…
And it was. In fact it was a great drive, beautiful route up a slice in the Utah landscape with only a few miles of +8% grades as we topped the summit at 9,100 ft and wound back down the other side. I will add that if this route is selected; make sure your equipment is up to par. That was the longest, hardest I have ever worked the Cummins, 20 minutes at one time in low gear, tapping the brakes when it hit 3000 rpm on the descent, 15 minutes with the turbo howling climbing the assent.
Once down in the desert floor, we were rolling along hwy 191/6 at 65 mph, Mesa on the left horizon with Zac Brown singing “Free” on the radio…probably the most perfect part of the last week’s worth of riding.
Pulling into Moab with no plans, we selected a campground based on the fact that we saw a new Safari LS in one of the spots…
Total Comments 2
Comments
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That is too bad the visitor's center is still closed. We were able to see it in 2002. Actually, as a child, I remember seeing it and there were people still working on the wall of fossils, uncovering them.Posted 08-31-2010 at 10:26 PM by casarodante 
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great reason to pick a campground, too funny.
enjoy the travel'n man...
cheers
2air'Posted 09-01-2010 at 02:35 PM by 2airishuman
