the big three-oh tour
The date: July 3, 1976. The place: Northwest Community Hospital in Rolling Meadows, IL. The event: r-dub's entrance to this world of ours. Flashing forward thirty years, we find r-dub wandering yet again, enjoying not only his birthday but a rare day off from work as well. He's heading to the southwest part of the state, heretofor unconquered by him. Let's tag along, shall we?
Just when you thought it was safe to put down the camera
Gotta keep it interesting. I decided to take SH 92 east from Delta. There's another way into Grand Junction other than US 50, and I want to check it out.
)
Heading east on SH 92, we see our turnoff.
)
At the southern END! of SH 65, which is also part of the Grand Mesa Scenic Byway.
)
The first shot down SH 65.
)
The Grand Mesa can get closed in the winter, so we're warned here: long before the closure.
)
Just in case the 65 banners on SH 92 and the big sign in the last pic weren't enough, CDOT was kind enough to post a reassuarance shield.
)
Warning: divining rod crossing.
)
The Grand Mesa Scenic Byway starts about 5 miles from the start of 65.
)
Comrade, this one's for you. Hope it's not the same moose as your New Hampshire pict mission: that's a loooong migration.
)
About to enter the Grand Mesa National Forest.
)
This scenic byway is marked better than the state highway it's on.
)
Climbing up the face of the Grand Mesa now.
)
Looking southwestish from the climb up the mesa. Montrose is down there somewhere.
)
There used to be 4 or 5 cattle guard crossings on this road through the park. All but this one were paved over recently. I guess the cattle aren't an issue up here anymore.
)
Officially entering the Grand Mesa National Forest.
)
Frickin' sweet.
)
I don't think this will be an issue on this trip.
)
Interesting rock slope. Shooting into the sun=bad.
)
On top of the mesa now. Yup, it's flat.
)
Looking northwest from the top of the mesa. Grand Junction lives after the second bluff back.
)
Looking more northwards than the last pic.
)
Approaching what's sure to be an interesting vantage point as we start to descend from the mesa.
)
The rocks are on about a 60 degree slope to the road here. I also like how the rocks continue through the part in the trees. How does something like this happen?
)
More road damage to check out.
)
Now this is what road damage should really mean. Who needed that second lane, anyway?
)
And if the road should fall, it's a long way down.
)
Another beaten up section of road. This is immediately below the stretch that had the major damage. Makes me wonder if there's a major stability issue happening here.
)
More in the view department and a chance to see an up close view of how CDOT used to hang their road signs. The yellow poles aren't used anymore.
)
Still descending off of the mesa. The mesa in the background is not part of any national forest or the like, but it is still a undeveloped area north of Grand Junction.
)
We were just traveiling up there.
)
We're pretty much off of the Grand Mesa now, but we're still descending into Mesa, CO.
)
I'm running out of adjectives to describe the views on this trip.
)
Reassuarance shield sighting. This is the first time 65 has been signed since entering the Grand Mesa National Forest.
)
I think someone ran out of the right size letters here.
)
CDOT shop in all its glory.
)
SH 65 has been slowly descending to meet up with the Plateau River and SH 330.
)
SH 330 is a shorter route heading only to Collbrun. By the way, this is it's western END!
)
Looking at the first 330 shield. And the road itself, too.
)
Sunlight obscures the best shot of the end of 330.
)
A better angle on the sign that greets 330 travelers at its western end.
)
Interesting. The black asset tag is a 2006 tag. I wonder if it was on purpose then that this sign is white. Most of these signs are green. Boggles the mind, I tells ya.
)
A look at the distance left on the trip. SH 65 is not the fastest way to get to Junction, that's fer sure.
)
The rest of 65's life is spent in the Plateau Canyon. This is an impressive canyon.
)
This has to be man-made: too smooth. Impressive, though.
)
Just when you thought it couldn't get any more scenic, it does.
)
This canyon is just simply amazing. The pictures barely scratch the surface of the height of these walls and the length of this canyon.
)
Mabye turning the camera will help convey the height of these canyon walls! Well, kinda. The truck helps with the size comparison, though.
)
Still in the canyon, we get warning of an impending interchange. I don't know what's up with the arrows here.
)
At the END! of the Scenic Byway and, esentially, the end of SH 65, too. The split for 70 is just ahead. Interesting thing here, though: the split happens about 1/2 mile before the interchange. Traffic planning on heading west on the interstate (and all traffic coming from the I) go across the river and hug the west side of the canyon, while traffic planning on heading east on 70 stay on the east side of the canyon. That's a setup I haven't seen before.
At this point, I managed to do something I haven't done before: fill up my camera's memory card! With no way of moving the pictures off of the camera and only the one card, I had to stop the pictures at this point. I hope you enjoyed this trip as much as I did! Here's to another 30 years of roadgeeking!
- Where to next?
- Page 12
- This trip's Index
Section Links
- Trip Index
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with any of the orginizations listed within this site. I'm just a bored roadgeek with way too much time on his hands. All of the picts in this page are mine and mine alone unless otherwise noted. Remember, kids: stealing is bad, mmmm-k? I get quite pissy if things are taken without telling me. I don't like to be pissy. You won't like it either. If you want to link to this page, that's fine. Please shoot me an email beforehand so I can link to your page as well. K? Thanks. --Ryan
Additional links you may find handy... Sitemap ... RSS Feed information