As we leave Grand Junction, Colorado heading west, the desert become starker, with large expanses of light gray dirt bordered in the distance by multileveled pastel bluffs. Interstate 70 snakes across the landscape providing long expanses of straight ahead riding (photos 1 & 2) in temperatures that continued to climb into the 90's.

We stopped at a local rest stop and I noticed the tenacity required by local trees and plants to survive in this harsh environment. There was a tree there whose root system had worked itself through the nearby boulder it was next to (photo 3). An eagle soared overhead looking for a meal and it looked like he had to work for his supper (photo 4).

As we entered Utah, the landscape grew even more barren and desolate (photos 5 & 6). I began to get a little concerned when I was at a little less than half a tank and a road sign informed me that the next "services" were a mere 63 miles away. Intellectually, I believed I should make it with forty miles or so to spare, but emotionally as I saw that gauge drop, I wanted to see that next gas station. No problem, it was where it was supposed to be and I still had forty plus miles left in the tank.

When you ride, hour after hour through the wide-open spaces of western Colorado and Utah, the differences between the west and the east are dramatic. The east is green and, with trees and plants in abundance. The west is open, light gray or brown, hot, dry, and harsh. No place for the faint of heart. Both are beautiful in their own right but the west is an acquired taste.

We finally reached exit 180 on I-70 and picked up SR 191 south towards Moab and Arches National Park. It is thirty miles from the interstate and in that short distance the landscape changed once again from light gray to iron red rocks, with rugged bluffs and towering dark cliffs (photos 7 & 8).

We passed the road leading off to Arches National Park, where we will briefly stop tomorrow. Today we want to get to our niece Wendy's home, who lives with her husband Gayland, and their two sons, Quinn and Alex in Moab. We follow the directions from Map Quest and are soon sitting in front of their home in the hills overlooking the red rock cliffs of Moab. We spent the rest of the day and early afternoon enjoying their company (photos 9, 10, 11, & 12), and hope to visit again next year when we can stay longer.

The time passed way too quickly before Wendy had to go to work and we had to get back to our room to finish these pages. Tomorrow we ride to Orem, Utah to visit even more family members. This part of our retirement trip is becoming a chance to visit all of those we haven't seen in too many years. We haven't been able to see everyone we had hoped to, but I'm glad we've been able to see those we have.

The weather channel says it's flooding in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, two places we had planned to visit. It may be time to rethink our itinerary.