Last night we decided to go to the restaurant next to the motel. It is a Mexican Restaurant and the reviews rated it highly. We had a delicious meal and then just had a short walk back to our motel.
This morning we headed out to Green River on Highway 80. We have been managing to avoid the major highways most of the time but today was one instance where the alternative was a lot longer. It turned out to be quite interesting. The reason we usually dodge these roads is that they are dominated by the trucks. Throughout the day there was rarely a period when we could not see between 5 and 9 trucks at one time. The speed limit is 75 miles per hour but most cars were driving faster than that and we were regularly passed by semi trailors. The truckees are remarkably disciplined and move straight to the slow lane once they have overtaken. Bob also commnted at how well made the roads are and how that this intense use by the trucks had not caused the indentations in the roads that we experience from heavy truck use. The other features were that for the first 100 miles there was tall deer fence either side of the highway. Also at any point where there were hills near the road there were sophisticated wooden snow barriers . These were continuous for long stretches and all constructed of wood. I took some photos but they were mostly on Bob's side of the car so they are not particularly clear. The terrain was undulating plains which are very dry and there was not much agriculture as this is an area with very few rivers. There were occasionaal oil derecks. As we came closer to Green River we noticed large open cut excavations and found out later they were to extract soda ash which is used to make baking powder and numerous other products.
There were only two towns roughly midway in our 200 mile trip and they were only six miles apart. The first was the base for Sinclair oil and gas and unsurprisingly was called Sinclair. The other, Rawlins, seems to be most well known for it's now abandoned prison which was built in 1902. We needed a break and decided to go and at least look at it. When we arrived we discovered that a one hour tour was about to start and decided to join it. The initial philosophy was humanitarian but this did not last beyond the 1930's Depression. The conditions were grim as you might imagine. Given it's stone constuction the temperature never rose above 50 degrees F, the showers were cold water until 1978 and education was not introduced until the mid 60's. I couldn't face deaath row and waited outsde but the reality was that many more men died in the hospital than the 14 who were executed during the 80 year history. The guide did lighten the tour with some human interest stories but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.
The rest of the drive was uneventful and we arrived at 2pm. We were too early to check into our motel so went to the Visitors Centre to find a park where we could eat our lunch. The Green River is quite a significant river which joins the Colorado River and eventually the water flows through the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The town has established a lovely shady park alongside the river to honour the early explorers who set off in small boats to determine the river's potential for industry. We spent a relaxed couple of hours there eating our late lunch and walking the paths reading the explanatory plaques. At the large traffic bridge which we reached in our wandering I looked up as we entered the shade under the bridge and spotted a deer curled up on the top of the bank just under the supports. 2She was completely unconcerned by us and Bob took some lovely photos. I will attach my tablet shot but I was too far away to show her clearly.
Tonight we had dinner at the American Diner attached to the motel. The food was plain fare but well cooked. Our breakfast in the morning is included in the motel tarrif so I will take a phote when we go down.
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