Wednesday, June 24th, 2015. We had a leisurely morning then headed out on Scenic Route 128 North from Moab. It follows the "calmer" section of the Colorado River above where it converges with the Green River. I believe that section of the convergence is known as the Cataract. This section was moving quite fast regardless and the water level was also higher than usual.
Still there were plenty of passengers riding in large Adventure Tour rafts as well as floating downstream "cooling off" in the current sort of near the rafts. Some were holding onto the side cordage of the raft. It was quite hot, around 100 degrees so I'm sure the water felt cool. I would not be floating downstream on purpose at any rate!
There were a few kayakers and even a few paddle-boarders! I can't imagine what would happen if they fell off!
We headed up most of the route but turned back a few miles before we reached Route 70 at the site of the Dewey Bridge. Or what would have been the refurbished Dewey Bridge. It had quite a history of serving travelers from 1916 to 1986. In that year the new highway bridge replaced the aging structure. Through the local Historic Preservation's fundraising it was restored at great expense and rededicated in May of 2000.
It appeared burned and only supporting wiring remained. We later learned that an unsupervised 7 year old playing with
fire accidentally burned the wooden bridge down. It was significant for its engineering accomplishment. It was Utah's longest suspension bridge (and longest clear span bridge) and at the time of its construction was the 2nd longest suspension bridge west of the Mississippi. In it's prime it was designed to support the weight of 6 horses, 3 wagons and 9,000 lbs of freight.
We slowly made our way back down the valley and stopped at one of two large ranches along the way. The Castle Creek Winery was closest to the road and we stopped and had samples. Then we headed on down the short drive into the Red Cliffs Lodge and checked it out.
It had many large cabins for rent which we suspect would be filled from time to time with crews from movie-makers. There is a nice Movie Museum here with lots of memorabilia from many movies. Several big named movies were filmed here as well as TV Commercials, Ads and Music Videos.
The Moab to Monument Valley area has been a popular filming location since early in the 20th century, offering dramatic western landscape for such popular John Wayne classics as Stagecoach, Wagon Mastered, Rio Grande and The Commancheros. I was surprised to learn that Thelma And Louise and Back to the Future II and III were also filmed here. The Lone Ranger Legend (as well as the newer one with Johnny Depp) and many others too including one of my favorite comedies, City Slickers II.
The views from their restaurant Cowboy Grill make a lovely setting and they are well known for their excellent Breakfast and Lunch Buffets. Their dinner entrees are enticing but more pricey. We had passed John Waynes' Cabin somewhere on our journey and we are told he stayed there while shooting some of these films.
You can even ride on the range on horseback from here! It would make a lovely return visit in the future.
Near the junction of Routes 128 and 191 there is an extensive bike path with a large bridge over the Colorado River and safe trails along the river and highways as well, leading all the way up to Arches NP and beyond.
Back to Moab we returned just in time to enjoy a delicious dinner at Fiesta Mexican Restaurant.
After restocking our supplies at City Market (best value in area) and refilling the gas tank we returned to camp the Oasis. We sure appreciated the A/C as temps reached 102 today!
On Thursday the 25th, we enjoyed a hearty french toast breakfast and caught up on the blogs a little, then showered and hit the road towards Mesa Verde. We headed South on Route 191 to Monticello, UT then East on 491 into Colorado, through Cortez's construction we picked up Route 160 East. We lunched in a rest stop
between Cortez and entering Mesa Verde National Park.
"Going Places With Smiling Faces!"
There are several BLM campgrounds along the Colorado River here on Route 128 for cheaper sleeping when it's not quite so hot! And a loop road to the east that begs exploration.
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