Our internet connection has been sketchy because of the remote areas we have been staying in. Today is June 2nd but I am catching up on the events of May 29th.
Our son Tom, let us know that the weather was pretty awful in MA with several tornadoes causing serious damage and deaths. We hope that all of you that are following our blog are OK. We did get TV reception briefly this morning and were shocked at the damage. Hopefully that is the end of the bad weather.
We decided that we would like to try out the Shafer road with our Trail Rated Jeep. We spoke to a Ranger at the visitor center and she told us the drive was quite nice and recommended that we drive out to the picnic area adjacent to the Colorado River. She did mention that the Colorado was at flood stage and there was a possibility that the picnic benches might be under water. WHOA!!! Under water didn’t sound so great to me but we decided to go as far as we could and hope for the best.
I asked the Ranger how far the picnic area was and she could only give me the time in hours it would take to get there – 3-4 hours one way. Yikes – can we handle that?
Well, we got our day permit and off we went. I had packed a lunch, plenty of water and jackets if needed. Since we would be traveling in the canyon it was probably going to be more hot then cold but we were prepared for anything – or so we thought.
The initial part of the road was OK but a little rough – then we got to the section of road leading down into the canyon on the side of the cliffs with really exaggerated switchbacks, steep roads that were suppose to be two way. Not sure who determined the roads were wide enough for two-way traffic because they weren’t!
The ride down was nothing if not beautiful, precarious, bumpy, narrow and heart-stopping and a few more adjectives I won’t add in. Both of us were more then surprised at the challenging terrain. Sure looked really smooth from 1500 feet above the canyon. OMG - NOT!!!!!!!
The views were stunning but each road obstacle interfered with totally enjoying the views. Since this was our fist official off-road trip we weren’t mentally prepared.
Ron asked several times if I wanted to turn back – of course I did but wouldn’t admit it.
We were out in the middle of nowhere with a rare sighting of another SUV, truck or human. There were several bicyclists on the road but they were few and far between as well. Not sure why they would traveling the nasty road but they were. The challenge I guess.
We were travelling between 5-15 MPH that made it so slow-going. In three hours we only traveled 18 miles with an additional 6 miles to our destination.
At that point I had had it and was claustrophobic sitting in the Jeep so for sooooooo long. Needless to say I was a little testy and Ron was trying to deal with his grouchy wife.
We finally arrived at the turn to the Colorado River with 4 miles to go. Little did we realize that the last four miles to our destination would be the most difficult.
We traveled down a very steep narrow one-way dirt road with U –shaped switch- backs (Thank God no came the other way), then over really big rocks with the bottom of the Jeep hitting the rocks, the uphill over large rocks as well. We stopped at one point so Ron could survey the road. I got out and walked up while he drove.
Around each bend we hoped to see the river. We passed another truck and the driver told us the picnic area was a disappointment after such a long ride. We were committed with only one mile to go so off we went.
Finally, the Colorado River!!!! The road leading in was being overtaken by the overflowing Colorado so we didn’t plan on staying long. The area itself was a bit of a disappointment but we had our lunch and chatted with the Park Rangers that were monitoring the area. There were some other people there that were being questioned by the Rangers. They were showing the Ranger papers and answering a lot of questions. It looked a little scary.
On the way out we noticed that the river waters had crept even further onto the road and most probably would eventually be high enough to close the road.
Our main concern was traveling those last four miles up from the river. We had never done anything like that in the Jeep. With each road obstacle Ron told me to close my eyes as he hit the gas to get us up the hills. Unfortunately because I had my eyes closed I didn’t video tape our ascent.
Once past that four-mile challenge the ride back to the Visitor Center 1500 feet up didn’t seem so bad. We actually enjoyed the ride back and the were delighted by the views.
Later that evening we decided to ride into Moab for dinner. Since all the restaurants were packed and super expensive we decided on Denny’s. Yes, Denny’s- its’ one of our favorite places to eat!!!!! I had breakfast and Ron had the best meatloaf he has ever had – Even better then Not Your Average Joe’s.
After dinner we took a ride down Route 128 to look around. We had heard it was a lovely scenic ride and it was true. Right there along the road ran the Colorado River. Yes, the Colorado that we drove 24 miles one-way over impossible terrain to see. How dumb are we. (LOL)
Back at the CG we marveled at our day and the challenges that were presented to us on our first off-road trip. Ron admitted to me that evening that he was a little skeptical about continuing our journey but didn’t want to be the one to call it off. Neither one of us did and we are both glad we finished our first off road-trip that turned out to be a great adventure.
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