Price Canyon UT to Ouray CO

Laura Domela — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 01:09:07 +0000

We left our little isolated perch on the edge of Price Canyon this morning after trying to work with VERY clunky internet for far too long. We had a tiny bit of Sprint data service (whoa! the card that never gets ANY service ANYWHERE) and a tiny bit of Verizon data service and no AT&T cell or data. It was frustrating for a work day, for sure. Too bad, because the place was gorgeous and we had it all to ourselves. Last night before I went bed I stepped outside to look at the stars…it was pitch black outside with a clear sky and loads of stars. Super cool.

View from a rest stop near Moab

We drove a bit and stopped at a cool rest stop just before the turn off for Canyonlands/Arches/Moab, made a little lunch, did a little work, and fended off hoards of Italian tourists (a whole busload!!) who wanted to take photos of the Airstream. We didn't really fend them off…we invited them in, actually. One guy told us he saw a 1940 something Airstream one time, but only in a magazine.

More snaps along the way today:

Okay and this place: The Pillow Talk Motel. I saw the sign and thought it was funny, but when we passed and I could see in to the actual "motelage" there was a guy with shaggy hair and tan skin wearing jeans and a wifebeater, smoking a cigarette, sitting in a chair outside a room beside a truck with its hood up. I asked Kevin if he could please turn around so I could take a photo, but by the time we got turned around the guy must have gotten back to working on the truck (or gone inside, for a little pillow talk). Either way, disappointing. Here are the shots…you can imagine what it could have been:

Highway 550 as we get closer to Ouray:

We're staying at the Ouray RV Park and Cabins right along the Uncompahgre River. The owners are very nice, the spots are super close, but the scenery can't be beat. I'll take some photos tomorrow. We plan to stay here two nights, then either (a) stay here or another spot near here a couple more nights and do day trip(s) to Silverton, or (b) drive the Ouray to Silverton/Million Dollar Highway and see if we can find a spot to camp in Silverton for the weekend. Since we've already done that part of twisty winding highway with our other Airstream, we kinda know what that's like…and a driving with just the truck (23 miles from Ouray) to explore during the day sounds pretty nice, actually. Last time we were in Silverton we stayed at a place called South Mineral Campground…just off of 550 a few miles before Silverton (coming from Ouray). It's free, and you camp right on the edge of the river with amazing views. It's tempting to tow the Airstream down there to hang out for a couple days.

We are now in Utah

Laura Domela — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 00:45:02 +0000

Here's where we're camped tonight:

We're at the Price Canyon Recreation Area near Helper, Utah. This campground is about a 3 mile drive off the main highway (Hwy 6) on a winding dirt/gravel road heading up the side of a steep hill. I was driving, and the sign at the bottom says something like maximum 24 foot trailer with an 18 foot tow vehicle. We have a 27 foot trailer, so we were a little over but decided to go for it. (I was nervous, but Kevin was not.) When we got to what looked like the worst switchback according to the GPS, it was no problem at all. The campground has about 12 spots (I've seen reference to 18, but perhaps those are walk-in sites we didn't see from the loop), no hookups, water nearby, and holy moly what a view! Most of the sites are smallish and the ranger said if we wanted to, we could just go park overnight in the overlook area (score!) and so here we are. There's one other rig here (a large one, with a tow vehicle still attached) parked in the largest pullout spot.

Here are a few snaps from our drive today:

The (great) spot where we're parked is…well…not level at all. We're okay back to front, but side to side…it's like cooking dinner in one of those Vortex/Houses of Mystery. (Dinner tonight was Harris Ranch tenderloins, haricots verts, some sauteed mushrooms, and a bottle of Gregory Graham Zinfandel. Yum!)

Our plan is to make it to Ouray, CO tomorrow.

Utah – Riveted

Price Canyon UT to Ouray CO

We are now in Utah