2011 - February 23rd - Old U.S. Highway 6

Still slightly concussed from basketball, I spent another day off not doing anything strenuous. However, I really wanted to hike and that restlessness caused me to take another drive. I'm not exactly sure what I was looking for, though I would say it had something to do with a pretty sunset, but I guess I just wanted to do a little exploration.

On this evening, I decided to stay off the freeway. I took the "old highway" (as we would call it in Montana) through Fruita, Loma and Mack. Maintenance is not a priority west of Mack and the road was mostly deserted.




After the state line, the road is not maintained at all. It is mostly dirt with patches of pavement. Even a bridge has a sign that requires large vehicles to bypass it, with a dirt road diving down into the wash. I tried the bridge and the bypass just for fun.

The road eventually meets back up with Interstate 70 and I was ready to head home. However, looking south, I noticed that a few showers had fired up over the La Sal Mountains in Utah as well as the Uncompahgre Plateau.

I thought I might try and get a good shot of the showers as the fading sunlight was beginning to light them. As I drove the Harley Dome road toward Westwater (on the Colorado River), the showers turned bright red. With power lines in my foreground, I got picky and decided to try and get a better angle.

Well, that didn't exactly work out. The road kept going farther down into a gully and I never did get a view of the mountains again. We'll call this one a failure on my part.

I reached Westwater and got out for a moment to listen to the river flowing nearby and then headed back home.

It was a nice drive but I was a little frustrated that I got picky with my shot and didn't take advantage of a nice opportunity.

Dann.
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