Big Bend BLM Campground near Moab, Utah; 6-6

We drove through a dust storm today with winds gusting at 50 MPH.  Trailer’s full of grit as are we.  Campground is in a beautiful setting on the Colorado River, across from Arches NP.  We wanted to have a campfire and grill chicken breasts but the wind was blowing great dust clouds around so couldn’t do that.  Instead, Trish did a shrimp and veggie sautee on the inside stove.  She does a mean sautee.  Excellent!
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We’re in a level pull-through space so didn’t have to unhook.  That makes for a quick and easy getaway when we’re ready to hit the road.  Today’s drive will put us in northeast Colorado.

Jackson Lake SP, Orchards, CO

Back in the day, I was in Denver many times on business and I always marveled at the abrupt transition from snow covered mountains on the west side to flat, grassy plains on the east.  Was reminded of that yesterday when we struggled up the last 11000’+ high pass, and then descended dramatically to the flat plains.


We’re road weary, gonna stay here a couple nights and mellow out before continuing on to MN.  Wednesday AM we’re going to the local library to send emails and do blog posts.

Barn quilts: ever heard of ‘em?  I hadn’t until Trish discovered them online a couple days back.  We’re in Morgan County, which has several.  They are quilt patterns painted on plywood by local artists and attached to barns, storefronts and the like.  You show the artist what pattern you want, maybe from a favorite old quilt of your granny’s, and specify the size.  The local REA (rural electric association) mounts them on your building, no charge.  Apparently there are several spots in the great plains that have them; a local fellow we chatted with said they originated in Iowa.  So did my father, come to think of it.  I'll include some barn quilt pix in next post.