Today I left the relative quiet of Rangely and reached the larger town of Vernal. 18 miles of gradual up, 20 miles of gradual down and 15 miles of gradual up brought me to roughly the same elevation as I started. Another nice sunny day with reasonable temperatures and not much wind.

I left at sunrise which is now close to 7am. CO 64 was still a quiet road. This is dry country with not much vegetation and the geology on full display. There was a gradual ~1% rise as I followed the grade of the country. Some small pumper wells along the way.

Starting out from Rangely

A gentle grade as I followed the drainage

At 18 miles was Dinosaur. This is the last/first town in Colorado and there is a welcome center here. Also a convenience store and chance for a quick break. I confirmed the motel was still open, so if I’d gone via US 40 it would have only been camping in Maybell.

Three miles later, I crossed into Utah. US 40 was busier but the first 23 miles had a good shoulder. The next 10 miles after that not so much as the small shoulder was almost completely used for a rumble strip. Hopefully this doesn’t become a pattern for US 40.

Landscapes along the way.

At 38 miles was Jensen and a crossing of the Green River. There was also a Utah welcome center where I got a state map. First time today I noticed clouds in the sky…

Both Dinosaur and Vernal play into the dinosaur theme. Here are two at a car wash.

Welcome to Vernal

More dinosaurs. I wasn’t in a big rush so stopped for a late lunch before finishing. Overall a nice ride with a lot of wide open views and a lot of dinosaurs.

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