Woo Hoo, We're Cool Again

Thursday morning was windy and it tried very hard to rain but with 12% humidity, it didn't have a chance. After lunch we took a ride 12 miles south of Moab to "A Hole In The Rock." This is a 5000 sq. ft. home carved into the foot of a huge sandstone monolith by Albert and Gladys Christensen back before 1950. There was a structure built to the front which was their diner and the first two rooms in the rocks were a commercial kitchen and a small living quarters.




Over the next 10 years they excavated three bedrooms, a living room with fireplace, dining area, bathroom, and two studios. He was a prospector, miner, barber, chef, sculptor and amateur taxidermist. The mule that carried over 50,000 tons of rock out for them is stuffed and stands in the front window! She made jewelry from native stones of the area.

Albert died when the diner was ten years old and Gladys turned it into a gift shop and lived there for another 17 years. They had carved out an arch further back on the stone for their graves and they are both buried there. Her son from a previous marriage is 80 years old and lives in Moab.

The whole area looked like a piece of Americana like you would have found during the 50s on western Route 66. I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside but I took some outside. It was pure schtick but fun.

The first photo is a fence of license plates guarded by old gas pumps. The second are cars used to bring the rocks out on rails. The third one is a metal, free standing jail. Fourth is the neon sign from the Silver Spurs motel along with an old truck. The fourth is a sculpture of a longhorn made from tools, gears and various hardware. It has all rusted to a great reddish brown color.






Then we drove north through Moab to the Scenic Byway 128 which meanders 45 miles north along the Colorado River to I-70. We only went half way up and turned around. It was too late in the day to make the entire loop. We watched rafters on the river and stopped at the Sorrel Ranch where we took pictures of teepees and horses.






Friday we left Moab around 9 a.m. and passed Wilson Arch south of Moab, at least 25 miles from Arches National Park.


We arrived in Cortez in just a few hours. We set up and then drove the nine miles back to Cortez to walk around and view the historical buildings. There are many with information signs on them. After a late lunch at a Mexican restaurant we fueled up and then headed to Wal-Mart. Today we are going to Mesa Verde National Park.

It is 63 inside the RV this morning so the 100+ temperatures are behind us for now. We're here until Monday when we're planning to move west to Pagosa Springs for a day or two. Then it's on to Santa Fe.