Boulder to Las Vegas

The weather forecast called for snow in the mountains on Sunday, so I started my trip Saturday, got on the road about 10 AM. Had a bite to eat in Eagle, and then headed on to Grand Junction.

I went to the Saturday evening mass in Grand Junction, with a Nigerian priest. He told a funny story about his brother visiting, and waking up to snow. His brother thought that it was the end of the world, as he had never seen snow except in books.

I headed on to Rabbit Valley, near the Colorado-Utah border. I did not realize that the dirt roads would be snow covered, but I put the truck in 4WD and kept going. I had never been here with snow on the ground. There were tire tracks on the road, but no tire tracks in the parking lot, so I have the place to myself. The cats made themselves visible, once it was dark and the camper was parked. They do not like to travel.

It is colder than I expected, my thermometer read 5 F at 7 PM, a clear night. I was worried about the pipes freezing, so I opened up cabinet doors and kept the heat turned up.

I went to bed around 8 PM and woke up at 6:30 AM. I was on the road a little after 7 AM, just as it started to get light.

I was glad that the pipes did not freeze.

Utah is of course very scenic, and I had never driven this stretch of I-70 before.

In case you have not seen it, here is a photo of my RV and truck.

The morning cold helped motivate me to keep driving, to a warmer climate. As the day continued, it made sense to keep going to Las Vegas rather than stop at 3 PM. After gaining an hour, I arrived around 4 PM, and was able to get the camper set up before dark. Tom had recommended the Red Rocks BLM campground west of Las Vegas. I got a nice campsite, kind of away from most of the campers.