Friday - Grand Junction, Colorado, to Las Vegas, Nevada

Friday March 25

NOTE: In an effort to get my memories recorded I have decided to postpone pictures until I return

Grand Junction, Colorado, to Las Vegas, Nevada

The drive west on I 70 is a beautiful route – the west side of the Rocky Mountains and Arches National Park,, Zion National park and Grand Staircase Escalante National monument. I have been all of these locations before so I did not tarry on my way west. I met up with IS 15 Cove Port, Utah, and then continued south past St. George and into Nevada. I recall being at the Escalante National Monument with Wirt Kerr a number of years ago when I had a 4-wheel drive vehicle and we drove along a rough road along a river that was an interesting adventure. I am not sure I would try it in my little Chevy.

I do recall seeing mention of the Escalante area in some of the historical markers and other information I saw during this trip. I did not pay too much attention to it, but the area has apparently been known to travelers for a long time and the name goes back into pre-US history – just one more thing to look into and see again.

One of the historic routes of the Old Spanish Trail, referred to as the Northern Branch of the Armijo Route, parallels highway 50, and the route I travelled, follows Gunnison River to Grand Junction.  The route then continues to Green River where it meets up with main branch and continues west to Salina, St. George and Mesquite in Nevada.  This route passes through the San Rafael Reef a more or less solid wall portion of the anticline known as the San Rafael Swell.  The Escalante Expedition in the late 17^th Century cut a pass through the Wall and I assume that is the same route that was enlarged to make to 2 lane US 50 and now has been enlarged to the 4 lane Interstate 70. The geography is amazing with parallel gouges in the protruding limestone rock that look like striated tool marks (to my forensic eye).  This area was the focus of a Uranium Rush in the 1950s and, according to the sign at one of the roadside stops, Marie Curie visited hear in the early part of the 20^th Century.

Besides the spectacular and unusual geology in this area, and the fascinating history of the Spanish/Mexican priests, explorers, and merchants who travelled in this area (along with some Americans such as Jedediah Smith and John Fremont) was a plaque on a rock pedestal in the Salt Wash View Area on IS 70 recognizing Linda Louise Terry Barnes. Names are often seen at rest stops along the highways, or on signs on the highways with the names of people – often fallen law enforcement officers, but also other people. But who are those people.  Linda Louise Terry Barnes according to the plaque and on-line resources maintained the rest stops for 25 years over the stretch of highway along between Salina, Utah, and the Utah/Colorado border. It is nice to see not only the recognition, but the reason for the recognition.

From Green River the route meanders generally southwesterly and meets up with the Mojave Road, the name for the portion of the Old Spanish Trail that basically follows along the between the present day Colorado/New Mexico and  Utah/Arizona borders. The route passes through the four corners area and continues to meet up with the Armijo Route near Mesquite Nevada. Then southwest to Barstow, the Cajon Pass and ultimately San Gabriel.  As far as I have been able to discover the route is reconstructed from some of the old Spanish explorers and traders, so the precise route in probably only approximated on the NPS map. I did not see any specific markers for the route, but did see mention of it in some of the rest stop markers.

I guess that is because the route that was used by Mexican and Spanish traders in the 19^th Century, before we claimed all of that land as spoils from the Mexican War so the trail is not considered a element of US History.  That despite the fact that American people who went west like John Fremont and Stephen Kearney used portions of the route when they were exploring the west.

I finally arrived in Las Vegas in the late afternoon. And with a little bourbon and some ribs from Famous Dave’s spent the evening writing the previous day’s blog.