I-70 West into Utah

View along I70 after leaving Glenwood Springs. I think this is called Book Cliffs.
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Leaving Glenwood Springs, we headed over to Utah.

I should insert a little geographical note here. From my home in Maryland, I can drive to Boston in a little over six hours, passing through six or seven states in that time, depending on my route. So the idea of driving for hours and hours and hours while remaining within a single state makes that state seem very large indeed. Add that to the Real fact that Colorado is the 8^th largest state, and you may understand why I thought we would just “head over to Utah.” In fact,  Glenwood Springs is more than 100 miles from the Utah border, and then we had another 100-plus to our destination -- “miles to go,” as the poet says, before we’d sleep.

“Are we there yet?”

This sign is at the Colorado/ Utah border.
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After Glenwood Springs, the scenery grew decidedly more rugged. We drove along flat areas with mesas and cliffs that looked like construction sites. We were not tempted to explore.

Eventually, we did cross into Utah, and the ruggedness took on another hue entirely. Curiosity prompted us to stop at a place just across the border called “Viewpoint” where we took in the miles and miles of Utah vista.  Seeing the sunny photos, it is hard to believe we had driven through snow that very morning.

Jayne and I managed to get a photo together for once; usually, one or the other of us would take a photo of the other. But a friendly visitor to "Viewpoint" offered to take this photo for us.
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Driving south from the Crescent Junction exit of I-70 took us through Moab at sunset.  The majestic rock formations standing against the purple sky were spectacular, almost surreal, but we were too tired to take photos at that point. “Are we almost there yet?” Jayne asked innocently, as we left the Moab town limits. Hmmm, La Sal Junction was still 18 miles.  Old La Sal, another 14. Can “almost” mean 32 miles? “Sure, we’re almost there,” I answered.

This could be anywhere along the Utah portion of Interstate 70, but it is at a turnoff spot just inside the state, called "Viewpoint."
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An hour later, we were finally in Old La Sal, Utah -- at the Mount Peale Inn and Lodge, where we were to spend the next 5 days. Thankful that dinner was waiting for us, we dug in, grateful not to be in the car anymore.  Showers and sleep awaited.

And this was only a two-state drive!