Day Nine: Open Range -- Loose Stock

We saw these two folks when we checked into the motel last night in Pinedale, WY -- and then again this morning at breakfast. They are in their 70s and are "cruising" for a month. Love their spirit. Long-time friends from Missouri and Arkansas, they are traveling the areas south of the Canadian border throughout the West with no particular plans past the next day of traveling. (We can relate!) After graciously posing for this picture ("all geared up" as they said), their delight riding out was palpable. Yea for them!

Okay, we made some executive decisions today subject to change. We were heading towards the Grand Canyon, Santa Fe, and Taos before going to Oklahoma; however, because of a number of reasons, we are going to Cortez, CO to see the Cliff Dwellers at Mesa Verde and to Durango with the intent of riding the train that runs between Durango and Silverton. (It is the one featured in the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with Robert Redford and Paul Newman.) At least that was our intent this morning -- and it is again tonight...but it wasn't this afternoon. Our plans continue to be flexible and subject to change....

Driving out of Pinedale we saw llama ranches, herds of elk, a few buffalo, many oil wells, natural gas wells, cows, and the exquisite Wind River Mountains (almost a rival for the Tetons) that followed us far down the valley. (My next-door neighbors in Columbia love these mountains having spent a few years in this area.) We never fail to marvel at the landscape -- even after miles and miles. We will go over a ridge and it will appear that we are suddenly transported to another world. Quick changes. Along this road in central Wyoming there are sporadic groupings of trailers for oil and gas workers. This area appears to be going through a "boom" -- the government leases the land to farmers but retains the mineral rights. Rich idea.
When we reached the proverbial fork in the road today, we went straight! Straight through interior Wyoming, a section of Utah (no joke!), and south towards Durango. We have ridden the tops of plateaus feeling as though we could almost touch the sky. Along the roads are posted many signs stating "Open Range -- Loose Stock." Frankly, we saw little loose stock on the open range (except us). We rather felt like loose stock on the open range. :-) Perhaps our ambitious decision to trek into these hinter lands was not the smartest route since we rode miles and miles with no signs of civilization -- but it turned out to be a fortuitous one. Here's why....

After crossing Flaming Gorge Dam and Reservoir in Utah -- incredibly beautiful high in the mountains in the middle of NOWHERE and part of the Colorado River Project (so the sign read) -- our car began to overheat. At that very moment the first gas station and the first signs of human beings in the past couple of hours suddenly appeared in front of us. Wow. After allowing the car to cool down and adding a little coolant (just one of the multitudinous supplies my traveling companion stocked in her car), we proceeded up the mountain again. Heading down the other side of the mountain with nine advertised switchbacks, the car again began to over heat. And, YES, we were driving with our gears and not the brakes -- with the air conditioning off. So, there we were on a pull-off area with the hood opened to allow some cooling. Using "Olive" (the trusty GPS intimately involved in this trip) to look for the nearest garage or transmission facility, the first business name that popped on the screen was Christensen Transmission Services in Vernal, Utah, the first town in the valley at the bottom of this mountain. Less than a minute later while we were discussing which potential number to call in Vernal, we heard a car pull up behind us. Here we sat -- two women alone in a crippled car -- listening to the measured crunching of the gravel as we knew someone was approaching our car. As I took a deep breath and turned to face whomever was just inches away, I did a double take. The guy standing to my left was wearing a Christensen Transmission Services work shirt. SERIOUSLY. We were almost freaked out (as the kids say). This nice young man checked out the situation and said that if we wanted, he would either tow the car in or we could drive to his place of business and he would follow us down the mountain to be sure we were all right. We could not believe it. Looking at the GPS with this name and suddenly the guy appeares? He was...like an angel to us!!! (It was either "The Twilight Zone" or "Touched by an Angel" time.)

The short version of the rest of this story is that Cody (our new angel -- definitely!) and his boss (whose family came from South Carolina three generations ago) worked on the car for three hours and fixed the problem. We were considering our options and the fact that we may be stuck in Vernal, Utah for a few days waiting for a part to arrive -- remember, we were near nothing out here in Utah! We had just about decided to abort the remaining trip and head home towards Oklahoma City (which would have suited me at this point not trusting the car...but we still had MILES to go). In the end, these two mechanics charged less than one hundred dollars and crafted a temporary fix to the problem. Incredible. The nicest folks -- should have taken a picture of them. The young girl who worked in their office told us she had never been out of that valley -- and we could believe that! This is the area in which many dinosaurs have been found. There is a town just down the road named Dinosaur and the Dinosaur National Park is here...so, perhaps some of you may have been in this area before?

Our revised route took us around Douglas Pass through beautiful valleys criss-crossing pristine streams. Again, much drilling going on in this area! Eventually, we made it to I-70, a very welcomed relief after all our twists and turns, with the final destination for today being Grand Junction, CO. The drive through the walls of red-rocked striated formations followed the Colorado River. Coming out of that canyon through a tunnel, we emerged facing the majestic mesas of Mesa County. These are ohmygosh incredible...one after another on both sides of the road for as far as the eye can see. This brought us into Grand Junction. After a quick trip to Taco Bell, we are ready for a good night's sleep...and thankful for safe travels and kind folks along the way. Phew!

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P. S. Today I received a comment from a person in Bozeman who read my blog and corrected my comments about the name change in Jackson. Our source for that initial info was a person in a convenience store where we stopped for fuel in Jackson (probably not the town historian). Jim MacDonald offers the following clarifications:

"One point of information, Jackson didn't change its name from Jackson Hole. The town has always been named Jackson. Jackson Hole refers to the entire valley that stretches from the town north toward Yellowstone. It's the valley, and the Tetons are the mountains that rise suddenly from the valley called Jackson Hole. It was named after a member of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, and the "hole" basically refers to the areas where trappers trapped ... a particular trapper's area was his hole.

Of course, to make the town distinct from the many other places called Jackson, it helps to market the whole town as Jackson Hole, and that's why you see it on all the t-shirts. Generally, locals call the town Jackson, and tourists call it Jackson Hole."

We learn something every day. Thanks, Jim.