Thursday afternoon, July 28, 2022

 

We are on the road now headed east on Hwy 50 toward Ely, NV.  We are heading eventually for northern New Mexico (like Raton) and possibly Creede, Colorado.  We are looking for cooler temperatures as the Northwest and parts of the West are in the grip of triple-digit temperatures.  While driving, we at least have the van air conditioning.  I have a wet neckerchief tied around my neck right now to keep me cool.  We figure we’ll rely on ice cream to keep us comfortable as we travel.

Friday, July 29, 2022  Utah

 

Slept last night in a pull out off County Road #3.  It is the Ruby Marshes Road off of Hwy 50 (south of where we camped at the Ruby Marshes).  It’s a great open spot, graveled, not powdery.  We had a good sleep and cooked breakfast there this morning. Dave noted that we have a low tire on driver’s side rear.  He aired it up, but will get it fixed in Ely, and hopefully we can get Morrison’s oil changed as well.   We are on the road now, heading east on Hwy 50 toward Ely.  Later today we will cross into Utah on our way to Colorado and New Mexico.  

 

We were unable to get the tire work done in Ely, so we are aiming to reachi Moab tonight in order to be “first come, first served” at a Point S tire shop in Moab.  They are open tomorrow 8-noon.  (We bought the tires new at a Point S shop in Mt. Shasta.)  We are planning to park near the shop tonight and sleep, then be first in line tomorrow morning.  Hopefully they will change the oil too.

 

We drove across Utah all afternoon.  We have been lucky with lots of rain clouds making shade.  It’s still hot, but not horrible.  At one point, we finally drove into the hard rain and Dave pulled off the road so we could sit in the rain–glorious, refreshing rain.  It smelled so good and Morrison got a nice rinse off.  The rear tire is holding up through the day.  It has only lost two pounds of air since Dave aired it up at our campsite this morning.  

 

At about 80 miles away from Moab, we suddenly realized that traffic on I-70 was stopped ahead of us.  We were able at the last minute to pull off the road into a “view area” and avoid the gridlock.  Lots of people and big trucks were also parked there.    It turned out that eastbound I-70 was closed because of a multi-car accident and maybe a fatality.    It had been closed for hours and presumably would be closed for many hours more.  Dave set an alarm for 4am, thinking that if the road reopened, and we left by 4 in the morning, we could still get to the tire shop before they opened.  Otherwise we couldn’t get the tire repaired until Monday.  SO, we slept at the view spot along with everyone else.  Woke at 4am and could see that the road was now open, so we left and drove on in to Moab.

 

Got to Moab about 6:15am and waited for the tire shop to open at 8.  A LOT of people showed up at opening, so Dave was very glad to be first in line.  It looks like they will work on the van this morning.  I sat outside the shop on my folding step stool while Morrison was up on the lift.  Pleasant morning weather in Moab.