GC Day 1: Denver - Moab

October 15th
Day of the trip finally arrived. Clayton and I had been planning this for probably a year. Our attempts to do an early spring trip fell through, so the fall plans were made and finally we set off. Clayton was departing Calgary the same morning with the goal that we'd be able to meet up somewhere in the Utah canyons area the next day.

My day started with a very positive parent-teacher meeting with Sarah's kindergarten teacher. After that, topped off the petrol, picked up a copule of cold items for the cooler and hit the road by 9:30am.

Great weather in Denver when I left, but it didn't take long to be in winter driving conditions. I-70 from Georgetown, past Loveland Pass / Eisenhower Tunnel and all the way into Vail was blowing snow, some icy sections, and less than ideal visibility.

From Vail thru the I-70 "banana belt" and all the way to Grand Junction there was still some very vibrant fall colors along the highway. Despite a few stops for pics, got to Grand Junction at 12:30 and stopped for enough time to refuel and a bite for the road.

Continued on I-70 into Utah, and then turned off and took UT-128 from Cisco. This ended up being one of my two favorite roads on the entire trip, as this road fell down into the canyon created by the Colorado River and followed it all the way to the Moab / Arches Nat'l Park area.

At the end of UT-128, I hopped north to UT-313 which goes to Canyonlands Nat'l Park. Made a quick stop at Horsethief Campground to establish a home for the night before running down to the Canyonlands park for some late afternoon exploring and photos. Hiked out to Mesa Arch and then drove down to Grandview Point for sunset.

The next 2 photos you can make out the 4WD road along the white rim of the canyon. Would be an interesting drive - make sure you start with a full tank of fuel!

Realized that I had a mismatch between the tripod I brought and the shoe, so wasn't able to take any long exposure shots, but managed to get a good one handheld.

As for the tripod issue, that would be dealt with later in the trip.

Returned to the campsite at dark and enjoyed an Asian flavored noodle dinner. Was in the tent by 8 and fell asleep listening to my camping neighbors playing around with an Australian didgeridoo.