We decided on going south to Vernal. I got several texts that said noooo! 😉 I had made up my mind, and if it didn’t work out right, it was my decision and mine alone. We were headed to the snowy Rocky Mountains.
Of course if I got to Vernal, I had another decision to make. Go Hwy 40 or I 70. That morning, there were reports of I70 being closed because of snow. Hwy 40 didn’t even have a report. Are Hwy’s not reported like Interstates? I had no idea, but the likely decision was going to be the road with no reports of being covered in snow. I could just see us getting all the way to the summit but yet having to turn around and go all the way back down. You can’t just take a side road detour. Had I made the right decision to go to Vernal? Do I take Hwy 40 or I 70? Was I going to miss my dinner on Tuesday night and possibly have to go back to Wyoming or go south until the snow cleared and then over the pass? I had gotten yet another text from a trusted friend and business partner, Jim Girodo. Jim said whatever you do, get to 70. It’s the best chance you have. I argued with him because of the reports. It’s closed Jim? The only decision that was going to get us to our dinner was the correct one!
Jilly and I stopped at the Vernal exit. We had lunch and further discussed our decision to go south. “It will be an adventure!” she said. I know, I know, there is nothing really to worry about other than possibly taking an extra 3 days of wondering our way back out because we got stuck, or because we got turned around because of closure. Thats all. LOL
We headed towards Vernal. Our decision had been made and we felt like we were headed for trouble, but we made a decision and we were going to do it despite our fears. Not to mention the fear of whether this motorized home could make it through the strain of climbing 12k feet.
The drive started out with some fear, but it slowly started to change to, it doesn’t matter if we miss our dinner, this is the single most beautiful drive we have ever been on. I am not kidding, it was spectacular! The partially snowy mountain sides, the incredible valleys, the color was amazing! We were incredibly blessed to be there.
I must tell you all about Flaming George Dam. I’m not sure how they came up with that name, but when we descended to the Flaming George Damn Lake, we were in Awe. Out in the middle of nowhere is this Damn and the lake it had created. It’s hard to explain, and the pictures don’t do it justice, you just have to go.
Once we left the Damn, we immediately started ascending to the highest peaks yet. Vernal was close. The snow started getting deeper and oh, btw, its harder to breathe at 7k feet. We were both sucking air about that time. You know how sometimes you forget to breath and then may even yawn? Well, we were forgetting to breath and gasping. LOL
Vernal finally came into view and to our surprise was a nice size town. They actually have a Walmart where we parked for the night, and where we discussed the ever more important decision, Hwy 40 or Interstate 70. We slept lightly. The big day was coming. Tuesday morning was going to be make or break. Were we going to make our dinner in Boulder or were we going to be nomads on the West side of the Rocky Mountains?
