Southern Colorado - Moab to Pueblo

The trip across Southern Colorado was terrific. We took the scenic route from Moab to I-70. 128 is the route that runs along the Colorado. We stopped for breakfast at the Red Cliffs Lodge

and took in some of the local scenery there.

The road parallels the Colorado

and winds its way below the massive canyon walls.

Once you exit Canyonlands and you reach I-70, the landscape changes completely and we meet other critters who are enjoying the scenery.

We crossed into Colorado at Grand Junction and picked up route 50. This was a beautiful drive through many quaint towns like Montrose and Gunnison. The road crosses several summits. After crossing the Continental Divide, where the rivers would now flow towards the east...

We came upon Blue Mesa Lake. This is a reservoir that is the largest body of water in Colorado and a great spot for fishing and boating.

From there we picked up the Arkansas river, which looks like a creek at its headwaters but will be a major river by the time it dumps into the Mississippi.

Rte 50 followed the Arkansas through Bighorn Canyon on our way to Pueblo. The Arkansas River was the border between the U.S. and Mexico in the early 1800's and many of the towns retained their Mexican names, like Pueblo, La Junta and Las Animas to name a few

Our goal was to get to Pueblo which had a nice mixture of old and new. There is a PBR (Professional Bull Riding, not Pabst Blue Ribbon) headquarters...

and a popular Riverwalk along part of the Arkansas.

It would have been nice to spend a little more time there, maybe another day/trip.