Utah up my nose: the Red Dust Drive

When we hit the road out of Grand Junction, CO, flurries were whipping through the red rocks. I had spied more snow out in the assumed land of lizards and heat stroke than I did in Chicago during all of March. 

Snow clouds

How do these things get there?

As we crossed into Utah, the landscape began to shift dramatically. 

Formations that had gently rolled through Southern Colorado began to shoot up and dip down in wild elevation changes. Every layer of sediment took on a different shade of red (orange-red, blue-red, green-red) and there is nothing in the way of civilization for miles (70+ at points). 

Might as well break down on Mars. 

It pained us to drive past Canyonlands and Arches in Moab and not stop. There was a Jeep Jamboree that week and you could spy them driving on all kinds of sketchy roads along the canyon wall.

However, we had places to be and dogs are forbidden beasts in National Parks. 

Sled dog, confused. 

It’s a shame, but I get it.  Irresponsible owners who don’t clean up (a dog turd would last for 10,000 years in the arid desert) or have a handle on aggression/noise issues tend to ruin it for the rest of us. Wildlife disturbance is also a definite consideration.  

Now service dogs wouldn’t raise red flags, but I imagine that needing a service dog would not readily qualify me for boulder scrambles (red flag) and canyon ledge tightrope-walking (redder flag).

Next time. 

The Mexican Hat. 

Rob and D-man in the desert.

Once well out of Moab, the scenery got sparser. Skinny rock formations towered in the distance. Wind was whipping red sand across the roads. We passed through dry, freezing towns that seemed to be coated in red dust.

Stray desert dogs had literally made their homes on road medians. 

I saw Rob’s car get smacked by giant tumbleweeds. 

Bright. Hot. Treeless. 

The kayak on top of Rob’s car made an excellent makeshift sail as we battled desert dust storms across Arizona. It went from cold to hot in a matter of one or two canyons (…and bless my AC. Rob’s doesn’t work. He holds out for Alaskan temperatures and vows never to fix it).

Beware of free-range cattle. 

Dodger has gotten to pee on some cool stuff during this trip. 

Dust storms. 

Then, we climbed a mountain to Flagstaff and could finally breathe air without sneezing orange dust. There were trees that smelt good. We weren’t being sand blasted in the face.

As the sun was setting, we rolled down the mountain from Flagstaff and drove the last couple of hours into Glendale. Rob’s Uncle Ron moved out here from Chicago many moons ago with his wife, Maria, and settled in for good. 

Ron and Maria helped us get settled, and then made sure to run us outside to see the cactus flower that only blooms from dusk until dawn. This was going to be a most excellent visit. 

Cactus flower in the early morning. It will close up and fall off soon.
Bat pollinated?