Friday, October 28, 2022
I drove from the Grand Junction area to Moab. I took I-70 into Utah. I exited the highway before the Moab exit, so I could drive through Cisco, a deserted ghost of a town. I did this because, in 1988, my buddy Marcus Irrek and I drove this route and found it to be … interesting. There was a somewhat dilapidated gas station, it was closed of course, and in somewhat disrepair. It had a mural drawn on it. We thought it was cool, and we took photos there with us standing in the doorway of the building. In 1988, we were on the adventure of a lifetime, three weeks in Utah, camping in some of the most beautiful national parks.
So, I took this route as sort of a respectful drive down memory lane. Well, the road turned out to be very bumpy, more so than it was 34 years ago, and the dilapidated gas station, while still there, was now in really bad shape. Half of it had fallen down. I stopped, took a photo, and continued on my way to Moab.
Here’s the deal. I can’t imagine that I’ll ever drive through Cisco again. The next exit up on I-70 makes for a little shorter trip, on a much smoother road! But, not every road we take is a dramatic or exciting part of a “trip of a lifetime.” Some roads, like life, are not what one expected. They can be … mundane, boring, difficult, even painfully bumpy … but, we have to drive that road to get to the beautiful, to the inspirational, to that the things that make it a “trip of a lifetime.” And like any road trip, life has it’s bumpy roads, it’s fallen down buildings, etc. Drive it. It’s your life. Drive it, and you will get to those aspects that make it the “trip of a lifetime.”
From Cisco, I turned onto Utah Route 128. The road follows the Colorado River for many miles. Sandstone cliffs rise monumentally high along much of the route. Rock formations. Layers of colors. Natural sculpture and artwork. This is one of those roads that is dramatic, that is inspirational, that gives you goose bumps.
I arrived in the afternoon at Big Bend Campground, one of several BLM camp on the river, found my site, got comfy. There was enough time for a … bike ride (as if there would ever NOT be enough time for a bike ride), and I headed down Route 128 to its end, where it intersects with Route 191, which goes into Moab as Main Street. It was a shortish ride, but it was fun and beautiful. The light was just right for photographs, as well as for telling me to make sure I rode hard enough to get back before it was dark (not that I haven’t ridden in the dark thousands of times). I pushed it and got a great workout.
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