Today is my last day in the saddle. On this trip, anyway.

After 24 days, I expect to be home in Carbondale tonight.

I’ve made wrong turns before. We’ll see.

***

We head south out of Dutch John on US Highway 191 for 35 miles. That makes 275 miles on US-191 in the past two days.

The Highway 191 journey ends in Vernal, Utah.

We’re riding through the Ashley National Forest, which covers 1,384,132 acres in the high Uinta Mountains. Elevations range from 6,000 feet to 13,528-foot Kings Peak, the highest point in Utah. Kings Peak was named for Clarence King, a surveyor in the area and the first director of the US Geological Survey.

On the way there, eight miles before arriving in Vernal, we roll past Moonshine Arch State Park. The arch itself is 85 feet wide, and 40 feet high. It’s tucked among the Weber sandstone formation at the base of Red Mountain. From the arch, there are great vistas of Vernal. You can access the arch by jeep or ATV, neither of which are available to us today. Or, you can hike 1.8 miles out and back.

Nah. Vernal beckons.

Less than a half-mile down the road from the Moonshine Arch turnoff, we roll past Steinaker Lake State Park, on our way into town. The park is popular this time of year for swimming, fishing, boating and waterskiing. From the Lake’s southern shore, it’s only about three miles to Vernal.

***

Unlike most Utah towns that were settled by Mormon settlers, Vernal was not.

It began in 1878 as Ashley Center, named in honor of William H. Ashley, an early fur trader who entered this area in 1825 by floating down the Green River in a bull boat made of willow branches covered with animal hides.

The town was renamed Vernal in 1893. “Vernal” implies a spring like growth; the vernal equinox marks the beginning of spring. Vernal is bordered on the north by the Uinta Mountains, one of the few mountain ranges in the world that lies in an east-west rather than the usual north-to-south direction.

Despite its non-Mormon origins, the city of about 10,000 today has its own Mormon Temple, the 51st built worldwide (there are now more than 280), and the 10th in the state of Utah. The Vernal Temple, dedicated in 1997, was the first built from a previously existing structure.

Except for the angel Moroni, which all Mormon temples have, the Vernal Temple doesn’t look at all like a Mormon temple. For the curious and non-Mormon among you (pretty much everyone reading this blog), the golden statue of Moroni in flowing robes, with a long horn pressed to his lips, is symbolic of the preaching of the gospel to the world.

From Vernal, we head east on US Highway 40, soon crossing the Green River in Jensen, population 222. Jensen was first settled in 1877 and named for Lars Jensen, an early prospector and ferryman. With a name like Lars Jensen, he had to be a Danish immigrant. Denmark supplied more immigrants to Utah in the nineteenth century than any other country except Great Britain. Most of these Danes – nearly 17,000 – were converts to Mormon Church.

Danish emigration to Utah began January 31, 1852, when a group of nine Mormons left Copenhagen for Hamburg, continued by steamer to England, and eventually sailed from Liverpool with 19 additional Danes who joined them. It was a long and winding road, but all ended up in Utah, nine months later.

Today, the town of Jensen’s main importance is as the Utah entrance to Dinosaur National Monument.

***

Dinosaur National Monument sits on the southeast flank of the Uinta Mountains. The monument, about an hour’s drive from the city of Price, is in both Utah and Colorado. It boasts one of the densest concentrations of Jurassic dinosaur fossils in the world. The bones are just as nature arranged them, 150 million years ago, deposited by an ancient stream.

To pass through Dinosaur National Monument, four-wheel drive is not required, but is useful on steep unpaved roads. Clearly not a place for Harleys on the last day of an otherwise safe and incident-free trip.

We soon cross the Utah-Colorado border and roll through the town of Dinosaur, population 243. The town was originally known as Baxter Springs, owned by Art and Fanny Baxter. It was renamed Artesia for its valued water supply when a town was platted to accommodate the oil boom in the 1940s. The current name was adopted in 1966, to capitalize on the town’s proximity to Dinosaur National Monument.

*** 

Past the town of Rangely, we follow the White River for about 35 miles, then turn south on Colorado Highway 13, also known as Government Road. The road leads us toward the town of Rifle, population 10,000. The town took its name from Rifle Creek, which was named for an incident in which a trapper left his rifle along the banks of the creek, where it was found.

A few years ago, as part of a local Harley day ride, I had lunch in Rifle at Shooter’s Grill. The place is famous for its owner: ultra-conservative Congresswoman Lauren Bobert, an embarrassment to many of us in Colorado’s 3rd congressional district, where I live. I felt soiled eating there, where servers pack guns on their hips in holsters. I vowed to never see Rifle again.

So, a few miles before Rifle, we turn north on Highway 325, which takes us to Rifle Gap State Park, a 360-acre lake used for boating, fishing, swimming, RV and tent camping. Unlike recent years, when it was dangerously low, the Rifle Gap Reservoir today has sufficient water to sustain the area’s recreational needs.

The road continues for the next ten miles, through rolling hills and pastures, until we reach New Castle, a town of about 5,500 residents. New Castle is growing rapidly, as it’s still somewhat undiscovered and housing prices haven’t gone through the roof. Yet.

Because of its affordability, New Castle, for some, is a bedroom community for workers in Aspen – 53 miles away. 

From New Castle, I can make it home by memory. Twelve miles on I-70 (the last interstate riding of the trip). Highway 82 from Glenwood Springs to Carbondale. South on Highway 133 in Carbondale, and in no time, I’m pulling into my driveway.

***

After 24 days and 5,800 miles, I’m home.

Tonight, I’ll look forward to my first home-cooked meal (in my home, in Carbondale) since May 26.

Sarah doesn’t have a poutine recipe, so I’ll anticipate a healthy dinner on our patio with a view of Mount Sopris. Turns out she’s planned a special meal for the road warriors — surf and turf (salmon and steak). She’s even baking a berry crumble for Dave — his favorite dessert.

It’s a tradition – and you know how I love traditions – that I immediately begin a post-ride diet cleanse upon walking in the door. I should lose the five pounds that I gained on this ride in no time.

Finally, 25 days ago, on the first blog post of this trip, I said coverage of this journey would be different than usual. Fewer words, more pictures.

It appears I failed miserably at that. Maybe words are my happy place.

Whether you read my posts or not, I’m glad to have had you along for the journey. Hope you enjoyed the ride.

If, by some chance, you learned anything in the consumption of these blog posts … you’re welcome.

Vroom!

***

To view today’s route in Google Maps, click here.

My number today: 32,582 (number of words in this year’s blog posts; my quest for brevity was a bust)

What’s your number?