Good morning, Moab! It’s the fourth Rally day, and it’s time to be up early for one more day of driving.
And knowing the route as I do, this was one of the stretches of road I was looking forward to the most–the UT-128 scenic byway.
This route follows the Colorado River through the red rock canyon, and the views along the way are stunning. It is also a designated recreation area, so it is not uncommon to see activity near the water (rafting), cyclists on mountain bikes, or 4x4s heading for the off-road trails Moab is famous for.
Halfway along UT-128 is the Dewey Bridge, one of only three bridges in Utah to cross the Colorado River. The original Dewey Bridge was a suspension bridge but in 1988, a modern bridge was built to replace it, and the original was restored in 2000 as part of Kokopelli’s Trail, which is a long cycling trail connecting Moab to Fruita, Colorado. The restored bridge did not last long–a 7-year-old, playing with matches, started a brush fire in 2008 that destroyed the bridge’s wooden decking and rails. Utah kept the remains of the bridge intact as a reminder of the fragility of brush in the desert.
The bridge was also our first checkpoint.
Sometimes we had to share the road.
Knowing that UT-128 led to the ghost town of Cisco, sure enough, we had a checkpoint there as well. I’ve driven through Cisco a handful of times but was never aware that the final scene in a 1971 motion picture I’d never heard of (Vanishing Point…but what can I say, I’m not a film buff) was filmed at an intersection in Cisco that I’ve driven past a few times.
Our checkpoint was the abandoned gas station…
…which was a Shell gas station in the film.
Quite a few of us converged at the checkpoint.
Shenanigans…
…while reenacting the last scene in Vanishing Point. Except, without the explosions.
When in Cisco…
…visit the Buzzard’s Belly General Store, the only business operating in town.
Back To Colorado
Cisco is only a couple of miles from the I-70 entrance ramp, and 17 miles past that is the Colorado border. The city of Fruita is 20 miles east of the border, where we had to find Mike the Headless Chicken. Or rather, a statue of said chicken. He (it?) was located on the corner in front of the Aspen Street Coffee Shop. There is an annual festival for Mike, at the link above, celebrating a chicken who lived for 18 months after being beheaded by a farmer.
No, I can’t make this stuff up.
Back to trains. In Cimarron Canyon was a rail exhibit, this one Denver & Rio Grande Western Locomotive 278.
And then, on to Gunnison, where we had to locate another D&RGW locomotive, this one #268, located at the Gunnison Pioneer Museum which was closed at the time.
The weather was rather nice at this stop! 45 minutes later? Well…