6/30/13: Sunday, June 30: Hail and Farewell to the Rockies -- For Now. See Ya Next Year, Guys! I have so thoroughly enjoyed being in the Rockies that I can't wait to come back next year! Stormy or not, yesterday's drive was marvelous, and I must see more of the park and HIKE the park! If I play my cards right, I can take 2 weeks, drive U.S. Highway 6, spend some time in Great Basin National Park along the way, and then spend at least a solid week in RMNP!

   This morning is lovely, though puffy cumulus clouds are building over the park. I hate to leave; I've really enjoyed this campground, even though it has only a wi-fi hot spot. Ah, well, time to head west again.

   The drive was much longer than I had thought it would be, in excess of 350 miles. The GPS unit took me to Granby and then through Kremmling before vectoring me down Colorado 9 to meet I-70 at Silverthorne. Grand Lake is lovely, with 3 lakes including those adjacent to nearby Granby. I think I'm ready to move there, too, or to Estes Park or Silverthorne or Breckenridge or….Mountains! I need mountains!

   The landscape ranged from wonderfully scenic to pretty nice as far as, roughly, Glenwood Springs, though it had been growing lower and drier for some time. Beyond Glenwood Springs, the terrain grew drier and drier, the land became flatter, often distinguished by flat-topped mesas dissected by canyons of various sizes. I-70 crossed the Colorado River often. It was not to my taste!

   Then came the Utah border and, finally, Green River and the KOA, where I hooked up quickly and then walked to the nearby restaurant. I'd had only one Medifast meal today, plus a chicken tostada (minus the shell) in Glenwood Springs.

   Back at the van, I fell to studying the Rand-McNally atlas for a couple of hours, immersed in rehearsing where I have been, remembering the features that most struck me, feeling a sense of wonder that I have seen so much -- and yet so little. I really had had no sense for how immense the country is. It's truly beyond my grasp.

   Tomorrow, I may not go to Ely, NV, but instead detour to camp in Great Basin National Park, where I've never been. Terra nova, terra icognita!