What a difference a day makes!

Our drive into Grand Junction, CO from Utah was a breeze...nice sunny weather, clear roads. We started off the next morning for Colorado Heights Camping Resort in Monument, CO. It was slightly overcast but nothing too severe. We had the option of staying on I-70 or taking the more scenic route, US 24. Because the temperatures were going to drop and there were many more mountain passes on US24, we opted to stick with I-70. In addition, Stu wanted to ride through the Eisenhower Tunnel.

If you haven't driven I-70 in Colorado and Utah, don't avoid it based on the fact that it's an interstate. This is a VERY scenic drive. We ran alongside the Colorado River, winding through the mountains.

The skies eventually darkened and the temperature started dropping. As the miles went by, the slight drops of rain got harder and more frequent. Then they turned into snowflakes. As we climbed in altitude the snow moved from high in the mountains to on the roadside.

Before we knew it we were seeing signs warning truckers about the mandated use of chains. Oh my! What had we gotten ourselves into? We continued on to the summit of Vail Pass (over 11,000 ft) to find the west bound truckers stacked up on the top. The road was getting slushy and icy in spots.

We even passed two intrepid motorcyclists, not sure they knew what they were getting into. I managed to snap this shot of one of them. Carhartts notwithstanding, I wouldn't want to be him!

The trek down the pass was even scarier...it had been snowing longer and the roads weren't very clear at all. We crept on down, passed two snow plows, watched idiots with bumper-pull trailers come flying past us at speeds way too fast and more. The temperatures were in the upper 20's & lower 30's. We were glad we hadn't chosen US24!

Once we got down in altitude, the temperatures started rising a bit. We knew we didn't want to push all the way in to Monument so we started searching for a Wal-Mart. We found one in Golden and settled in for the night. We woke to find it had snowed and now the winds were roaring. We waiting a couple of hours and they slowed down and we continued on towards Denver.

Since I had lived in Colorado Springs for several years, Denver brought no surprises. Just too big a city for my taste...the good thing was it wasn't smog season. LOL!

We arrived at our park around 2pm, got checked in and settled. Unloaded the bike and headed off for a ride. Found a great local diner via a discount coupon on our campground map. Rosie's - good food, great service, wonderful music and a nice ambiance. We plan to visit again!

We will be busy while here...seeing family & friends, sightseeing, attending a Sugarland concert (with openers Danny Gokey and Julianne Hough - also of Dancing with the Stars fame). Will post when I can but it will be sporadic.

All the photos: Green River UT to Monument CO

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu