The Final Push
The Virgin River in Mesquite was more comfortable and nicer than I expected. Staying in some of the cheaper Vegas hotels, the rooms are often dingy. This one was nice and clean with a view of the mountains and desert. For 30 dollars I'd rate it as one of the nicest places we stayed. I'd like to come back here someday and use it as a base to explore canyon country. Neither Gina nor I have seen the Grand Canyon though we drove within two hours of it twice.
We hit the road and drove up I-15, stopping at Cedar City, before diverging on to I-70. This was our first time on I-70. I rate this drive across Utah and Colorado to Denver as the best interstate drive I've taken. Covering over 500 miles, most of the trip is through wild country, rugged high desert in Utah and high alpine passes in Colorado, there are no major settlements, only lots of scenery. Scenery, coupled with the worlds best road system make for a great combination. This is a route I'd like to take again someday when there is time to linger along the road. My little car did ok, reaching above 40 mpg on some parts of the trip overall. The only time it struggled was on the grades to Vail Pass and up to the Eisenhower tunnel at Loveland pass (the highest on the interstate system). Past the tunnel and tired, we stopped at the little town of Georgetown nestled in a narrow valley where we got our payback for the cheap and great hotel the night before. The Georgetown Mountain Inn is a quaint little place that last saw an upgrade in the 1970's. At 125 dollars for a night, I at least expected the trim to not come off the door when opened. It was comfortable, the mountain air at 8,500 feet was fresh and the steep cliffs rising on each side of the valley were great to look at.
In the morning we set off for the final leg, making a long push up to Spearfish SD for supper, before the remaining four hours home. On the way home, we trailed the back edge of a nasty thunderstorm with a wild non-stope lightning show that kept us awake. It is nice to travel, but it is eqully good to come home.
We hit the road and drove up I-15, stopping at Cedar City, before diverging on to I-70. This was our first time on I-70. I rate this drive across Utah and Colorado to Denver as the best interstate drive I've taken. Covering over 500 miles, most of the trip is through wild country, rugged high desert in Utah and high alpine passes in Colorado, there are no major settlements, only lots of scenery. Scenery, coupled with the worlds best road system make for a great combination. This is a route I'd like to take again someday when there is time to linger along the road. My little car did ok, reaching above 40 mpg on some parts of the trip overall. The only time it struggled was on the grades to Vail Pass and up to the Eisenhower tunnel at Loveland pass (the highest on the interstate system). Past the tunnel and tired, we stopped at the little town of Georgetown nestled in a narrow valley where we got our payback for the cheap and great hotel the night before. The Georgetown Mountain Inn is a quaint little place that last saw an upgrade in the 1970's. At 125 dollars for a night, I at least expected the trim to not come off the door when opened. It was comfortable, the mountain air at 8,500 feet was fresh and the steep cliffs rising on each side of the valley were great to look at.
In the morning we set off for the final leg, making a long push up to Spearfish SD for supper, before the remaining four hours home. On the way home, we trailed the back edge of a nasty thunderstorm with a wild non-stope lightning show that kept us awake. It is nice to travel, but it is eqully good to come home.
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