“Don’t take I-70 to get across the Rockies,” begged a friendly stranger at a taproom in Longmont, Colorado.  He offered suggestions for other roads to take that he loved riding on his motorcycle.  But driving a 45-foot RV with another vehicle in tow is different than riding a motorcycle.  I don’t doubt that his routes are beautiful and possible with our rig, but time was of the essence.  Snow was coming, and we wanted to make sure that we were over mountain passes before snowfall.  The I-70 route was it.

I expected a big interstate, one with three or four lanes on both sides for hundreds of miles with billboards advertising the next McDonald’s, Burger King, or Wendy’s.  You know, like thousands of miles of interstate in our country.  But that’s not this section of interstate!  From the time that we joined the I-70 just outside of Denver, the views were spectacular!  Including the highest point along the interstate system with elevation of 11, 158 feet at the Eisenhower tunnel, this interstate winds its way up, over, and around mountains providing beautiful scenery at every curve.  Currently enhanced by beautiful fall color, the drive was stunning.

The eastern portion of our drive was expected, especially after spending a day in Rocky Mountain National Park.  What I didn’t expect was the western portion of the drive, particularly the twelve-mile section through Glenwood Canyon.  With westbound traffic stacked on top of eastbound traffic, this portion of the interstate winds its way through the canyon and along the Colorado River.  As interstate, this is new, completed in 1992.  But pictures of teams and wagons negotiating their way along a rough trail in the 1880s provide evidence that this has been a road for a long time.

I cannot imagine what that was like or what those pioneers thought as they made their way through this canyon.  Yes, it is beautiful, but with cliffs towering up to 2,000 feet above the river, it must have been terrifying at times.  The construction of this twelve-mile stretch of interstate took twelve years, cost $490 million, and includes 40 viaducts and bridges, three tunnels, and 15 miles of retaining walls.  A quick Google search about this section of interstate also suggests that it’s prone to rockslides, mudslides, and frequent closures.  Maybe this is why we were warned not to take the interstate. 

After settling in Fruita for a few days, our travels on I-70 continued to Richfield, Utah.  Having been in both the “highest elevation” and “most scenic” sections of interstate, we expected a rather tame drive.  We are aware that there are many national parks in Utah and are currently planning to spend many weeks here in 2020 to explore the area.  This portion of our travels evolved based on plans to be in Las Vegas for Halloween.  We were shocked.  Not only were there no billboards marking the businesses at the next exit, exit signs advertised, “no services.”  With no motorist services available for 110 miles, the stretch between Green River and Salina, Utah, make this the longest stretch of interstate without services. 

The Utah portion of I-70 is also known as the “longest stretch of highway built over a completely new route since the Alaska Highway” and “the longest stretch of highway to open at a given time.”  It does not serve or connect any urban areas of Utah.  The largest city served by the interstate in Utah is Richfield (population 7,750), where we are currently staying.  Little did we know that the section of interstate from Grand Junction, just east of our stop in Fruita, and here is part of the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway.  It is one of the few sections of interstate in the country designated as National Scenic Byway. 

And the scenery is amazing!  A complete contrast to the lush green fields that we are used to in the north.  At one point, I looked at Brian and said, “I thought the fields of sunflowers were awesome!”  He reminded me that they were and that what we were seeing was at the other end of the spectrum.  After making the drive, it’s no surprise that this Utah section of interstate is also known as one of the engineering marvels of the interstate system.   I’m certain that this is where the line, “We’re not in Kansas anymore,” came.  It’s otherworldly to me.  Beautiful in a way that’s difficult to describe.  How can it be so stark and yet seem so rich all at once?   I’ll consider it serendipity that we routed ourselves on this awesome scenic route, and I look forward to spending many weeks in Utah exploring!