Colorado 141 and Back to Utah 191.

I don't know how many people I've met who pitch an actual fit; I mean a real temper tantrum because the sky is cloudy, or there's rain. They are clueless as to how beautiful the landscapes in the Four Corners area can become with some wetness, or a play of light and shadow from sun and clouds interacting with each other. Nope, many visitors to this area are spoiled rotten, and can't appreciate the little things; only the things that money can buy. Well that's my venting for this post, so let me show you what I mean about the beauty different weather can bring out.


After leaving Gateway, Colorado it's not unusual to see the Dolores and San Miguel Rivers crossing over each other here and there.  The red rock walls on both sides of Route 141 hold secrets; caves, alcoves containing ruins perhaps, or are now the home to mountain lions or nesting birds.  At one point, a twisty, turning ascent begins; the San Miguel winding down below...the Hanging Flume is not far ahead.  The Flume is a remnant of the gold mining era of the 1880s; built to bring water from the San Miguel River which traveled through the Dolores River Canyon.



Cave in the wall?

Now here comes a perfect example of what might happen with rainy weather...waterfalls.  Even though we missed the actual rainfall as we had traveled through John Brown Canyon and into Gateway; we didn't miss the after show.  The rain water fell off the mesas, down the red rock walls as waterfalls; some making pools at the side of the road; some traveling across the road to fall downward to the Hanging Flume.

 

 

At the junction of CO 90, this is where we can continue onto Utah; but staying on Route 141 can take you all the way to Dove Creek (Route 491), or to the Route 145 junction which goes towards Telluride and, eventually, Cortez.  It was a long day, so Utah here we come!  CO 90 takes you through the Paradox Basin; this is a beautiful valley of farming and ranching.  After passing through the valley, a climb upward begins and at the top is a grand view of where you just came from.  Along the stretch of CO 90 which soon connects to UT 46, there are closed off mines; used to be able to see them from the roadway, but they've either become overgrown, or cleverly concealed from view.

Formation across from the overlook.

UT 46 mainly travels at the outskirts of the La Sal Mountains and the Manti-LaSal Forest; and, of course, through the towns of Old La Sal and La Sal.  Turning south onto Route 191, we headed on home to Monticello; I could not help but take a photo of Church Rock in the aftermath of a slight sprinkling of rain.

 

 

 

Ascending Peters Hill, we pulled over quickly to take photos of the rainbow which had just formed.

 

...and I promised Roy to post this photo of him sitting in his pride and joy, a Toyota FJ.  I even sent a copy to Toyota; they thought it was a beautiful shot.

 

 

So to those travelers that whine and cry about poor weather conditions; you have a choice: make the best of it and enjoy; or get over yourselves, cause everyone else  already has.

 

Mary Cokenour





Colorado's Route 141 - Dove Creek to Grand Junction

Roy and I traveled Route 141 on two different occasions in 2010; the first time in May via La Sal, Utah's Route 46 to Colorado's Route 90, and then up to Grand Junction.  The second time was in October and we started at the beginning, well the beginning in our neck of the woods, Dove Creek.  This is a wonderfully scenic drive; 3 to 5 hours depending on how much time you need to take photos and do some exploring; and yes, we took the 5 hour tour.

The landscape throughout the trip changes constantly between desert, range, canyons of gorgeous sandstone, pasture, paralleling rivers, mountains, valley; it was difficult choosing a few photos from the hundreds once again.  I'm going to give you the second trip, Dove Creek to Grand Junction, so you can have a good idea of what you do not want to miss out on.





Once you make the turn onto Route 141 from Route 491, the landscape varies from pastures to range to desert; the road itself has twists and turns, small hills.  Eventually the landscape turns more rocky and you will begin to climb upwards; at the highest point the La Sal Mountains are visible in the distance.

 

 

Route 141 will be running parallel to the Dolores River, so lush oases of vegetation will be seen.

 

 

All along Route 141 will be interesting sites to see from large formations, a painting on a sandstone wall, to smiling faces etched into rocks.  Where exactly is every item?  That's for you to find out; it wouldn't be an adventure if you knew at what inch or mile all the fun stuff was at.  Seriously, I don't know about you, but knowing what to expect at every turn of the road sort of takes the fun out of the traveling experience.

 How can you not want to stop here for a laugh?  Most travelers expect to see petroglyphs, and this is a form of rock art if you truly think about it.

 

As you leave the Dolores River behind and begin paralleling the San Miguel River, the River Road will be hugging high and sheer sandstone walls.                   

 

 We also saw an oven built with stones.

 

 

 

 

 

 



Dolores Canyon/San Miguel River

 At a particular bend of the Dolores Canyon, remnants of the "Hanging Flume" can be seen from a pull-in area; built in the 1880's, the flume carried water to the mines.

Hanging Flume

Between Naturita and Gateway, Route 141 is known as the Unaweep Tabeguache Scenic Byway and you'll pick up the Dolores River once again.  We stopped along the road to walk an ATV trail canopied by the trees; it was just one of those idyllic moments one cannot miss out on.







Now prepare for a feast of sites as you are heading towards Gateway, Colorado.



Thimble Rock and Driggs Mansion
 

Thimble Rock

 

 

There is an arch at Thimble Rock also.

 

 

Oh, I know I'm writing about our second trip which occurred in October of 2010, but I have to post this photo of a waterfall we found on the May trip.  Snow was melting off the surrounding mountains and it was just an awesome site to see.

 



 

Driggs Mansion



 

 

Getting nearer to Gateway (not where the computers originated or are manufactured), the scenery is simply breathtaking!  Overlooking the town is a pointed mesa called "The Palisade".

 

 

The Palisade

The trip along Route 141 will be ending soon enough as you begin to see the whitish landscape of Whitewater; merge onto Route 50 heading northward and then west to reach Interstate 70 and the city of Grand Junction.  Now you get to pick one of the various restaurants to have a well deserved meal, and sneak peeks at the photos you've taken.

 

 

 

As I mentioned earlier, when you're traveling around, especially on vacation, don't worry over how many inches, feet, miles are between each site to see...just enjoy the ride!

 

Mary Cokenour