Utah exploration

Long story and lots of photos today. We set out from Grand Junction nice and early planning to look for dinosaur bones at a live dig that Ori had given us directions to. It was off the beaten track and we knew we would be away from main roads but we didn’t know how far off and what we were in for. We found the Japanese Internment Camp road and followed the track from the foundations of the old buildings. Not knowing that the rainstorms had washed away the track we were looking for we kept going until we found the first left in the dusty gravel road. The road quickly became a four wheel drive obstacle course with steep uphill climbs on sheer rock with parallel gouges in the rock for grip. I decided to get out and document the progress and scout ahead just in case there was nowhere to turn around. We drove for miles in open desert following a path meant for bikes. We eventually came to an area we really couldn’t go any further. The temperature outside was getting up past 107F and we didn’t have alot of water left. So we convinced Joe ( who was happy to slog on even though it was obvious we were lost and he had two passengers too scared to stay in the car) On the way back out we decided to take a detour over a river wash that had no tracks on it and found ourselves 3 hours later at the place we had been searching for at the beginning. We headed up the steep mountain track by foot. The path was cut in two from the runoff and no vehicle could have made it -not even a bike. We got about 1/2 way up and the heat was too much. Back in the car we decided that we would explore this area when it gets cooler, like mid winter. The scenery was amazing, each direction you looked there was a completely different landscape. On one side mountains the distinct turquoise blue of the Morrison layer ( where the dino bones reside) Ahead the back of arches national park with its distinct red monoliths, to the right rocky outcrops and tortured trees, behind us stoney desert. Definitely a place to explore, but with lots of water and food and a four wheel drive built for the desert. Monty served us well but we were stretching its capabilities.