Today’s journey

Today was another picture perfect day. Cool, but not cold breezes, azure blue skies, a few white fluffy clouds and open road. What more can you ask for? After a leisurely breakfast, we gassed up the Miata and headed north and west on US 491 which took us as far as Monticello, UT. There we continued north on US 191 up to I 70 and then west to Green River, UT. The drive was uneventful, but the scenery, which was constantly changing, was fascinating. Along the way we saw arid desert, rugged cliffs, farm lands, snow capped mountains and fascinating rock formations.

Since Cortez to Zion National Park is a two to three day journey along the route we chose, we opted to make Green River our first night’s layover. This is a fairly short distance from Cortez, so we thought we would stop in at Arches National Park which is along US 191 just north of Moab, UT. Sadly, the sign at the entrance told us we had to have reservations to enter the park and there was a half hour long line of cars just waiting at the entrance, so I did a quick U turn and we continued on our way to Green River.

One of the main advantages of retirement is not being bound to schedules and having the freedom to go where you want when you want without having to be somewhere at some given time. For that reason, we seldom make reservations when on a road trip. Yes, we have occasionally lost an opportunity because we didn’t have reservations, but the number of opportunities we would otherwise have missed because we had to be somewhere at a given time is far greater than the number we actually missed, so we are far ahead of the game. As it turned out, US 191 skirts the edge of the park, so we were able to get some good views of what the park is like inside.

As we are staying only one night in Green River, we are staying at a motel – the River Terrace Inn – alongside the river bank. We arrived early enough to spend time reading and relaxing in the sunshine out on the terrace overlooking the river. It was truly idyllic. Spring is just beginning here so the trees have yet to leaf out, but given the fair weather, it won’t be long before everything turns green around here.

Tonight, we’ll get a good night’s sleep and head to Bryce Canyon tomorrow. Again, that will be for one night only as camping at 8,000 feet in freezing weather is not our cup of tea. From there we plan to make it to Zion which is at about 4,000 feet and the weather is much warmer. If all goes as planned, that will be our first camping spot.