On day five of the road trip, Nicola departed back to Cleveland for other plans. I got to drive the 11 hours to St. George, Utah on my own. Before we get to my solo driving day...
We first had breakfast in downtown Denver with some friends. I got to see my friend, Nicole, who if you are a regular reader, will recall our trips to
Italy and
Amsterdam . She did a one year masters in London during my first year at LSE. Nicola and I also got to be reunited by a fellow former intern friend from London. We all had brunch at a place that was themed around the disco.
Nothing like a disco ball going on a Sunday morning at 9am!
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| Anyone surprised? |
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| Nicole and me |
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| London Reunion |
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| Best Road Trip Co-Pilot! |
After breakfast and goodbyes, I snapped a few photos of downtown Denver before heading off into the Rockies!
Leaving Denver around 10am, I hit Utah a bit before 2pm. There was quite a few zones of construction in the Rocky Mountains. Plus, I was not used to the windy roads and the elevation! My ears popped enough for an entire year!
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| Perfect Music |
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| Such amusement |
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| Rockies |
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| Rockies |
For lunch, I stopped in Grand Junction to check out the Colorado National Monument. I had 30 minutes to spare, so I went in through an entrance and drove around for literally 30 minutes. The roads were nerve wracking, but the views were well worth that brush with death!
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| Colorado National Monument |
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| Colorado National Monument |
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| Colorado National Monument |
The longest stretch of my solo drive was in Utah.
Everyone had told me to fill up my gas tank as much as possible once I got into the state until I hit the larger cities. They weren't kidding. The state doesn't kid either. I passed a sign that said, "No Service Area for 100 Miles." I stopped and filled up my tank even with 3/4 left.
To make my trip more enjoyable getting through Utah, I took time to get off at the scenic outlook spots as I was coming through the canyons and desert.
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| Utah |
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| Utah |
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| Utah |
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| Ghost Rock, Utah |
I was puttering out as I got out of the canyons. Thank goodness for coffee! And, when Las Vegas started to show up on the signs, I got a lot more energy!
I stayed in St. George, Utah, that night. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to spend exploring the city. Thankfully, it's only two hours away from Las Vegas!
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