Day 3: Vernal, Utah to Rangely, Colorado

June 28, 2010

I got a late start, not getting on the road until 8:00, and then was further delayed when I immediately got lost trying to find Brush Creek Road. An older couple gave me directions which confused me, but I eventually found the road, which proved nice and empty. My next turn onto UT-149 was a pleasant few miles, but then I had to get on US-40. Before that I stopped at a store and loaded up on Grandma's Cookies. I love those things, but I doubt than any real-life grandma would be able to pronounce half of the names on their ingredient lists. Unless the grandma was a chemical engineer, or something.

This section of US-40 was fine, with a wide shoulder and not a lot of traffic. I had chosen yesterday's meandering route in order to avoid the much busier section of 40 which is universally reviled by cyclists. There wasn't much worth mentioning on this section - just the shockingly loud chirping of the prairie dogs, who seemed very alarmed, and the most elaborate roadside memorial I've ever seen (and I've seen a lot of them.)

After crossing into Colorado, I stopped in tiny Dinosaur and had a great milkshake at the Bedrock Depot. This might have been the best milkshake I've ever had, and made up for the lousy overpriced one in Heber the other day. While I was at the place I talked to a couple of truck drivers who were transporting some sort of equipment on an enormous 200 foot trailer. Their employer had neglected to obtain the proper Colorado permits, so they were probably stranded in Dinosaur until that got worked out.

Dinosaur had a very nice welcome center, staffed by an extremely cheerful and helpful guy. I was surprised to see another touring cyclist there, but somehow failed to get his picture. It sounded like he was wandering all over the place, with no real destination or timeframe in mind. Despite his scruffy, bearded appearance I placed him in the "bike tourist" category rather than the "homeless guy" category: His bike and his Ortlieb panniers were cleaner than my own.

I was on 40 for another several miles before turning onto Blue Mountain Road, which, despite its appealing name, was filled with ugly oil-or-gas-drilling-related equipment.

I was initially unimpressed with Rangely: Hot, dry and dusty, and my initial stop, at a convenience store, was filled with screaming children. The city park, where I decided to stay for the night, was shady and quiet, however.

After a slightly problematic cleaning-up in which the shower handle somehow broke off in my hand, I got the tent set up, and then spent the next half hour talking to an older man in the park. A few years before, his wife of 27 years had died, and the man told me he "spent the next two years walking the country." Now he was going back to work, and was on his way to a job in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

After that I walked to a pizza place where I had a 16 inch pizza and about eight Diet Cokes. Later, back at the park, a young oil worker guy stopped by. He was from Wyoming, and was living out of his truck while working in the area. I don't remember much about our conversation except this: He really, really did not like Rangely.

This is THE place to stop for a milkshake in Dinosaur, Colorado.

Mercifully shady campsite in the city park in hot, dry Rangely.

Today's ride: 65 miles (105 km)
Total: 266 miles (428 km)

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